Daocheng travel and Daocheng tour
Introduction of Daocheng tour
Daocheng, located on the southeast of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the east of Hengduan Mountains, is a county on the southwest border of Sichuan, China. This county, subordinated to the Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, extends, across 27o58'-29o30' north latiudes and 99o56'-100o36' east longitudes, 174km from the south to the north and 63km from the west to the east.Daocheng Travel Day 1 Chengdu-Kangding
We will meet you at the airport and begin our journey to Kangding directly. Kangding, a former outpost on the trade route to Tibet, is a fairly large city tucked within a river valley. The sidewalks of Kangding are crowded with Hui, Chinese Muslims, and Tibetans who have come down from the highlands to sell wild mushrooms, vegetables, yak skins and various paraphernalia. Today's drive will take approximately 6 hours (360km).
Daocheng Travel Day 2 Kangding- Litang
We'll have an early start today so we can have more time to explore this picturesque remote Tibetan town of Daocheng. At an altitude of just over 4000m, this is one of the highest towns in the world (Lhasa is 3700m). Situated high on a grassy plateau, Litang has the feel of a rough and tumble 'Wild West' town. Khampas - dressed in yak skin coats, bedecked in colorful necklaces and hair ornaments, long daggers hanging from their belts - from the surrounding areas amble into town to stock up on food and supplies, play pool on the streets and hang out in the local teahouses. This small town is great for people watching and just strolling around. In our intinerary, we will also visit the famous Chang-Qing-Chun-Ke'er-Si monastery and pay homage to the living Buddha with a personal interview. The monastery here is now home to 1400 Yellow Hat sect monks. Once a hotbed of Tibetan dissent, this monastery was destroyed in the 1950s but has since been completely rebuilt. Today's journey from Kangding to Litang will take us approximately 5 hours (306km).
Daocheng Travel Day 3 Litang-Daocheng -Yading
Today we will reach the highlight of this intinerary, - 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.
Daocheng Travel Day 4 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. Chanadorje. We'll pass piles of mani stones by the side of the pathway and at the base of the Reserve's most stunning vistas. We'll also visit Tshonggo Gonpa (Chonggu 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 will continue our hike to the foot of Mt Chenresig, where 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. Chanadorje and spend the night in a tent hotel.
Daocheng Travel Day 5 Yading -Daocheng
We will spend the morning doing a shorter hike or horseride around the reserve. In the afternoon we'll drive back to Daocheng where we'll spend the night.
Daocheng Travel Day 6 Daocheng-Xiangcheng-Zhongdian
Today we will take a long (5 hours, 290km) but scenic drive to Zhongdian (3,300m, 10,000 ft), a small town on the Tibetan Plateau.
Daocheng Tour Day 7 Zhongdian
Today we will 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. The Bita Lake is also our program in our intinerary.
Transfer to the airport then flight, free in the afternoon.