| Day 01: Lhasa
to Bagsum –Tso (3540 m) |
| This beautiful alpine
lake, also known as Bagsum-tso and Basong
–tso, is a long day’s drive from
Lhasa and a worthly 41km detour off the Sichuan-Tibet
Hwy. Apart from the sheer beauty of the lake
and its surrounding 6000m – plus peaks,
the site has strong xonnections ot Gesar of
Ling, the semimythical ruler of eastern Tibet,
and Guru Rinpoche, the Indian sage, both of
whom are said to have resided at the lake.
Many pilgrimage sites are connected to the
two. |
| Day 02: Bagsum
– Tso to Bayi (2990 m) |
| Bayi is a large Han Chinese
military town of minor interest, except perhaps
as a base from which to visit the surrounding
sights or restock your supplies. ‘Bayi’
in Chinese means ‘1 August’, the
founding date of the PLA. It is 125 km from
Bagsum-Tso. |
| Day 03: Bayi
to Pomi (3000 m) |
| Formerly known as Tramo,
this small country capital has well-stocked
shops and several hotels and restaurants,
making it a logical place to spend the night.
In clear weather the surrounding scenery is
strpendous. |
| Day 04: Pomi to
pasho (m) |
| Pasho (Chinese: Bashe),
fromerly known as pema (Baima), is a pleasant
town that makes for a good overnight stop.
Explore around Pasho visit Neru Monastery
& Dola Monastery. |
| Day 05: Pashu
to Markham |
| Markham, traditionally
known as Garthog Dozong, is where the Vigilant
PSB commonly catches permitless hitchhikers
from Sichuan and Yunnan. At Markham the road
spilts. The southern branch runs 112km over
a pass to Yanjing (salt well) and the border
with Yunnan, continuing on the Seqin. Yanjing
used to be Tibet’s major source of salt,
once an essential commodity in these parts. |
| Day 06: Markham
to Litang (4680m) |
| Surrounded by snowcapped
peaks and resting on open grassland, Litang
is a pleasant and friendly place to hang out
for a couple of days. A horce-racing festival
from 1 to 7 August sees the town swells with
Tibetan visitors. |
| Day 07: Litang
to Ganzi (3400m) |
| The noisy market town
of Ganzi (also spelled Kandze and Garze) sits
in a valley at 3400m, surrounded by the sleeping
giants of the Trola (Chola) range, and is
a natural place to break the Trip. The gergeous
surrounding countryside is peppered with Tibetan
villages and resrgent monasteries. |
| Day 08: Ganzi
to Manigango |
| The road winds through
deep gorges and preety Tibetan villages before
ascending to the wild and craggy scenery of
the 4916m Tro-la in the east of Derge.From
the pass, the road descends to the crossroads
of Manigango. Yilhun La-tso, a stunning, holy
alpine lake bordered by chortens and dozens
of rock carvings is about 13 km before reaching
Manigango.The lake is backed by the huge glaciers
of 6018m Trola peak and it’s possible
to walk an hour or two up the left side of
the lakeshore for glacier views. |
| Day 09: Explore
Around Manigango |
| Resting in a valley between
the Tibetan border and the Trola (Chola) range
to the east, Derge forms the cultural heartland
of Kham. While the Chinese influence is evident
and growing ripidly in the town, the old town
and surrounding villages are very much Tibetan.
There are many historically important monasteries
in the valleys south of Derge, namely at pelpung
(chinese: Babang), Dzongsar, pewar (Baiya),
Kathok and pelyul (Baiyu). |
| Day 10: Manigango
to Derge (4000m) |
| Chamdo (literally ‘river
confluence’; chinese: Changdu), located
at the strategic river junction of the Aza-chu
and the Ngon-chu, is a surprisingly pleasant
town. It is dominated by the hilltop Jampaling
Monastery, below which huddle the Tibetan
old town and the Chinese new town. Over 1000km
from Lhasa and 1250km from Chengdu, the town
is the major transport, administrative and
trade centre of the Kham region. Chamdo has
had a troubled relationship with nearby China.
The Chinese warlord Ahao Erfeng captured Chamdo
in 1909 and ruled the region until the Tibetans
recaptured in 1917. Chamdo fell to Communist
troops in 1905. |
| Day 11: Derge
to Chamdo (3600m) |
| Tengchen (Chinese: Dingqing)
is an unremarkable but reasonably pleasant
two-street town. It’s possible to make
calls at the town’s telecom office.
BothTengchen and the surrounding rigion of
Khyungpo are strong centres of the Bon religion.
The main reason to stop here is to visit Tengchen
Monastery, on a hillside 4km west of town.
This interesting Bon monastery is actually
made up of two separate institutions. |
| Day 12: Chamdo
to Tengchen (4200m) |
| Sok’s claim to fame
is the impressive sok Tsaden Monastery, set
on an outcrop in the northwestern suburbs.
The monastery, founded by the Mongol leader
Gushri Khan, brings to mind a miniature potala.
The road from Tingdhen swings north and starts
to climb up to the stunning shel-la (4830m),
the highest and most dramatic pass along the
northern route. The road continues past the
village of Gubengda, Gyaruptang and Wengdaka
and then climbs yet again to the 4500m Chak-la,
where turn a corner for a dramatic view of
one of the Salween’s many tributaries. |
| Day 13: Tingchen
to Sok D ZONG |
| Nagchu (Chinese: Naqu)
is one of the highest, coldest and most windswept
towns in Tibet. Perched on the edge of the
Changtang (northern plateau), it is a dismal
town of mud and concrete, but is still an
important pit stop on the road between Qinghai
and Tibet. It’s a literally breathtaking
place: Oxygen levels here are only 60% of
those at sea level, so be prepared for headaches
and watch for the symptoms of altitude sickness.
Bring extra clothes, even in summer. Nagchu
has a horseracing festival from 10 to 16 August,
when the town swells with up to 10,000 nomads
and their tents from all over the Changtang.
Accommodation can be very tight at this time. |
| Day 14: Sok D
Zong to Nagchu (4500m) |
| The road south of Nagchu
is the Qinghai Tibet HWY, the busiest and
most strategic highway in Tibet.The road cross
the Goluk Bridge, 109km from Nagchu, and climbs
to the Chokse-la, where Tibetans throw into
the air the paper prayers they bought at Nagchu
bus station. 128 km from Nagchu and 40 km
from Damxung is the Chorten Rango, a line
of eight chortens that commemorate the eight
main events in the life of Sakyamuni (Sakya
Thukpa). Damxung is the turn-off Nam-tso.
Approximately 190km northwest of Lhasa is
the second largest saltwater lake in China,
the first being Koko Nor (Qinghai Lake) in
Qinghai province. It is over 70km long and
reaches a width of 30km.The Nyenchen Tanglha
(Tangula) range, with peaks of more than 7000m,
twoers over the lake to the south. Nam-tso
is a tidal lake and t he ring marks of earlier
lake levels are clearly visible by the shoreline. |
| Day 15: Nagchu
to Namtso Lake (4718m) |
| The monastery dates back
to 1056. It was initially associated with
Atisha (Jowe-je) but in its later years had
an important connection with the Gelugpa order
and the Dalai Lamas. Two regents – the
de facto rulers of Tibet for the interregnum
between the death of a Dalai Lama and the
majority of his next reincarnation –
where chose from Reting abbots. The fifth
Reting Ringoche was regent from 1933 to 1947.
He played a key role in the search for the
current Dalai Lama and served as his senior
toutor. He was later accused of collusion
with the Chinese and died in a Tibetan prison.
It was devastated by Red Guards and its present
remains hammer home the tragic waste caused
by the ideological zeal of the Cultural Revolution.
Still, the site is one of the most beautiful
in the region. The Dalai Lama has stated that
should he ever return to Tibet it is at Reting,
not Lhasa, that he wold like to reside. Reting
is 28 km from Phongdo village, which has a
ruined dzong. |
| Day 16: Namtso
Lake to Phondo and Via Reting Monastery (4100m) |
| Day 17: Rateng
to Lhasa |
| Day 18: Rest |
| Day 19 –
20: Sightseeing around Lhasa |
| These days you will be
engrossed with sightseeing and excursion of
the Potala Palace (A great museum with its
proportions and priceless treasures) Jokhang
Temple (the holiest of Tibetan shrines, houses
two images of the Buddha brought as dowry
by Songtsen Gampo's Nepali and Chinese queens)
along the bustling street of Barkhor Market.
In Lhasa you will also visit Norbu Lingka
(the summer palace of the Dalai Lamas), Drepung
and Sera Monasteries. Overnight at Lhasa. |
| Day 21 Departures
to Airport |
