Jim and Abu were out in Eastern Tibet’s backcountry earlier this month for some route development work. Sometimes it's hard to believe we get to call this work! This is what Jim had to say about the trip:
Due to an intriguing inquiry last fall from a group of 30 mountain bikers interested in an 8-day backcountry ride through Eastern Tibet, Abu and I spent a few days last week in the Kangding area checking our favourite routes and exploring a few new ones as well.
Some of the lower valleys were already being touched by spring as we enjoyed green meadows and the opportunity to see the trees just beginning to bud. This is one of our favourite routes that access the backside of Yala mountain, an alpine wonderland of peaks, forests, and tranquillity.
Despite a little bit of inclement weather, the most exciting discovery this time out was some ridge riding up around the Tagong area. After some hard work pedalling up over 4000m we were thrilled to find some fabulous single track formed by local traffic: yak, sheep, nomads, and motorcycles!
The great riding was complemented by distant views of both the Yala and Minya Konka (Gongga Mountain) mountain ranges. The only human encounter we had this day was a friendly chat with a local monk who was out in the hills herding his yaks.
A representative for this large group of riders flew into Kangding for a few days to see what we had to offer. For a guy representing a group looking for a week of fantastic riding with minimum encounters with civilization, he was not disappointed. We look forward to hosting this testosterone-heavy fraternity of riders in October this year!
Now that you’ve already decided to buy a ticket and take that trip to Tibet you’ve been daydreaming of, it’s time for you to plan out how long you’ll be staying in various cities and which places you’ll be visiting during your stay. Tibetan culture offers a lot of relics and monasteries to visit. Some of these must-see attractions during Tibet tours and travels are:
With its towering elevation and the treasures of Tibetan history, religion, culture and art it keeps, this majestic red and white palace is a true symbol of Tibetan Ancestry. This is considered as an iconic image as the Roof of the World, and inside you can find a number of precious sculptures, murals, Buddha statues, religious pieces of jewelry and antiques.
This destination is almost always included in most Tibet tours and travels, and visitation of the estate is limited to one hour per group in order to preserve and protect the building.
Pilgrims from different parts of Tibet visit this temple and consider it as their spiritual central point. They pray in front of their temple and then circle the temple clockwise.
Wearing their authentic red robes, the monks gather at the monastery’s courtyard every afternoon. During this gathering, the monks debate on various subjects and use a number of interesting gestures, some of whom even jump to give emphasis to their point. A number of tourists find this unusual gathering quite interesting to observe.
If you’re looking for a scenic view that can blow your mind, then make sure to put Lake Yamdrok on that itinerary. During clear days, the lake takes on a warm shade of turquoise. Within the vicinity of the lake, Tibetan villages and scenic fields of yaks can be seen.
If you travel from Lhasa, getting to the lake will take about 2 hours to drive towards the direction of Shigatse. You can spend half a day near the lake to take pictures or enjoy the tranquillity it brings. Make sure to plan your visit to the lake only from April to October since the road to the lake is closed for the rest of the year due to snow and ice.
This scenic view is many traveller’s dream and the trek above is many a hiker’s desire. It has an altitude of 5,200 meters and is not advised for faint-hearted folks.
If you wish to avoid the hassle of organizing which places you’ll be visiting and how much time to spend per destination, you can always get in touch with a Tibet travel agency and adhere to the mapped-out plan for the trip they can provide.