Chamdo is served by Bangda Airport, about 130 kilometres east of the city at an altitude of 4,334 metres — one of the highest commercial airports in the world. Flights connect to Lhasa, Chengdu, and a few other Chinese cities. The high altitude means weather cancellations are common, and you should build flexibility into plans that depend on this connection.
By road, the Sichuan-Tibet Highway (G318) reaches Chamdo from the east, crossing high passes from Kangding or Litang in Sichuan in two or three days of hard driving. The same road continues west toward Lhasa in another two to three days. The Yunnan-Tibet Highway approaches from Deqin in the south. All of Tibet requires a Tibet Travel Permit arranged through a licensed travel agency; the permit must be obtained before entering the TAR, and agencies in Chengdu and Lhasa both arrange them.