Itinerary:
Day 0: Chengdu
Arrive in Chengdu. Overnight hotel.
Day 1: Chengdu to Laoyulin
We will drive 7 hours to Laoyulin village, the starting point of our trek. We will spend rest of the day resting in the village to get used to the high altitude. Overnight camp. (3,200m)
Day 2: Laoyulin to Shuangchahe
From Laoyulin we will meet our chef, stablemen and lovely horses. Those horses will carry our gears the whole trek. After breakfast we will take our time hiking up about 3-4 hours to adjust ourselves to the altitude. From Dacaoba, we will trek three more hours to Shuangchahe, the conjunction of two streams. At Shuangchahe, we will catch the spectatular sunset. Overnight camp (3,928m/12,883ft)
Day 3: Over Panpan Mountain Pass
Our trek today is about 5-6 hours.
Firstly, we will ascend 3 hours to Chijituo, a flat field on the mountain. After a picnic lunch, we will continue ascending to Panpa Mountain Pass (4,500m/14,310feet), which is the lowest mountain pass leading to Minya Konka from Kangding. After the mountain pass, we will descend to the valley near Panpan Mountain and camp there. (4,100m/13,448ft)
Day 4: Panpan Mountain to Yulongxi
Our trek today is about 5-6 hours.
Yulongxi, the Tibetan name of the valley, is very fertile grassland in the huge mountain. We will start our trek from the campsite at the foot of Panpan Mountain, and then walk along the valley to Yulongxi. In the afternoon, we will get to Yulongxi and camp there. (3,900m/12,792ft)
Day 5: Yulongxi to Riqiegou
Today, we will continue hiking towards south along the valley with snow-capped mountains lining up to our left. Gradually, we will head towards the forest. Camp in Riqiegou. (3,300m/10,824ft)
Day 6: Riqiegou to Minya Konka Monastery
Today we will hike along Bu Chu (Bu River in Tibetan), which flows along the valley and our route as well. After 4-5 hours or so the path begins to rise steadily, with some short steeper sections. In the afternoon, we get to Minya Konka Monastery, which has a history of more than 500 hundred years and is considered a holy place by the Minya Tibetans who inhabit this area of Sichuan. Minya Konka Monastery was founded by Rolpyi Dorjee, the spiritual instructor of the Kagyu School. Monks (Trapa) are rotated between the Gompa here and a new sister Gompa established in the 1980s over the Zimei pass with road access. There are many tales linked to Minya Konka; spiritual leader Sakya Gunga Gyaltaen claimed that you could look at the sacred mountain and see the color of your karma. Overnight in Minya Konka Monastery (3,675m/12,055ft)
Day 7: Minya Konka Monastery to Zimei
We will enjoy some leisure time in the morning. In the afternoon we will take 2 hours trek only to Zimei village, eastern Tibet's most picturesque village. A handful of Tibetan families live here in huge stone houses. We will stay overnight in the village with friendly locals. (3,480m/11,415ft)
Day 8: Zimei to Shangmuju via Zimei Pass
A largely uphill walk from Zimei to Zimei Pass (4,600m/15,300 feet) will be our main focus of the day. The top of Zimei Pass is a fine vantage point from which all the mountains of eastern Tibet can be viewed. After crossing over the Pass, go downhill along the river and arrive at Shangmuju Village in 3hrs, where the trekking part ends. Overnight in the village. (3,700m/12,200ft)
Day 9: Shangmuju to Kangding
We will drive 6 hours today to Kangding, the former capital of east Tibet. After a seven days trek we will finally enjoy ourselves with a long and warm shower. Overnight hotel.
Day 10: Kangding to Chengdu
We will drive 7 hours today back to Chengdu. Big party in the evening. Cheers everybody for this amazing trek!
Day 11: Fly home
