17 days Sichuan - Tibet Landscape Adventure

Welcome to Chengdu, a well-known city in Sichuan Province. Upon your arrival, our tour guide and driver will meet you at the exit of the airport/train station and escort you to your hotel. After lunch, visit the People's Park, which is the perfect way to observe the locals playing cards and ear-cleaning service. The Tea-house with endless refills. You are walking around Kuanzhai Alley, which is a back alley adjacent to the broad (Kuan) and narrow (Zhai) lanes. It offers a variety of Sichuan foods, stage shows, souvenirs.

Morning get up early to drive to Dujiangyan (40 minutes). Get into the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, walking across a bridge, and climb up the hill to see Taoist temples on the mountain. Then continue driving to Wolong Giant Panda Natural Reserve, situated in Weichuan county, Aba Tibet, and Qiang autonomous prefecture. It is 134 km away from Chengdu and neighbors city of Dujiangyan. Afterward, end today's tour to Siguniang Mountain, which is the high peak of the Qionglai Mount Range and also one of the highest peaks on the east part of Qinghai - Tibet Plateau. The sunset of the mountain varies thousands of kinds.

Get up early to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Siguniang Mountain and visit the Shuangqiao. After visiting, visit Jiaju Tibetan Residences. More than one hundred buildings keep the same architectural style with a complete and unique character of Gyarong (Jiarong) Tibetan residences. Under the blue sky, Tibetan residences decorated in red, white, and black are strewed at random but also in order from the bottom to the middle slope of the valley. Keep driving to Danba (1900 m), the most beautiful village in China. The local people are called Gyarong (Jiarong) Tibetans.

Morning you will pay a visit to Suopo Watchtowers. The watchtowers built with clay and stone are solid lofty columns with four, six, or even thirteen margins on the cross-section. These towers, with a height ranging from 100 to 200 feet (30 to 60 meters), have been established for more than a thousand years. Initially, they were used for exorcising demons. Later on, some were used to defend villagers from enemies while some maintained the original functions.

Afterwards, drive to next stop Tagong, and visit Huiyuan Temple in the excellent weather. Upon arrival, we will visit monastery Lhagang (Tagong Si), Peace Dharma (including Gyergo Nunnery of Nun Temple, Dashijing Wall). Enjoy the views of Mount Zhara Lhatse (5,820 m, also Jara or Yala) from Tagong. And enjoy the beautiful view of Golden Mountain at sunset.

Morning enjoys the magnificent view of Golden Mountain sunrise of the Mount Zhara Lhatse. After the delighted buffet, we will drive to Garze. Upon arrival, visit the Han-Chinese Monastery, which is a symbol of the integration of Chinese and Tibetan architecture, the combination of Chinese and Tibetan culture, and the unity of Chinese and Tibetan. The temple was built in 1274 AD and had a history of more than 700 years. It is the oldest ancient building in Garze.

In the morning, we will visit Garze Monastery; it has activities lasting for 20-30 minutes. Then we will drive to Yaqing Temple, located on wetlands, surrounded by snow-capped mountains (on Chuanxi Plateau), at an elevation of more than 3,800 meters. The temple is different from other Tibetan Buddhist temples, where most of the Buddhists are lama (Tibetan Buddhist monks), as nearly half of the Buddhists in Yaqing Temple. After visiting, drive back to Garze.

Garze is a beautiful city sitting in a basin surrounded by beautiful snow mountains. The snow peaks are Gods protecting this sacred land. And the Shwedagon monastery of Garz is well known because of the true friendship between Living Buddha Goeda and Red Army General Mr. Zhude.

Today your destination is Dege, the most critical Buddhism base of Tibetan Lamaism. Many of Buddhism Sections founded their refuge in Dege when Lang-Dar-Ma cruelly killed Buddhist in Tibet in the mid-century, a lot of monasteries were well reserved here, such as Dzogchen Monastery, Palpung monastery, Gartok Monastery, etc. 

Morning we will visit Dege Printing House (Dege Yinjingyuan), Gonchen monastery. The Dege Printing House, a culture treasure-house in the world, topping the three biggest Printing houses, the Key Cultural Relic under State-level Protection. The grand and solemn Painting House represents the distinct Tibetan temple building characteristic. Drive to Baiyu county and visit Baiyu Temple; see the panorama view from its opposite hillside.

We will drive to the Batang, which located in the bank of Jinshajiang River. Batang is a well-known supplier of good fruit in eastern Tibet. It was said that the apple had been planted by a foreign preacher firstly. And the Christian churches here are still well protected now. Home visits to Kangba Tibetan villages around Batang, taste ghee tea and have the opportunity to learn about Batang Xianzi dance and music

Today we will drive to Zuogong County via Mangkang County. Afterwards, you cross two high passes in this section of the drive, one at around 3,900 m(12,795 ft), the other is Dongdashan Mountain Pass at 5,008 m(16,430 ft). Driving past local Tibetan houses scattered around the feet of snow-capped peaks, the expressions on innocent Tibetan girls would make you realize that you are one of the first foreign visitors to this isolated region.

You will drive along the deep valleys of the Nu River (the Salween River), which is a long and tough journey, but your destination, the Ranwu Lake, is another Shangri-la, stay in the tent beside the Lake.

Drive 35KM to the old Zuogong, then drive along the Yuqu River to Kuatiantuo Bridge, continue the driving along Yuqu River to Bangda Grassland, and Yelashan Mountain(业拉山）at 4828M. Cross the Nujiang-Salween River, you will visit the Hengduan Mountain Ranges and arrive at Basu County. After lunch, continue the driving to Yuqu River and arrive in Anjiula（安久拉山） Mountain (4468M), arrive at Ranwu Lake in the late afternoon.

A drive of 305km would take us about 5 hours to Bomi. You will wander along the Poto-chu Valley at Tramog (2,743 m/8999 ft), located deep in the thickly forested gorge of Parlung Tsangpo with glacial waterfalls streaming from the mountainsides.

And visit Midui Glacier, located at Yupu Town, Bome County in Nyingchi, a typical maritime glacier in Tibet as well as the lowest glacier in the world with its snow line no more than 4,694 meters (15,400 feet) high. It lies at the junction of the Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains and Boshula Mountain, where maritime monsoon glaciers are mainly distributed.  You will go down several hundred meters in altitude as you reach the lowland jungle settlement of Tang-me where the Tsangpo and Parlung Tsangpo rivers meet. Overnight stay in Lulang town.

Drive across Serkhyem La Pass (4,515 m/14813 ft), the last major pass before reaching Lhasa. You will have spectacular views of Mount Gyala Pelri (7,150 m/23458 ft) and Mount Namchak Barwa (7,756 m/25446 ft). On the way to Nyingchi, you pass through Niyang River, one of the branch river of the Brahmaputra river, the local people, see it a mother river for Kongpo rigion. Drive to Basongtso for overnight stay

Drive across Serkhyem La Pass (4,515 m/14813 ft), the last major pass before reaching Lhasa. You will have spectacular views of Mount Gyala Pelri (7,150 m/23458 ft) and Mount Namchak Barwa (7,756 m/25446 ft). On the way to Nyingchi, you pass through Niyang River, one of the branch river of the Brahmaputra river, the local people, see it a mother river for Kongpo rigion. Drive to Basongtso for overnight stay

In Lhasa, you will find religion blended into every aspect of life - the city is the spiritual anchor of Tibet. 

Today we will visit the highest palace in the world - Potala Palace, which is the Dalai Lama's winter palace. It locates on the red hill, a good viewing point in Lhasa. In the afternoon, we will visit the renowned Jokhang Temple, which will provide us one of your first sights of devout Tibetans; furthermore, in the temple, we will see the glistening Sakyamuni statue which considered as Tibetan Buddhism's rarity. After then, you can also stroll around the bustling Barkhor Street.

Today is another day to explore Lhasa. We will climb the Palaupu Temple in Yaowang Mountain to have a panoramic view of the Potala Palace. Pay a visit to Norbulingka Palace, situated on the west side of Lhasa, is just around a km southwest of Potala Palace. Norbulingka meaning 'Treasure Park', which is considered to be the biggest human-made garden in Tibet. You will be amazed to know that there are more than 370 rooms inside its premises. It is called summer palace because, after the 7th Lama, Dalai Lamas used to visit here during summers to hold religious and government-related activities.

Then we will go to visit the Sera monastery, it is the best place where lively lama debating will be seen (except Sundays). Which is quite impressive. Many lamas sitting or standing in the yard debate a specific topic their teacher has given.

Today you will say goodbye to Lhasa, be transferred based on your flight or train schedule. Wish you a pleasant journey home!