Yunnan and Tibet by SUV
Traveling by airplane into Lhasa is one thing, ascending to altitudes over 5,000 meters above sea level, crossing majestic mountains of Yunnan and Tibet in a 4 x 4 SUV is quite another!
Tibet by SUV is an extraordinary tour. Driving up through high mountain passes, dropping down to lush green valleys, gushing gorges, deep canyons, ancient glaciers, picturesque landscape, encountering the most distinct local cultures; this trip is a travel adventure for the senses and a photographer’s wonderland.
The Yunnan/Tibet SUV tour is classified as a semi-adventure tour. It is not a typical China tour. A reasonable level of fitness is recommended for this trip as some walking and light hiking is involved. During some days, altitudes as high as 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) will be reached. At these heights, oxygen level decreases and therefore breathing will be more strenuous. You will however become acclimatize to the environment shortly. Individuals with high blood pressure and heart conditions should consult a doctor before taking such a trip. Acquiring travel insurance before the trip is recommended.
Itinerary – 13 Days/12Nights Kunming (1N), Dali (1N), Lijiang (2N) & Shangri-La (1N),Deqin (1N), Mengkang (1N),Basium (1N),Bomi (1N),Linzhi (1N),Lhasa (3N)
Key: B = Breakfast L = Lunch D = Dinner SD = Special Dinner N = Nights
Day 01 Arrive Kunming (SD)
Upon arrival you will be greeted and transferred to your hotel. In the evening, enjoy the best show in town of ethnic minority song and dance extravaganza and delicious dinner of Yunnan local cuisine.
Day 02 Kunming – Lijiang (B/L/D)
Today, you will visit Kunming’s most famous site - The Stone Forest; an extremely rare geological phenomenon dating back to 270 million years ago. It is a collection of gray limestone formations of all sizes, split by rain water and eroded to their present fanciful forms. Visit a minority village of Yi in the afternoon. In the evening, you will take a flight to Lijiang.
Day 03 Lijiang (B/L/D)
Your day starts with a visit to Yak Meadow, a plateau of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain where you will take a chair-lift and soak in a panoramic view of the snow capped mountains. Visit the Baisha Fresco, dating back to the Ming Dynasty and the Yuhu Village, which to some extent resembles the past Lijiang. Enjoy the Naxi Classical Music Show in the evening.
Day 04 Lijiang – Shangri-L (B/L/D)
After breakfast at hotel, journey begins through forest reserves alongside the extreme upper reaches of the Yangtze River which brings you to Shangri-La, a peaceful and quite land situated at 3,200 meters above sea level. You will visit Shigu Town, the First Bend of the Yangtze River and Tiger Leaping Gorge on the way. Approximately 196km driving distance with be covered in around 5 hours.
Day 05 Shangri-La – Deqin (B/L/D)
After breakfast, we begin the 5-hour drive to Deqin which is about 184km in length. On the way, visit Napahai Lake, 3270 m above sea level. It is approximately 8 kilometers northwest of Shangri-La; a valley surrounded on three sides by mountains which are covered in snow during winter and spring time. In the afternoon, visit Dongzhulin Monastery and appreciate sunset at Meili Snow Mountain - a grand virgin mountain still unconquered by mountaineers.
Day 06 Deqin – Mengkang (B/L/D)
For the avid photographer, have your cameras ready and experience a spectacular sunrise of Meili Snow Mountain. It has 13 peaks whose average height is 6,000 meters above sea level, named Taizi Shisan Feng, which means 13 princes peaks. Among them, Kagebo is the highest peak in Yunnan Province, 6,740 meters above sea level.
After breakfast, we visit Feilai Temple and then drive to Ming Yong glacier. Ming Yong Glacier sits at the foot of Kagebo Peak and looks like a long piece of white silk. Running from 5,500 meters down to 2,700 meters, only 800 meters above Lan Cang River, Ming Yong is one of the few low altitude glaciers in the world. There is a 40km ride between Deqin and Ming Yong Village, and then you can walk or rent a horse to get to the glacier.
Departing Ming Yong Glacier, we travel along the north of Mekong River valley into Tibet. Along the way, we may be able to see the peaks of Kawagebo mountain range on a clear day. Once into Tibet, our first stop will be in the town of Yanjing, meaning “salt well”, once the main source of salt for half of the Kham Tibetan area, which ranged from northwestern Sichuan down into Yunnan. We will visit the salt fields and visit the one and only Catholic church (known as “Yerkalo”), in the whole of the Buddhism dominated Tibet Autonomous Region. Upper Yanjing has a population of 900 villagers, 600 of whom are Catholics. When Catholics from other areas are included, the church boasts 740 parishioners, compared to 342 when the church was first founded over 100 years ago.
The next stop is at the hot springs, where each of us could pick our own natural hot bath overlooking the Mekong. Certainly the best way to relax our body for the adventure ahead! Total driving length of about 223km will be covered in 7-9 hours.
Day 07 Mengkang – Basium (B/L/D)
From Mengkang to Basium, we will cross two high passes in this section of the drive, one at around 3,900m (12,795ft), the other at 5,008m (16,430ft). Driving past local Tibetan houses scattered round the feet of snow-capped peaks, the expressions on innocent Tibetan girls would make you realize that you are one of the first foreign visitors to this isolated region. Then we will drive along the deep valleys of the Nujiang River (or the Salween River) to Ranwu.
The Salween River rises in Tibet, after which it flows through Yunnan, where it is known as the Nujiang river (meaning angry river), although either name can be used for the whole river. The river is 2815 km long. It then leaves China and meanders through Myanmar (where it is known as the Thanlwin) and Thailand on its way to emptying in the Andaman Sea by Mawlamyaing (Moulmien).
The river passes through deep gorges and is often called China's Grand Canyon. The Salween is navigable for only 89 kilometers from its mouth, and then only in the summer rainy season.
It is home to over 7,000 species of plants and 80 rare or endangered animals and fish. UNESCO said this region "may be the most biologically diverse temperate ecosystem in the world" and designated it a World Heritage Site in 2003.
The Nu people, one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, are named after this river. The 380km traveling distance today will take around 8-10 hours.
Day 08 Basium – Ranwu – Bomi (B/L/D)
Today, we travel along the deep valleys of the Nu River (the Salween River) to Ranwu; our destination, Ranwu Lake is a spectacularly crystal blue lake cupped by snow peaks.
We continue along the Poto-chu Valley at Tramog (2,743 m/8999 ft), located deep in the thickly forested Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon with glacial waterfalls streaming from the mountainsides. We will go down several hundred meters in altitude as we reach the lowland jungle settlement of Tang-me where the Tsangpo and Yarlung Tsangpo rivers meet.
The Yarlung Tsangpo River originates in the Jima Yangzong glacier near Mount Kailash in the northern Himalayas. It then flows east for about 1700 Km, at an average height of 4000 m, and is thus the highest of the major rivers in the world. At its easternmost point, it bends around Mt. Namcha Barwa, and forms the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon which is considered the deepest in the world.
Today’s destination is Bomi; a county of the Nyingchi Prefecture in the south-east of the Tibet Autonomous Region which is around 237km in length and takes about 6-7 hours drive.
Day 09 Bomi – Linzhi (Bayi) (B/L/D)
Today’s drive is long, yet scenic. Travel through the lush green forest along the Yarlung Tsangpo River. Weather permits, you will have an unobstructed view of the majestic NamJiabawa peak.
Namcha Barwa is a mountain in the Tibetan Himalaya. It forms the eastern anchor of the Himalayan chain, and is the easternmost mountain in the world over 7600m.
Namcha Barwa is located in the Nyingchi Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. It sits inside the "Great Bend" of the Tsangpo River, the main river of southeastern Tibet. This is a very obscure region, rarely visited by outsiders. Its sister peak Gyala Peri (also over 7000m) lies across the Tsangpo to the north.
In addition to its role as the eastern anchor of the Himalayas, Namcha Barwa is notable for its great local relief. It towers over the Tsangpo gorge, which curves from the west, through the north, and then to the east side of the mountain. For example, the drop from the summit to the river on the east side is 6800m in about 30km.
Also, between 1976 and its first ascent in 1992, Namcha Barwa was the highest unclimbed independent mountain in the world. After 6-7 hours drive over 240km, we will arrive in Bayi in Linzhi Prefecture, the largest Tibetan town we will have reached at this point.
Day 10 Linzhi – Lhasa (B/L/D)
Today, we will drive 420km to visit the Lamaling monastery which an important monastery in Ningchi, then to Lhasa with visit on the way to the first Gelupa Monastery “Garden Monastery”. Driving time will be around 7-8 hours.
Day 11 Lhasa (B/L/D)
Your tours in this “Sacred Place of Buddha” start with the golden-roofed Jokhang Monastery – one of Tibet’s holiest shrines. It is a four-story building in the Tang style, but also incorporates features of Nepalese and Indian architecture. Then stroll around the Barkhor Street, the traditional lifestyle and commercial centre in appearance of Lhasa’s old city district. It preserved with the stone houses, man-laid roads. In the afternoon visit the Potala Palace, once the center of the Tibetan government and winter residence of the Dalai Lama as well as the most imposing attraction of Lhasa. It was built on the Red Mountain in the centre of the Lhasa valley, at an altitude of 3,700 meters. The splendid Potala Palace is a great achievement of Tibetan architectural art which also amalgamates the skills of artisans of the Han, Mongolian and Manchu nationalities.
Day 12 Lhasa (B/L/D)
Your tour today includes Norbulingka that used to be the summer palace of the Dalai Lama, the Drepung Monastery – the largest in the world, and the Sera Monastery, a typical of Tibetan architecture. It lies at the foot of a mountain on the northern outskirts of Lhasa. Covering an area of 114,964 square meters, the structure is composing, picturesque in disorder, and splendid in green and gold.
Day 13 Depart Lhasa (B)
You will be transferred to the airport for your onward flight.
Price per person in $US
2 up = 2 or more persons; *S/S = Single Supplement is the surcharge of a single person occupying a room
City |
Hotel |
Season |
Superior |
Superior |
2 Up |
S/S |
Kunming |
Kai Wah Plaza
***** |
Apr – Jun, 08 |
3440 |
560 |
Lijang |
Guanfang Villa
**** |
Shangri-La |
Holy Palace
**** |
Deqin |
Rainbow
**** |
Mengkang |
Mengkang Guest House
**** |
Jul - Oct , 08 |
4128 |
672 |
Basium |
QiXiang Guest House
**** |
Bomi |
ZI Zuan
**** |
Linzhi |
Bayi Little Swan
*** ** |
Lhasa |
Tibet
***** |
