Danba home stay / Labrang monastery / bag made of yak skin in Maqu

nomad man / group goes horse riding / traditional handicrafts in Kuang and Zhuai ancient streets

Itinerary:
Day 1: We start our tour in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province. The Wenshu temple is the largest and best preserved Buddhist temple in Chengdu. It is dedicated to Wenshu, God of Wisdom. The temple was founded in 700, but rebuilt in 1691. The complex has 5 main halls, these stem from the time of rebuilding in the Ming dynasty. It attracts many devoutees and tourists from all over China, but despite all that, Wenshu is a sereen and devout place. The temple also has a great teahouse. After Wenshu we visit the ancient Kuang and Zhai streets, which show you the old Chengdu. even though the alleys are abit touristy, the athmosphere is nice and it gives a good impression of the old style houses andlanes. Many vendors sell folk art and candy figures on sticks. This is a very nice place for a leisurely stroll.
Day 2: This morning we drive about 4 hours through the beautiful mountains to reach Wolong, home of the Giant panda. We spend the afternoon looking at the panda's and admiring their cuteness. We also visit the 'baby' department of the reserve.
Day 3: Today we cross the Balang mountain pass (4550 m) and we also enjoy the beautiful scenery of Siguniang Mountains. After driving for about 7 hours, we arrive in Danba and see the amazing Danba watchtowers. These old towers stand on the hill overlooking the river below. The towers were originally used to warn the villagers of invaders and also to pass messages between different villages. The tallest tower measures 60 meters in height. Tonight we stay in the home of a friendly Danba family. The home is beautifully decorated and very comfortable.
Day 4: Zamtang monastery is one of the original monasteries, belonging to the old Jonangpa sect. During the 17th century, this sect was changed to Gelukpa sect.
Day 5: Today we drive about 200 km to Aba. The people here are mainly Gyarong Tibetans. The people here speak their own dialect, very different from Amdo or Kham. The women wear beautifyully embroidered head scarves. The people have a nomadic lifestyle. Many yaks and sheep can be seen drinking from the rivers. The landscape is really amazing. There are 52 important monasteries in Aba county and today we visit the Kirti Gompa (Gelugpa) and a Langyi Bon religion monastery. This monastery is one of the largest monasterie sin Aba, more than 1000 monks reside here. It is basically the center of the town. The Langyi monastery is a Bon monastery. The Bon religion is started from Tibet at least 6000 years ago and it is therefore considered to be the real indiginous religion of Tibet.
Day 6: The Narshi monastry is the largest Bon monastry in Tibet with around 800 monks. In the bon monasteries, the art and statues are quite different from other buddhists sects. Both the Narshi monastery & Topgyel monastery and situated close to each other, and in these monasteries you can feel the true, authentic Tibetan life.
Day 7 and day 8: These are very nice days driving throught the grasslands. On these vast grasslands you will see herds of yaks and sheep, and you will enjoy 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 the Tibetan staple food consisting of ground barley mixed with butter and boiling water. Also you can taste the delicious Tibetan yak milk tea. You can easily spent the whole day roaming around the grasslands, enjoying the scenery and the beautifully dressed Tibetan nomads.
Day 9: 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 10 :First we will visit Hezuo to admire the nine floor Milarepa temple. Inside are beautifully hand painted decorations of Tibetan Buddhist gods and deities. On the way to Langmusi you can see small nomadic villages on both sides of the road. We will arrive in Langmusi at the end of the afternoon.
Day 11: 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 12: Drive from Langmusi to Songpan. On the way you will stop several times for some short hiking trips and other scenic stops.
Day 13 : Whole day horse riding trip in the beautiful mountains surrounding Songpan. The horses are tame but the slopes are sometimes quite steep. You will get special horse guides to help you. Today a lunch usually consisting of noodle soup is included.
Day 14: Drive from Songpan to Chengdu airport or train station.

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