Every year as many as 3000 Tibetans escape into exile by making a perilous journey across the Himalayas to reach Nepal and then India. Up to one third of those escaping are young children who are sent into exile in order for them to receive an education free of Chinese propaganda. Many others are monks and nuns seeking to further their study of Tibetan Buddhism, something that is impossible in Tibet due to increasing restrictions on religion and official surveillance in monasteries and nunneries.

The journey out of Tibet can take months as refugees travel on foot and at night in order to avoid Chinese border patrol guards. Tibetans making the journey are risking hypothermia, snow blindness, falling down crevasses, dying of cold or hunger, or being shot at by Chinese border guards. Once in Nepal, due to increasing Chinese influence over the Nepalese government, Tibetans are at risk of forced repatriation. There are frequent reports of abuse and harassment of Tibetan refugees by Nepalese police and authorities including thefts, beatings and rape.

The most commonly used route of escape is over the Himalayas, through the Nangpa La Mountain Pass situated in the west of Mount Everest, at a height of 5,716 metres (18,880 feet).



Following the March and April Uprising of 2008, Tibet has been under a military lockdown and only a handful of refugees have managed to escape from Tibet. It is anticipated that once Chinese authorities relax their presence at current checkpoints and borders a much higher number of Tibetans will try to flee into exile.