Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive in Lijiang
Fly to Lijiang, visit Lijiang ancient town for rest of the day. Welcome dinner at an authentic local restaurant. Overnight in hotel.
Day 2: Lijiang to Lugu Lake
Drive about 6 hours to Lugu Lake. We will pass Jinsha River valley, the upper stream of Yangtze River and Ninglang town the Lugu Lake. With the altitude of 2,685m/8,700ft and girth of 50km/30miles, Lugu Lake is a wonder of nature dues to a sink of earth surface. In the afternoon, we visit the Mosuo museum in luoshui village, followed with a short cruise on the local sampan on the lake. Enjoy dinner in a local restaurant over a welcome singing by the host. Overnight Mosuo Hotel.
Day 3: Lugu Lake to Lijiazui village
Today we will hike 4 hours. After breakfast, we load our trekking equipment and gears up to the vehicle and drive about 1 hour to Yongning village. Yongning village is the last spot for supplement of stuff on trek.
After Yongning, we drive more than half an hour to our trail, Tuoqi village. It is a small village nestling down the mountain. There we will meet our chef, stablemen and lovely horses. Those horses will carry our gears to Yading. On our way to Lijiazui village, we will be invited to have a cup of tea by locals for a break. Then we trek uphill for a short while to our campsite. Overnight Camp (2,930m/9,610ft)
Day 4: Lijiazui village to Quer Yak-shed
7 hour trekking day—a bit challenging. After breakfast, we hike about 40 minutes to Wuqi mountain pass which is 2,970m/9,742ft and from where we will start to descend. Down into the valley, we will get on a rough road towards north. 2 more hours later, we get to Wujiao village, inhabit with Mongolian nationality. Simple lunch there.
Trekking northeast for two more hours till we reenter the area of Yi people. After passing Shuiluoga, we hike to Quer Yak-shed, flat grassland for overnight after picnic dinner. Overnight Quer Yak-shed (2,940m/9,643ft)
Day 5: Quer Yak-shed to Old Rangeland
7 hours’ trekking, mostly uphill. Morning departure from Quer Yak-shed and the trail is all uphill in the forest. The light yellow Chinese Usneas hangs on all the trees and floating with the wind, making a remarkable scenery.
After the lunch break in Cixi Yak-shed, we continue to walk up to Cixi Mountain Pass (4,110m/13,481ft) where we admire a fantastic vista of the entire valley we came from. From the mountain pass, we descend to a valley and follow which we head for Old Rangeland where all the inhabitants, actually nomads, will open arms to welcome us. Overnight Camp (3,910m/12,825ft)
Day 6: Old Rangeland to Quer Meadow
5 hours hiking today will reward us with brilliant scenery. After breakfast, we depart for Quer Mountain Pass. After a big turn of the track, a stunning view gives us a big hug-to our left, a valley goes further down westward with a steep white cliff standing by. Three hours later from Kudu Mountain Pass, we are on Quer Mountain Pass (4,300m/14,104ft) and the glaring valley extends to the north, the mountain join the blue sky in far away. On the northern slope of Quer Mountain, you can never describe the colors of the trees and bushes in the fall. It is just like an exquisite carpet spread from the top of Quer Mountain down to the valley, with bright yellow, deep red, dark green, and all colors between the three. In the spring, it is a world of wild flowers.
Down into the valley, we will find a meadow for camp and explore around. Overnight Camp (4,000m/13,120ft)
Day 7: Quer Meadow to Qiongyi Village
8 hours trekking today, mostly downhill on steep trail. After cross a stream on a solo tree trunk bridge, we take the trail apart from the valley and go uphill. In the afternoon, a snow-capped peak shows up in distance. From the bend, we began to go downhill in dense forest. The 2-3 hours descending is exhausting dues to the steep trail. We will take a break on a meadow in the forest before we get to Qiongyi village. We camp by the river and visit some of the local families around. Overnight Camp (3,000m/9,840ft)
Day 8: Qiongyi Village to Dujia Village
8 hours trekking--- another challenging day. Three hours hiking uphill to Qiongyi Mountain Pass (4,100m/13,448ft) will bring us a stunning view of the lush valley and cloud-capped mountains. From Qiongyi Mountain Pass, we start our 5 hours downhill trekking. From Lido village, the sandy and steep trail is a hard part to cover till we get to Dujia Village to set up our tents. Overnight Camp (2, 300m/7,544ft)
Day 9: Dujia village to Jinkuang
7 hours hiking. Today, most of the hiking is on flat road and trail. We will overnight in Jinkuang (Gold Mine) where a stream named White Water River joins Tongtianhe.
Today, we enjoy our dinner in local families. Overnight Home Stay (2,400m/7,872ft)
Day 10: Jinkuang to Galu Village
4 hours trekking, mostly ascent. From Jinkuang, we go further into the valley followed White Water River. The trail is all straight up. If weather permits, we could see a snow capped mountain shows. About two and half hours later, a large Tibetan village presents itself on a mountain slope. You cannot imagine how such a large village settles down in the big mountains. It is just like a Shangri-la. Dogs barking, yaks lowing, kids laughing and it is so spry and isolated there. We will settle down on a meadow above the village and come to visit the locals in the rest time of the day.
This evening, we will join the locals for a bonfire party with singing and dancing after our dinner in a local family. Overnight Camp (3,000m/ 9,840ft)
Day 11: Galu Village to Galu Yak-shed
6 hours ascent. The trail goes straight up right from the village and winds its way into the forests which becomes spars with the gain of altitude. When we get to a small meadow after 3 hours, we take a break and grab some picnic lunch. The upper trail is getting more and more difficult with altitude.
Two or three hours later, we get to a meadow. It has breathtaking scenery of the mountains of far and near, with clouds of white and black, sunshine of brightness and subtleness, trees and bushes of red and yellow. We will have our dinner against the fabulous views. Overnight Camp (4,200m/13,776ft)
Day 12: Galu Yak-shed to Chongcaoshan Yak-shed
2-3 hours trekking. One hour descent, we get to Galu Mountain Pass which is 4,300m/14,104ft high. Right over the pass, we can see mountain Chanadorje (Vajrapani, 5958m/19,542ft) standing tall and upright in front of us. Upon the green grassland, the rocky mountain with snow and ice raise up into clouds with the background of blue sky. About one hour later, we get to Chongcaoshan where we set up our tents and rest up. Overnight Chongcaoshan Yak-shed (4300m/14,104ft)
Day 13: Chongcaoshan Yak-shed to Yading
5-6 hours trekking. Today, we will cross the highest Risa Mountain Pass with altitude of 4,800m/15,744ft.
Two and half hours later, we will be standing on the top of Risa Mountain Pass. From Risa Mountain Pass, we descend along the stream originates from the glaciers and snow. One hour later, we get to Bayou yak-shed and the vegetations come back with the decrease of altitude. And from where, our local guide and the stablemen will say goodbye to us. They will take their 4-day-walking back home in Yongning.
Once get down to the valley of Chonggu Monastery, the bending clear stream with the background of the snow-mountains are just like a painting. And we keep on walking 3km more to Yading village where we will check in a local hotel and take a hot water shower after 11 days hiking. Overnight in hotel (3,900m/12,792ft)
Day 14: Yading Village
5-6 hours hiking. It is quite easy compare to the trekking in the past days. We will walk up to Chonggu monastery, taking the trail between Chanadorje and Jambeyang (Manjusri, 5958m/19,542ft) to Luorong yak-shed for the Five-colored alpine lake which has fabulous reflection of Jambeyang and the Milky Lake (4,800m/15,744ft). In the afternoon, we take the same trail back to Yading village.
Overnight in hotel (3,900m/12,792ft)
Day 15: Yading Village to Lithang
We will drive 5 hours to Lithang, a town deeply loved by Tibetans. Lithang, peacefully located on the highland at an altitude of 4,014m/13,166ft, is the home of the 7th and 10th Dalai Lamas and many living Buddhas. Now Lithang is becoming better known due to the International Horse Racing Festival in August. Overnight hotel (4,014m/13,166ft)
Day 16: Lithang to Kangding
Today we will drive 9 hours to Kangding. On the way we will pass Yajiang and Xinduqiao. Xinduqiao (Dongeluo in Tibetan), is considered to be the "Paradise of Photography" by Chinese photographers due to its superb scenery. Over Tsedo Mountain, the road is well paved and it takes us one and half hours more to get to Kangding (Datsedo in Tibetan). Kangding, once an economic and strategic hub is a lovely little town. Today, we get refreshed in a star ranked hotel. Overnight hotel (2,700m/8,856ft)
Day 17: Kangding to Chengdu
6 hours drive to Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province. Half an hour out of Kangding, we get to the Dadu River Valley and follow it to the town of Luding downstream. About 70 years ago, the Red Army won against Kuoming Party aligned soldiers in a battle across the Dadu River. The battle is considered as one of the turning points of the Long March. We will fly out of Chengdu in the evening. Adventure ends.
