Arrive in Chengdu
We will meet you at the airport in Chengdu. The afternoon is left open for you to either take a rest or stroll around the city to buy souvenirs or necessities. Chengdu is a prosperous and lively metropolis famous for its delicious spicy food and attractive tea houses.

Chengdu to Caoke
The 400km journey from Chengdu to Caoke will take you through rolling countryside. Over the Erlang Mountain and across the Dadu River, we will finally arrive in Caoke, where we will start our trek the next day.

 

 

Caoke to Daping
We will have an early start to begin our 7-hour trek to Daping 2,900 m/9,514 ft), our first stop. The trail will offer you a spectacular view of the canyons and Dawan River.

Daping to Hongshitan
Today's trek to Hongshitan (3,200 m/10,499 ft) will be the hardest one during this trip; we will climb over a series of steep hills but this would be compensated by the view of beautiful emerald lakes below.

Hongshitan to Mogangling
We will slow down our pace as the trek through fir spruce forests increases in altitude. The vast expanse of meadow in Mongangling (3,500 m/11,483 ft), surrounded by snow-capped peaks, typifies the natural beauty of the western Sichuan Plateau.

Mogangling to Gongga Monastery
We will have a relatively short hike up to the Gongga Monastery (4,100 m/13,451 ft), a stop-over for Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims.

Gongga Monastery to Liuba
Once we leave the monastery, the path becomes less rugged and the climb less harsh. As we walk along the mountain ridge, we will come across small Tibetan villages and farms, and eventually, a gentle stream that marks our arrival at Liuba, the final point in this trek.

 

 

Liuba/ Litang
Sit back, stretch your legs and enjoy the view of the snow-capped mountains while we make our way to the town of Litang by bus.

Litang/Daocheng / Yading
Today we will reach another highlight of this journey - Yading nature reserve, home of three sacred Tibetan mountains - Chenresig (Avalokitesvara, 6032m), Jambeyang (Manjusri, 5958m), and Chanadorje (Vajrapani, 5958m). Tibetan Buddhists believe that making a kora (pilgrimage) around these mountains brings great merit, and that the three mountains represent compassion, wisdom and energy - attributes one must cultivate on the path to enlightenment. The scenery here easily rivals that of national parks of the west such as Yellowstone and Yosemite in terms of spectacular, pristine mountain scenery. The drive from Litang to Daocheng will take approximately 4 hours (180km), and the trip from Daocheng to Yading (60km) will take approximately 3 hours as much of the road to the park is dirt track. We will spend the night in tent hotel.

Hiking or horseriding in Yading
From the reserve entrance we will traverse a beautiful wooded pathway leading to a valley set at the foot of the spectacular Mt. Xiaridorji and Yangmaiyong. After two hours hiking we will first stop at the Tshonggo Gonpa (Chuanzhu Si in Chinese) - a small Tibetan temple, which Joseph Rock nicknamed 'Bandit Monastery.' (Joseph Rock, a botanist and explorer, conducted extensive explorations of northwest China and Tibet for Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology and National Geographic in 1924.) . We'll pass piles of mani stones by the side of the pathway and at the base of the Reserve's most stunning vistas. Stay in the tent at the valley of two great snow mountain, the next morning is free for you to enjoy the terrific view of the snow mountain in early sun-rising and explore the valley of heaven. After lunch, We will continue our hike back to Tshonggo Gonpa at the foot of Mt Chenresig(Xianlairi in Chinese), we'll ascend a small but steep hill to view a beautiful mountaintop emerald green lake. Local lore has it that this magical lake can reveal your future if you spend a few moments in quiet contemplation by its side. We'll return to the meadow at the foot of Mt. Xianlairi and spend the night in a tent .

 

 

Yading/Daocheng
We will spend the morning doing a shorter hike around the reserve. In the afternoon we'll drive back to Daocheng where we'll spend the night.

Daocheng/Xiangcheng/Zhongdian
We will take a long but scenic drive to Zhongdian (3,300m, 10,000 ft), a small town on the Tibetan Plateau. Stay in Zhongdian.

Zhongdian
In the early morning, we will visit Napaihai Lake about 10 km out of the town, beautiful in morning's fog, after breakfast visit Ganden Sumsanlin monastery, the largest monastery in Yunnan, built in the 17th century. This impressive monastery was established under the instruction of the 5th Dalai Lama, and is home to over 700 monks. Visit Shuduhu Lake in the afternoon.