Nam tso Lake / Tristu temple / Golden Summit of Emei shan

Dege woman with prayer wheel / stupa on the way from Riwoqe to Dengqen / yak

Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive at Chengdu airport. You will be picked up by our driver and sent to your hotel in Chengdu.

Day 2: Chengdu to Leshan (150 km). In the afternoon you will have the opportunity to visit the Grand Buddha.

Day 3: Leshan to Emeishan (25 km). This mountain is a holy mountain, ruled by Samanthabadra. We start visiting the mountain with a look at the Baoguo temple at the bottom of the mountain. In this actively used temple we can see many pilgrims offering incense and fruit to the Buddha. We then take the park bus to the Wannian temple. This temple is the oldest temple on the mountain. There are many monkeys in this area, and it is a good place for hiking.

Day 4: Emeishan to Kangding (210 km). Kangding is called Darbo in Tibetan and this is already the beginning of the Tibetan area, even though you have not yet reached the province of Tibet. Many people from Kham come here to do their shopping. You will see the mighty Gongga Shan with an altitude of 7556 meters towering over the town.

Day 5: Kangding to Luhuo (211 km). The landscape today is spectacular, with vast expanses of grasslands dotted with Tibetan tents and surrounded by snow-capped peaks.

Day 6: 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 7: 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 8: 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 9: 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 10: 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 11: Chamdo to Riwoqe (50 km). Near Riwoqe, you will visit the Tsajima Temple, the oldest temple in Kham, built in 1285. This temple is famous for its high quality collection of Buddha images and scriptures.

Day 12: 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 13: 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 14: 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 15: 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 16: Spent the day in Lhasa visit the Potala palace, Jokhang and Ramoqe temples.

Day 17: To Sera and Drepung monasteries, just outside of Lhasa.

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