Chamdo monastery / on the road from Riwoqe to Dengqen / Tibetan boy

on the road from Sog Xian to Nagqu in winter / Temple of Heaven, Beijing/ Amdo nomad family

Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive at Beijing Capital Airport. You will be picked up by our driver and transferred to your hotel in Beijing.

Day 2: Guided tour to see the marvelous Forbidden City and Tian An Men square. After lunch we will go to the Temple of Heaven, an architectural feat from the Ming dynasty, built without the use of nails.

Day 3: Guided tour to see the Summer Palace, built in honor of Empress-dowager CiXi. After that we will see the Lama temple, a Buddhist temple built in a mix of Tibetan,. Mongolian and Han styles.

Day 4: Flight from Beijing to Lanzhou and transfer to Xiahe (225 km). The landscape changes dramatically from the desert dry mountains around Lanzhou to the green mountains of Xiahe. On the way you can see many small villages.

Day 5: Stay in Xiahe. Today you will visit the grand Labrang monastery This monastery is one of the great monasteries of the Gelukpa Yellow Hat sect. It was founded by Tsongkhapa and has been further developed by living Buddha's and monks. It has grown to included six major "zhacangs" or colleges. With 108 monasteries under its jurisdiction, this monastery is the center of the Gelukpa tradition. The fame of Labrang draws pious pilgrims from near and far. In its heyday, it housed about 5000 monks, at this moment more than 2000 monks reside in this monastery.

Day 6: Xiahe to Langmusi (190 km). This day you will drive through the spectacular Sangke grasslands. On these vast grasslands you will see herds of yaks and sheep. Also you will stop several times on the grasslands to enjoy the spectacular scenery and take some short hiking trips. You will also be able to visit a nomad tent, where you will surely be invited for some tsampa, which is Tibetan staple food consisting of ground barley mixed with butter and boiling water. Also you can taste the delicious Tibetan yak milk tea.

Day 7:Langmusi to Barkam (438 km, good road). On the way you will pass the Flower Lake where you can see the Black Neck Crane and other birds. There are thousands of yaks and sheep around the lake, where many nomad families stay. After Zoige you can visit an area of 108 stupas and more than 1000 square meters of prayer flags. These prayer flags are draped like an umbrella, and this is very specific of this area and the only place where you can see this.

Day 8: Barkam to Danba (200 km). Danba is a stunning Tibetan village and it is called "the second most beautiful village in China" by the Chinese Tourism Board. Around Danba there are several strange looking watch towers, in the old days intended for defending the Danba region. From Danba town you have a view of the steep mountains across the valley. On top of these sheer cliffs, there is a village. Since there is no real road, the villagers climb down once a month by ropes to do their shopping. In Danba you have Home stay in a beautifully local decorated house.

Day 9: Danba to Luhuo (190 km). Luguo is the start of the Kham region and the Kham people are different from other Tibetan people. There are few tourists in this remote area, and many Kham people have never seen tourists before. The people in this area are quite wild looking, but they are very good natured!

Day 10: Luhuo to Ganzi (80 km). Today you can visit Ganzi monastery, one of the biggest Tibetan Buddhist Gelupa tradition monasteries of the Kham area. The monastery was built in 1662 by the fifth Dalai Lama and was called "Ganze Tashi Nor Buleng", meaning "beauty and white pure fulfilling gem monastery". The monastery consists of many different halls, which can all be visited.

Day 11: Ganzi via Maniganggo to Dege (222 km). Just after Maniganggo you will visit the Lhamu Namtso Lake, surrounded by rock mountains covered with snow. After that, you will pass the Dege Chola, a 6168 meter high snow mountain from which you have wonderful views of the valleys and surrounding mountains.

Day 12: Stay in Dege. Dege means "peaceful land" in Tibetan and in Dege you will visit the Printing Monastery It was founded in1729 and is one of the three largest Tibetan ancient cultural centers. In the yard there are more than 320.000 printing plates, and almost all of the more than 1000 Tibetan monasteries get their scripture books from this Dege printing monastery It is regarded as the center of Tibetan culture because of its largeness. It has actually the most comprehensive collection of printed scriptures, since it prints out scriptures of all the different traditions within Tibetan buddhism.

Day 13: Dege to Jomda (110 km). Today you will pass the border of Sichuan province and Tibet province over the Gangtuo bridge. This area is famous for its wild red deer, maybe you will be lucky enough to see some. Near Jomda, you can visit the Wala monastery.

Day 14: Jomda to Chamdo (169 km). In Chamdo you can visit the Jampaling Temple, built in 1444. The main buildings of the temple are preserved very well. Hundreds of different images of Buddha and great lamas, more than 1000 square meters of frescoes and countless tangkhas can be seen in this temple. This is a culture and art treasure house in Kham.

Day 15: Chamdo to Riwoqe (50 km). Near Riwoqe, you will visit the Riwo Gompa, the oldest temple in Kham, built in 1285. This temple is famous for its high quality collection of Buddha images and scriptures.

Day 16: Riwoqe to Dengqen (168 km). 25 km after Riwoqe, you will stop to visit the unique pagodas in Khamador. It is said that there were 108 pagodas in the past, now there are around 25. Just before the pagodas, there is a row of water powered prayer wheels. Another stop on the way today is the Tritsu temple (37 km before Dengqen). This is a Bon tradition temple, which still has many believers and intact religious rites. It is 4800 meters above sea level and has several meditation houses on the peaks of rock formations.

Day 17: Dengqen to Sog Xian (204 km). In Sog Xian there is a "second Potala" monastery but due to existing rules, tourists are not allowed inside the monastery You can, however, see this stunning monastery from the outside.

Day 18: Sog Xian to Nagqu (162 km). On you way you will drive through absolutely beautiful grasslands. This is the nomadic area of Lhasa. In summer you can lots of yaks and sheep and many nomad tents dot the landscape. Nagqu is the business center for all things a Tibetan family needs such as yak butter, yak cheese, yak skins and so on. Also all kinds of things made from sheep are available here. It is an interesting place to stroll around and look around in the shops.

Day 19: Nagqu to Lhasa (443 km good road).
On the way you will visit the Nam Tso lake, a holy lake for Tibetans. In summer, many nomads put up their tents around the lake and you can see people burning incense and praying at the very small temple built close to the lake side. At this lake, Tibetan people throw longthas in the air, these are small prayer papers to pray for a happy life.

Day 20: Spent the day in Lhasa visit the Potala palace, Jokhang and Ramoqe temples.

Day 21: To Sera and Drepung monasteries, just outside of Lhasa.

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