Langmusi grasslands / monks of Labrang monastery / Milarepa temple in Hezuo
AMDO 2: LANZHOU - XIAHE -LANGMUSI / 7 DAYS |
Langmusi grasslands / monks of Labrang monastery / Milarepa temple in Hezuo
| Day | Daily schedule | Overnight in |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Transfer from Lanzhou to Xiahe | Xiahe |
| 2 | Visit the Labrang monastery | Xiahe |
| 3 | Visit the Sangke grasslands | Xiahe |
| 4 | Visit Milarepa temple in Hezuo, continue to Langmusi | Langmusi |
| 5 | Visit Daceng Lhamo lamasery, go hiking in gorge | Langmusi |
| 6 | Hiking in Langmusi, afternoon back to Xiahe | Xiahe |
| 7 | Drive back to Lanzhou |
view of Langmusi / monk / stupa in Labrang monastery
Included |
* English speaking guide for days 2,3, 4,5,6 * car for above itinerary * 4 nights hotel in Xiahe * 2 nights hotel in Langmusi |
|---|---|
Excluded |
* entrance fees * meals |
Price |
Price for 2 persons: RMB 6150 per person/ Price for 4 people: RMB 4300 per person. Special group rates are available on request. (Price will be higher during the Chinese holidays: 1-7 May and 1-7 October.) Calculate exchange rate |
Best travel time |
May-October |
Remarks |
Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival in Lanzhou and transfer to Xiahe. You will be picked up from Lanzhou airport or train station and transferred to Xiahe. This takes about 5 hours, including a stop in Linxia for bite to eat. Around Lanzhou, we can see many houses made of earth and the mountains are dry and brown. After three hours driving, we come into the beautiful green mountains of Xiahe.
Day 2: Today you will visit the Labrang Monastery. This is the largest Tibetan monastery outside of Tibet province. It houses more than 2000 monks from the Yellow Hat tradition and there are 6 schools of Buddhist teachings. In the morning you will join in with the monastery tour. A monk from the monastery guides this tour in English. In the afternoon, our guide will take you to see the printing temple where the sutras are still printed by using wooden blocks. We also climb up the Golden Stupa for a bird's eye view of the whole complex.
Day 3 : Today you will explore the grasslands around Xiahe where nomad families live in tents. When invited in their homes you simply can't refuse the infamous Tibetan yak milk tea and barley "tsampa". The grasslands are also a beautiful area for hiking. In summertime the flowers are like a carpet on the meadows.
Day 4 :First we will visit Hezuo to admire the nine floor Milarepa temple. Inside are beautifully hand painted decorations of Tibetan Buddhist gods and deities. We will arrive in Langmusi at the end of the afternoon.
Day 5: In Langmusi the ancient Tibetan custom of sky burials is still practiced. Sky burials are now limited only to a very small area in Tibet and are a rare sight nowadays. The town of Langmusi is situated partly in Gansu province, and partly in Sichuan province, divided only by a small river. Therefore this small town has two monasteries, one in each province. We will first visit the sky burial site and from there go to the Daceng Lhamo monastery on the Gansu side of town. In the afternoon we go hiking through a beautiful gorge where you can see many eagles and vultures soaring above your head. .
Day 6: In the morning you can hike in the hills surrounding Langmusi and in the afternoon we will drive back to Xiahe, this time through the grasslands to enjoy the spectacular scenery for the very last time.
Day 7: Today we leave behind the Tibetan culture with its strong buddhist overtones, its incredibly friendly people, exotic incense filled air and stunning mountains .