WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) 215 Tagyel-Tso Dawa-Tso Peiku-Tso © Lonely Planet Publications Planet Lonely © Lake Manasarovar Mt Kailash Ali Tsaparang

WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) 215 Tagyel-tso Dawa-tso Peiku-tso © Lonely Planet Publications Planet Lonely © Lake Manasarovar Mt Kailash Ali Tsaparang

Tagyel-tso Lake Lake Peiku-tso ) to Ali ) and ), or just marvel at the ), or just marvel at the ( p221 p221 ( ) ( p223 ( ), one of Asia’s unknown unknown ), one of Asia’s ( p229 ( ( p235 ( p226 ( Dawa-tso ), ) northern route wonders turquoise waters and snowcapped-mountain and snowcapped-mountain turquoise waters backdrop ( p220 ( p222 Manasarovar scape, but especially by the lakes Tsaparang the a lifetime on the three-day trek around holy holy around on the three-day trek a lifetime Mt Kailash Hike of sacred the sandy shores in this otherworldly land- anywhere Camp the ruins of an ancient kingdom Explore at and blue sheep on Spot wild asses, gazelle Join the pilgrims looking to erase the sins of

„ „ „ „ HIGHLIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS „

The landscape of Ngari is dominated by the Himalayasalt range to the south and the huge landscape of Ngari is dominated The now few Even rare. quite were travellers Western and until recently, long in transit, Days are lines roads and telephone Ngari is still not easy or comfortable, in Travel but improved  in 4500m, Ngari is a frontier altitude of over and with an average populated scarcely Vast, main attractions of what is likely The to be a three-week corners of Asia. one of the remotest Mt Kailash a mountain and a lake a mountain and what a lake! – but what Sacred trip are destinations in the and legendary travel two of the most far-flung are and Lake Manasarovar lives. been planning a visit all their on the road have world. Many of the pilgrims steppe, of yellow to the north. immense stretches lakes plateau of the Changtang In between are dusty badlands, sandy deserts, and the mineral-rich trans-Himalayan rust ranges stained purple, Kailash, fussed by the spiritual significance of Mt going to one For those not overly and green. and beautiful corners of the globe is likely to be an attractionof the most isolated in itself. out-of-the-way northern the more ruins of the ancient Guge or visit the otherworldly travel route who visit secluded a day’s journey from Mt Kailash. truly intrepid The kingdom at Tsaparang, on one hand. can be counted sites archaeological hidden valleys and isolated monasteries, a bus service from There’s accessible. made it more (and mobile-phone have reception) public transport,Lhasa to Ali, a small but growing network of and an airport planned for 2010. Change is coming, which makes now the time to visit Ngari. Western Western Tibet (Ngari) 216 WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) •• History lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.comlonelyplanet.com Western RUNNINGHEAD Tibet (Ngari) •• ••RunningSubhead Western Tibet 217

History books – with one notable exception. In the late Most histories of Tibet begin with the kings Victorian era, a handful of Western explor- of the Yarlung Valley region and their unifica- ers began to take an interest in the legend of

tion of central Tibet in the 7th century. But a holy mountain and a lake from which four To Lhasa (250km) it is thought that the Shangshung (or Zhang- of Asia’s mightiest rivers flowed. The legend, To Nagchu (450km) Lhatse

zhung) kingdom of western Tibet probably which had percolated as far afield as Japan and Zangdo ruled the Tibetan plateau for several centuries Indonesia, was largely ridiculed by Western Lulung Hwy To Everest Ngamring-tso

Tagtse-tso

before this. According to some scholars, the cartographers. However, in 1908 the Swedish Base Camp (60km) Sali Friendship Jaido Checkpoint tso

Bön religion made its way into the rest of explorer Sven Hedin returned from a journey Ngamring Kaga S H I G A T E Ngangtse- P R E F C T U Ombu

Tibet from here. The Shangshung kingdom that proved there was indeed such a mountain Shegar Xijiakonglong Lhadrong Tsangpo may also have served as a conduit for Tibet’s and such a lake, and that the remote part of Tingri earliest contacts with Buddhism. There is little Tibet they occupied was in fact the source of 00 150 km 90 miles tso Gutso

Sangsang e To material evidence of the Shangshung kingdom the Karnali (a major tributary of the Ganges), Zhangmu (60km) Dangra- in modern Tibet, though the Khyunglung Val- Brahmaputra (Yarlung Tsangpo), Indus (Seng-

N A G C H U

g Gomo-tso Yarlung Dzango Tsangon ley, on the Sutlej River near Tirthapuri hot ge Tsangpo) and Sutlej (Langchan Tsangpo) P R E F C T U Raka King Tiger Hot Springs

n (4845m)

springs, marks the site of the old kingdom. Rivers. The mountain was Kailash and the Peiku-tso Zhangmu Short Cut to La Lung-la Zhari Checkpoint Nam-tso tso

The next regional power to emerge in Ngari lake, Manasarovar. Siling

a (5500m) Kangro Song Ma-la

was the Guge kingdom in the 9th century. (5000m) Tagyel- Nor Gwa-la thern Route or Saga R N Dargyeling Tsochen

After the assassination of the anti-Buddhist Permits Changtang Dzongka (Northern Plateau) Lhasa king Langdharma, one of the king’s Foreigners are supposed to have a fistful of 6185m Dung-tso sons, Namde Wosung, established this king- permits: an Alien Travel Permit, military Dawa-tso Checkpoint Chendiloma

dom at Tsaparang, west of Lake Manasarovar permit, Tibet Tourism Bureau (TTB) per- (4900m) (8162m) Manaslu C h a n g t Nor Chung-la Checkpoint

and Mt Kailash. The Guge kingdom, through mit, foreign affairs permit… If you arrange a N a t u r e P s v

Zhongba

Darok-tso i New

its contacts with nearby India, led a Buddhist Land Cruiser trip in Lhasa, the travel agency k e a

Zhongba

Gertse d

n (8090m) revival on the Tibetan plateau and at its peak will organise all these for you but it can Route a

Annapurna s G was home to over 100 monasteries, most of take a week. E Lunggar Tuoya Mustang

them now in ruins. Technically you can get around most of i Paryang Southern

tso G (8167m) Ngangla- Dhaulagiri In the late 16th century, Jesuit missionaries the region with just an Alien Travel Permit Oma-chu A L I Gunmidengli d

based in the enclave of Goa took an interest (p324 ). In the past, you could obtain one by N (6883m)

g Kanjiroba

P R E F C T U A

in the remote kingdom of Guge, mistaking getting to Ali (by hitching or bus) and sur- Samsang Denglong

n Checkpoint it for the long-lost Christian civilisation of rendering yourself immediately to the Public R Tsaka Zhigon Daman Prester John (a legendary Christian priest and Security Bureau (PSB; Gong’anju) office. In a king who was believed to have ruled over a return for a fine (Y300 to 350) you would (5216m) G Mayun-la Gung kingdom in the Far East). The Jesuits finally receive a travel permit for most places in Yagra A Gyu-tso reached Tsaparang in 1624 after two failed the prefecture (eg Mt Kailash, Manasarovar, Simikot Pongba

N E P A L Y attempts, but if their leader, Father Antonio Purang, the Guge kingdom, Rutok, Gertse Hor Qu Lake

Chaktsakha A Manasarovar

de Andrede, had expected to find Christians and Tsochen). At the time of research some Gurla (7728m) Mandata Barkha L r Saipal Gegye

e Darchen waiting for him, he was disappointed. Never- travellers were being turned back, so check for iv (7050m) Kangri (6714m) (6596m) R Mt Kailash

Nganglong A s Sher theless, he did meet with surprising tolerance the latest word before you head off. u

d Toyo Tal To Xinjiang; Tsaphuk n Gurla-la

I (4700m) Rakshas M Purang Kashgar (1170km) and respect for the Christian faith. The Guge Western Tibet is a politically sensitive area Yecheng (920km); Checkpoint Khojarnath I king agreed to allow de Andrede to return and and is periodically closed to foreigners, due Chiu Monastery Songsha Moincer set up a Jesuit mission the following year. The either to political unrest on the Mt Kailash 4938m H Namru Dormar Rumudong foundation stone of the first Christian church kora or military tension along the contested Ali Gurugyam Monastery Tirthapuri

Gar River r Hot Springs

Jaggang e Rutok Xian iv Mahendranagar in Tibet was laid by the king himself. borders of China, India and Pakistan. (7817m) R T

j Nanda Devi

ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈ ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈ ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈ e ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈ

Gar l (5300m) t Ironically, the evangelical zeal of the Jesuits Lalung-la u Piyang Dongpo

Dungkar A S WESTERN TIBET (NGARI)

Rutok r

led not only to their own demise but also When to Go Zanda ive E

R Pithoragarh

to the demise of the kingdom they sought May, June and from mid-September to early Tashigang s R Lurulangkar u nd Checkpoint

Pangong-tso I

to convert. Lamas, outraged by their king’s October are probably the best times to head Kamet

(7756m) G

increasing enthusiasm for an alien creed, en- out to Ngari. Rates for Land Cruiser hire are Tsaparang Rampur listed the support of Ladakhis in laying siege cheapest in November. Drölma-la on the Mt I N D A

to Tsaparang. Within a month the city fell, the Kailash kora is normally blocked with snow

king was overthrown and the Jesuits impris- from late October or early November until iver

s R and may not be correct nge oned. The Guge kingdom collapsed. early April. Ga The external boundaries of India At this point, Ngari became so marginal- The festival of Saga Dawa (p229 ) during I N D A on this map have not been authenticated ised as to almost disappear from the history May or June is a particularly popular time WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) 218 WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) •• What to Bring lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.comlonelyplanet.com WESTERN RUNNINGHEAD TIBET (NGARI) •• •• RunningSubhead Southern Route 219

to visit Mt Kailash and hundreds of pilgrims The rare traveller still tries to hitch out to groups that trek in from Humla, which is a road then makes a zigzag ascent past pho- and tourists descend on the mountain, which Ngari, but check the latest situation with per- restricted region. togenic nomads’ camps and their flocks to means for some it’s a very bad time to go. mits as there are several checkpoints along the Sang-la (4700m), then down to a valley the way where you need to show your pass- SOUTHERN ROUTE time forgot, and up again to the 4800m Kar- What to Bring port and travel permit. Note drivers are often There are now bridges over all the major riv- la before dropping down over one hour to Warm clothes are essential, even in summer. very reluctant to pick up foreigners as special ers along the shorter southern route, which Sangsang. Days can be hot though, so do bring some- permits are needed. If you do decide to hitch, has boosted traffic (though sand can still be Sangsang , 122km west of Lhatse, is a small thing light to wear. A sleeping bag is recom- be honest when asked by drivers if you have a problem in places). At the time of writing grubby town of a few hundred souls. The Hotel mended, as is a tent. Many of the villages a travel permit so they can assess their risk the road from Sangsang to Raka was being Sangsang (d/q per bed Y35/25), at the T-junction, and towns in western Tibet are dusty, dirty, properly. For information on the risks associ- upgraded but should be ready by the time is bearable for an overnight stay and has a depressing places to stay. After spending all ated with hitching, see p344. you read this. good Chinese restaurant. There are a couple of day riding through some of the most glorious other very basic restaurants, truck-stop guest- scenery on the planet why sleep anywhere FROM LHASA Lhatse to Saga (306km) houses and one grocery store on the left just else? If you are heading out to trek Mt Kailash, From Lhasa there are two approaches to Ngari: This is a full day’s journey of about eight hours north of the T-junction. If you have time, you a tent is essential. If you’re hitching, a face- a southern route and a northern. Both follow driving. Just past the Lhatse checkpoint (6km could visit the small Nyingma-school Wösaling mask will help keep out some of the dust. See the same road west to Lhatse and beyond to after Lhatse itself), the road leaves the paved nunnery, which overlooks the town from the p345 for other ideas. Raka. About 6km past Raka the routes split, Friendship Hwy and bears northwest onto a northern end. Supplies are fairly easy to get now in the with the southern route continuing west and dirt road. The kilometre marker at the start By the time you read this, the road from expanding towns but consider bringing the northern route heading north. of this route is 2141. Sangsang to Raka should be paved. The route some things to make travelling more flexible. The southern route is the more popular Just a couple of kilometres after leaving passes through a succession of wide alleys: A package or two of muesli (with powdered one, largely because it is the fastest way to the Friendship Hwy the road crosses the Yar- stop in one and take a couple of hours to hike milk) and fresh fruit means you don’t have to the highlights of the territory. Although lung Tsangpo and then runs for an hour or so to the top of a treeless foothill for outstanding suffer Chinese breakfast every day. A couple there are no stellar attractions on the longer through alternating scenery: barren canyons views. Back on the road you follow a gorge of loaves of bread and peanut butter and jam northern route, the scenery is superb and (that swell in the summer rains) and green into the spectacular wide ravine of the Raka (or canned luncheon meat) means you can this is the road taken by the Lhasa–Ali bus meadowland with scattered Tibetan villages Tsangpo with its dark, craggy peaks. Emerg- stop and have lunch wherever you like: be- ( p226). on the edges. The photogenic Lang-tso (Ox ing from this ravine the road skirts a lake and side a turquoise lake, or flowing river, or out See p21 for an overview of the routes to Lake), which you pass in the first hour, has then crosses a flood plain, which is prone to in yellow fields beside a flock of sheep. All Mt Kailash. been stocked by the Chinese for sport fishing, flood damage during the monsoon. The route the above supplies can easily be purchased in a sore point with local Tibetans. (Tibetans then climbs a couple of passes, before drop- Lhasa (see p126 ). FROM XINJIANG don’t catch or eat fish because of the Buddhist ping down again and passing through the tiny It’s also worth bringing along a few treats Although it’s a very difficult road, the route prohibition on taking life.) settlement of Raka (4900m, kilometre marker ,such as peanuts, sachets of hot choco- along the Xinjiang–Tibet Hwy sees its share Past the lake the road climbs up to the 1912), about 6km before the junction of the late, chocolate bars and dehydrated food, of hitchhikers, cyclists and other independent Ngamring-la (4500m). At kilometre marker northern and southern routes, and 120km from home. travellers. But you’re always taking a risk that 2085, 60km from Lhatse, the road passes from Sangsang. The only places to change money in Ngari you might get turned back in Ali, so check the through the very small town of Kaga (Kajia), The rooms in the misspelt Lhato Hotal Tea- are banks in Ali and, less reliably, Purang – latest word on permits and PSB permissive- next to the Ngamring-tso, which often appears hoese (d Y30) are rustic but clean and have their it’s much easier to change US dollars as cash ness before you head out. There’s a bus be- brown because of the nearby mountains re- own yak-dung stoves for heat. The hotel is on rather than travellers cheques. It’s best just to tween Yecheng and Ali when road conditions flecting off its surface. A turn-off runs round the right as you drive through the village (the bring what you expect to spend. allow. The route passes through the remote the east side of the lake to the larger settlement whole community is about two blocks long), Aksai Chin region; with the unpredictability and army base of Ngamring (Angren), visible and has a pretty decent Chinese restaurant Getting There & Away of breakdowns, it can take several days or on the northeast side of the lake and about and Tibetan teahouse. There are a couple of Most travellers approach Ngari from Lhasa more (especially if you are trying to hitch) to 6km off the main route. Ngamring has food other restaurants and guesthouses in town, because it’s the easiest place to organise per- travel the 1100km from Yecheng to Ali. For a and accommodation if you need it. most with English signage. If you’re taking mits and find travelling companions for a rundown of the route, see p338. Within 10km of passing Kaga, 70km west the northern route, this is pretty much the Land Cruiser tour (still the most common way of Lhatse, you’ll leave behind the last trees last hotel for 240km, though you are able to to get around). Ngari can also be approached FROM NEPAL for many days, and soon after you’ll also camp at Tagyel-tso. Confusingly, many maps WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) from Nepal. Check for the latest word about If you’re coming from Kathmandu on the leave behind the last agricultural fields. The show Raka (or Raga) right at the crossroads; coming in from Xinjiang as it’s a long way to Friendship Hwy (or heading to Kathmandu scenery now begins to look like a dreamy Cé- in fact the turn-off is 6km away. go to be turned back. because of the permit situation), a shortcut zanne landscape, with broken hills of tan and If you are heading to Saga, it’s another There’s a nonstop bus service along the to/from Saga (via the beautiful Peiku-tso) rust and purple folding in on each other as if 60km. northern route between Lhasa and Ali and a takes a full day’s travel off your trip. It is also slashed onto a canvas with a heavy impasto. local-transport network based in Ali. How- possible to enter Ngari on a four-day trek About 500m beyond kilometre marker Zhangmu to Saga (280km) ever, at the time of writing foreigners were from Simikot in the Humla region of western 2060, prayer flags mark the start of a path to The scenic short cut from Zhangmu on the not allowed to take any buses into or around Nepal to Purang on the Chinese border near the Drapsang Monastery, which overlooks the Nepali border to Saga (Sajia) on the southern western Tibet. Mt Kailash. This route is open only to tour road from a steep fairy-tale-like crag. The route to Ngari saves 250km (at least a day of WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) 220 WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) •• Southern Route lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.comlonelyplanet.com WESTERN RUNNINGHEAD TIBET (NGARI) •• •• RunningSubhead Northern Route 221

travel) and is used by Land Cruiser groups Hotel, and hot showers at the bathhouse (linyu; Zhongba, 25km northwest, is a small Chi- point along the way, where you must show visiting Ngari directly from Nepal. Y10; h10am-11pm) just west of the Saga Hotel nese town with a couple of shops, hotels and your passport and permits. See p211 and p212 for more details on about 50m down the road. restaurants and has little to recommend it.) After the Mayun-la (5216m), the road im- the first part of this route. Past Nyalam the Saga Hotel (萨噶宾馆; Saga Binguan; %/fax 820 Given the choice between here and Paryang, proves as you cross from Shigatse to Ngari road climbs to the 4950m Tong-la and then 2888; d with bathroom Y320, d/t without bathroom Y280/180, take ‘Old’ Zhongba. prefectures and descends to the long Gung the 4845m La Lung-la. Not long after, the discounts of 20-30%) is a decent place with clean, The rustic Yak Hotel (%0892-858 1011; dm Y40), Gyu-tso, which nomads consider poisoned short cut branches west off the Friendship Western-style rooms sporting comfortable on the eastern side of the pass, is the best and will not let their herds drink from. Magi- Hwy (kilometre marker 5265-66; 113km from beds and modern bathrooms. The detractions there is. cal Mt Kailash comes into view approximately Zhangmu), rounding some hills at the en- are shouting staff and scruffy hallways. Next 90km after the Mayun-la, just before the town trance of a vast stony plain. From here to Saga door is the Moon Star Restaurant (%820 3008; Zhongba to Paryang (110km) of Hor Qu. is about 170km or four hours of driving. dishes Y10-40) serving good Chinese food, though From Zhongba, the road deteriorates and the Siling (Seylong) village is reached in the first dishes are mostly sized to suit groups. kilometre markers disappear. This section is Hor Qu hour and here travellers must pay Y65 per per- Xingyue Guesthouse (Xingyue Jiudian; %820 3008; particularly prone to invasion from the sand elev 4560m  son and Y40 per car for entry to the western dm Y40) is a basic guesthouse at the eastern dunes on either side of the road and many Hor Qu is another expanding village with little section of the Qomolongma Nature Reserve. tip of the T-junction, just up from the Saga trucks get stuck briefly here. You shouldn’t to recommend it but the views. The 7728m The nearby village has a fine monastery and Hotel. It’s popular with Land Cruiser drivers have any real problems in a Land Cruiser. Gurla Mandata is to the southwest, as is Lake ruined dzong (fort). and guides. A photogenic section of dunes, lake and Manasarovar, though the lake is a long hike To the south come views of Shishapangma There are a number of cheap Tibetan guest- mountains kicks in 60km from Zhongba. away. Some trekkers walking the Lake Mana- (8012m), known to the Nepalese as Gosainthan, houses on the road heading north from the About 23km before Paryang you crest a pass sarovar kora (p311 ) spend the night here but the only 8000m-plus mountain planted com- T-junction. Try Yajiang Yajie Hotel (Yajiang Binguan; and drop past more dunes to Paryang. Photos most tour groups should give it a miss and pletely inside Tibet. The road provides access to %890 0855; d/tr per bed Y30/25) about 500m north taken along this route can often get steppe, continue to Darchen or, better, Chiu Mon- the mountain’s north base camp before skirting of the Saga Hotel, or the nearby Shancheng streams, desert dunes and snowcapped moun- astery at Lake Manasarovar. the beautiful turquoise lake Peiku-tso (4591m), Comfortable Hotel. tains in the same shot. Yang-tso Guesthouse (白雪湖日光旅馆; about an hour’s drive from Siling. This is one of Note that all hotels except Xingyue Guest- Baixuehu Riguang Lüguan; %136-3897 5385; q per bed Tibet’s magical spots, and there’s fine camping house have English signage out the front. Paryang Y30) is a clean and decent family-run place at by the lakeshore, with stunning views of snow- Saga has numerous small Chinese restau- elev 4750m  the east end of town. The cosy teahouse is a capped Shishapangma and Nepal’s Langtang rants along the northern road with dishes Guides have said that while many groups good place to relax and observe family life. range. If you do plan to camp, bring your own better sized to fit a single traveller’s needs spend a night in Paryang on the way to Mt The sign at the entrance to the compound drinking water and be well acclimatised. Also than Moon Star. Though there are no English Kailash, none want to spend the night here reads ‘White-Snow Lake ZL Sunlight Guest- try to find a sheltered camp site as winds whip menus, owners are friendly and usually willing on the return. The reason is obvious: it looks house’. The pit toilets have no roof but this up in the afternoon. To the west of the lake is to help out. ‘Fried rice? Fried noodles?’ more like a refugee camp than a village, with grants you the most magnificent views of an eroded canyon to explore. West of the Saga Hotel is a fruit shop stray dogs roaming everywhere, and garbage Gurla Mandata to the southwest. The bumpy route then follows a narrow and several small grocery stores for drinks piles burning day and night. Pu Lan Guesthouse (普兰旅馆; Pulan Lüguan; gorge before passing the turn-off to the scenic and snacks. If you must pass a night here, there are a %136-3897 6303; q per bed Y40) offers slightly better but off-limits Kyirong Valley. After passing There are daily (sometimes twice daily) few guesthouses. The Shishabama Hotel (dm/d rooms with cheap wood floors, but it’s not as the small Drolung-tso you climb to a pass and buses running between Saga and Shigatse Y40/100), run by a friendly Tibetan family, has friendly a place as the Yang-tso. then drop steeply down to the bridge across (Y150, 16 hours). freshly painted rooms, though bedsheets have To the right of Yang-tso Guesthouse, the the Yarlung Tsangpo. From here it’s 3km to a few stains. From the Chongqing Restaurant rustic Big Wineshop of Jin Mantang (dishes Y10-30) Saga, where you join the southern route. Saga to Zhongba (145km) (below) head up the road, turn right at the T- serves decent rice and noodle dishes. Elec- There are several ruined monasteries along junction and walk a few blocks until you see tricity is on from 9pm to midnight in Hor Saga 萨噶 this stretch, including one just 1km out of a large white compound on the left. Qu, so hang around to watch a DVD. Menu %0892 / elev 4600m Saga. Dargyeling Monastery, 42km from Saga In the centre of the village, Chongqing Res- in English. The dirty, sprawling town of Saga is the last (kilometre marker 1820), is the best preserved taurant (重庆饭店; Chongqing Fandian; dishes Y10-30) From Hor Qu, it’s 22km to the crossroads of any size on the southern route and your and worth a stop. serves pretty good food considering where settlement of Barkha (Barga), where you turn last chance to eat a lavish meal. The town is From here, you cross a river and then you are. Menu in English. south to Chiu Monastery (one hour driving expanding in all directions, but for this book’s pass the ruins of a large monastery, 12km from Hor Qu) on the shores of Lake Manasa- WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) purposes we concentrate on the northeast part from Dargyeling Monastery. The road then Paryang to Hor Qu (223km) rovar, or continue west to Darchen. at the T-junction where the Saga Hotel is sited. climbs to a pass marked by hundreds of The route is a pleasant four-hour drive, The road going north at the junction heads miniature chörtens, before dropping 23km passing through yellow steppe, with craggy, NORTHERN ROUTE toward Zhongba and Mt Kailash, while the to Zhongba. snowcapped Himalayan peaks off to the south The northern route is the longer of the two road south leads to Lhatse. The road west heads when the weather is clear. Pick any foothill routes from Lhasa to Ngari but there’s more into the new centre of town, where you connect Zhongba that strikes your fancy and go for a stroll. traffic and public transport along it. Although with the road to Zhangmu (see p219 ). ‘Old’ Zhongba  is a tiny, dusty town on the There is a tricky section of sandy road it’s no freeway, the dirt road is at least main- There’s an internet bar (网吧; wangba; per main road with a couple of basic guesthouses, 12km west of Paryang but all the major river tained by teams of road crews working hard hr Y5; h11am-11pm) in the lobby of the Saga restaurants and a small monastery. (‘New’ crossings now have bridges. There’s a check- for their Y900 a month. The first part, like WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) 222 WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) •• Northern Route lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.comlonelyplanet.com WESTERN RUNNINGHEAD TIBET (NGARI) •• •• RunningSubhead Northern Route 223

the southern route, follows the road from point where your passport and permit will be Tsochen to Gertse (257km) and yak horns that stretches off to the south Lhatse to the turn-off near Raka (see p219). checked. The town of Tsochen is just ahead From Tsochen to the junction of the northern of town. From Raka, there is basically no accommoda- across the plains. road is a journey of about 180km; Gertse is There’s mobile-phone reception in Gertse tion before Tsochen, 240km away. If you’re another 77km, making a total drive of around and numerous private telecom booths around travelling by Land Cruiser, seriously consider Tsochen 措勤 seven hours. If you plan to stay in Gertse, take town for cheap calls. camping most of the time as the towns are %0897 / pop 1000 your time as the route is far more interesting The Government Guesthouse (政府招待所; uniformly dismal. On the other hand there’s Tsochen (Cuoqin), 235km from the northern and scenic than the town. Zhengfu Zhaodaisuo; q/d per bed Y35/45, deluxe s/d Y180) no shortage of grassy riverside spots with turn-off, 173km south of the northern road The ride out of Tsochen offers many op- is opposite the hospital west of the rounda- beautiful mountain views. You’ll see a lot proper, is another bleak, dusty town lining the portunities for a quintessential Tibetan photo bout. There are three blocks here. The cheap- of seminomadic herders along this route, main road. At the east end (about 2km from of flocks of sheep grazing on rolling yellow est quads are a bit smelly and cramped and as well as marmots, blue sheep, wild asses the start) is a Tibetan quarter. Walk through steppe backed by high rugged mountains. are favoured by truck drivers. The doubles and antelope. this to reach a mass of mani stones, prayer About 43km north of Tsochen, the road passes have clean beds, TVs, and electricity till 2am. poles and yak skulls that local pilgrims flock the 4900m Nor Chung-la (Small Wild Yak Pass) The deluxe doubles are a big step up, but the King Tiger Hot Springs & Tagyel-tso to daily at dusk. before descending to the dramatic turquoise private bathrooms remain out of reach, locked From here, you are able to see the desert waters of Dawa-tso , another superb camping up due to a lack of running water. Only 21km north of the Raka junction are the plateau to the north and a second mass of spot. For the next 60km the route crosses from There are numerous Chinese and Tibetan Tagyel Chutse, or King Tiger Hot Springs, a wild prayer flags about 1km away; just below one attractive valley to another, sometimes restaurants (dishes Y10 to 35) along the main collection of gushing geysers, bubbling hot here is the Mentong Monastery, a small but connected by the river and gorge, at other road. Most are open for lunch and dinner, and springs, puffing steam outlets and miscellane- friendly place with 30 monks. Visitors can times by minor passes. several for a breakfast of baozi (steamed meat- ous smoking holes in the ground. It’s a fun enter the main prayer hall and the Kuding The road crosses the scenic Nor Gwa-la filled buns) and xifan (rice porridge). place to explore and maybe even wash up at. Lhakhang, which has an inner chapel. The (Wild Yak Head Pass), another pass of nearly A sleepy indoor market in the middle of If you head directly down to the riverbed from monastery belongs to the Kagyud school, so 5000m, 94km (about 2½ hours of driving) town on the north side of the road offers such the top of the pass, you’ll find a small bathing there are pictures of Milarepa, Marpa and north of Tsochen. From the pass the route unexpected treats as bananas and pears. area built into the rocks. the Karmapa. descends to a bridge, 109km from Tsochen, at From the hot springs, the road runs around One potential excursion from Tsochen is to Chendiloma, where there is a small guesthouse Gertse to Gegye (368km) the western side of a beautiful lake, then Zhari (Tsari) Nam-tso, a huge salt lake 50km east and teahouse. It’s a seven- to eight-hour drive from Gertse through a wide valley, one of the stretches of town towards the town of Tseri (Tsitri). You From about 10km before Chendiloma and to Gegye, the next town of any size. Soon of flat terrain in Ngari where you can see will need to have this visit pre-arranged with for the next 50km, the road runs right beside after leaving Gertse, you’ll pass several small the road ahead of you for kilometres. From your driver before leaving Lhasa or arrange a beautiful, snowcapped mountain range lakes set in a wide plain that switches between a low pass, the route descends to a much larger extra payment for the half-day trip. running north–south, crossing several of its steppe and desert. Keep your eyes open for lake, the Tagyel-tso , the waters of which are a The PSB (公安局; Gong’anju) maintains glacial outwashes. The valley narrows towards round, tomblike buildings that are actually miraculous shade of the deepest blue imagi- a strong presence in town and at the time of its northern end before the road suddenly tsampa (roasted barley) storage bins, and nable and ringed with snowy peaks. This is writing all foreign travellers had to go to the pops out onto a wide plain to meet the north- for the astonishingly varied colours of the a great place to camp if you’re prepared for station to register. The station is about half- ern road proper (the one that links Amdo mountains: rust, mustard, turmeric, green the cold and altitude (around 5170m). There way up the road on the left from the start of with Ali). It’s a long 15km drive almost in barley… Also look for the Chinese-built wells are lots of flat spots by the lake, and you’ll town (coming from Lhasa). The process can a straight line towards the Dung-tso,with its that look like the entranceways to pedestrian have plenty of marmots and grazing wild asses be a long one. purple mountain backdrop and salt marsh underpasses. Oma-chu (kilometre marker 982), for company. There’s an unmarked guesthouse (s/d per foreground that looks like whitecaps on the a small village huddled beneath a rocky out- bed Y120/60) 150m past the petrol station on water from a distance. crop, is 50km west of Gertse. North to Tsochen the right. Look for the white-tiled building From the junction it’s two hours west to After about 30km the road passes large It’s about 240km from Raka to Tsochen or and turn into its courtyard. Rooms, on the Gertse through a wide valley dotted with Tarab-tso (or Dara-tso). It’s another 75km five to six hours of driving. For 25km the 2nd floor, are large and fairly well provided sheep, blue sheep and prayer flags. There’s to ramshackle Tsaka (about three hours from road runs along the eastern side of Tagyel-tso with TVs, washstands, sofas and clean bed- a minor checkpoint for drivers 24km Gertse), a small salt-mining community. The before starting to climb to the 5500m Song ding. The pit toilets across the compound before Gertse. centre of town has a guesthouse. Ma-la. At kilometre marker 322 look straight are nasty. From Tsaka one route continues west ahead at the copper-stained mountain range Friendship Feria Hotel (%290 1878; d Y180) is at Gertse 改则 to meet the Ali–Kashgar road just north WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) for the uncanny likeness of Jabba the Hut’s the beginning of town on the left, before the %0897  of Pangong-tso. The road to Pongba heads face in the rocks. petrol station. It looks fine on the outside Gertse (Gaize) is the biggest town along the south and climbs to the 4878m Gya-la, then A further 45km from the pass and the road but is, as WH Auden once wrote of motels, northern route before Ali and looks like a passes nomads’ tents and curves around crests a smaller pass and leads down to two ‘designed to disintegrate’. strip of warehouses and junkyards when you salty Bar-tso, before crawling to another pass joined lakes, past a small salt mine. Eventu- The main street is lined with Chinese res- first drive in. The main street of town begins (4800m) that has a large cave on one side. ally you pop out into the wide sandy valley taurants (dishes Y10 to 30), but don’t expect from the roundabout and runs east–west The road then descends to Pongba (Shungba of the Yutra Tsangpo, where the road splits to find an English menu. There are several about 1.5km. Even if you don’t spend the or Xiongba) via a wide plain marked with Mad Max–style into a dozen parallel tracks. grocery stores at the far end of town near the night here, budget an hour to visit the long wavy lines made by vehicle tyres: it’s like At kilometre mark 179 there is a major check- Tibetan quarter. wall of chörtens, mani stones, prayer flags a giant Edvard Munch canvas. Pongba is a WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) 224 WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) •• Ali lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.comBook accommodation online at lonelyplanet.com RUNNINGHEAD WESTERN TIBET •• RunningSubhead (NGARI) •• Ali 225

0200 m dismal wool-trading centre for the nomads The road then passes through a landscape ALI 0 0.1 miles of the region, 96km from the turn-off. Here of alternating dry canyons and marshland. At you’ll find a very basic truckers’ guesthouse kilometre marker 1330 a misplaced factory ACB D and a few restaurants. suddenly appears out of nowhere. Ali soon 12 To Lhasa In the last stretch, the road heads north- emerges like a bizarre mirage. From afar it 11 (Northen Route) 8 (1700km) west from Pongba. Check out the fields of looks very large and modern and the shock 1 To Rutok (150km); Kashgar (1400km) grasses of varying colours: honey, camel and is reinforced when you actually reach the 17

mustard. The most amazing pictures are cre- town. There are clusters of modern-looking INFORMATION ated by this natural palette, including one we buildings, shops, neon signs, paved roads and Agricultural Bank of China ...... 1 A2 China Telecom...... 2 A2 saw that looked exactly like a cartoon desert hordes of taxis. Here you’ll drive on your first 3 15 China Telecom Internet Bar...... B2 island with a coconut tree growing in the bitumen road since Lhatse and it’s an amaz- Government Hospital ...... 4 B3 Hospital ...... 5 A2 14 centre. At kilometre marker 1202, the road ing experience to glide smoothly into town 13 10 Main Post Office...... 6 B2 enters a gorge and follows the Indus River to after five or six days bouncing around the 16 18 Police...... 7 B3 9 Post Office (Branch) ...... 8 D1 6 Gegye, 105km (two hours) from Pongba. northern plateau. Sunway Dry Cleaning...... 9 A2 2 5 Army SLEEPING Base 1 Gegye 革吉 ALI 阿里 2 Heng Yuan Guesthouse 10 3 ᘦ䖰ଚ䌌᳝䰤䋷ӏ݀ৌ ...... B2 The formerly quiet little town of Gegye %0897 / elev 4280m 11 To new PSB Office (500m); Shi Quan He Binguan...... D1 (Geji), nestled against a ridge, is expanding Ali, also known as Shiquanhe in Chinese and Tibetan Antelope Travel & Telecom Hotel...... 12 D1 Transportation Co (1km) rapidly and an entirely new main street was Senge Khabab (Town of the Lion) in Tibetan, EATING almost completed at the time of writing. It is the capital of the Ali prefecture. There’s Chinese Restaurants...... 13 B2 Vegetable Chinese Restaurants...... 14 B2 Market was actually looking very nice as the build- nothing much to see, but it is a good place 4 Uyghur Ashkhana...... 15 B2 7 ings – though offices for companies such as to clean up, have some decent food, top up SHOPPING Government Department Store & China Telecom and the Agricultural Bank of supplies and check your email before heading Indu s R Supermarket...... 16 B2 3 ive China – were built in an attractive Tibetan off to the real attractions of Ngari. r Produce Market...... 17 C1 style. The new and old main streets join at a Ali is thoroughly Chinese. There are plenty Supermarket...... 18 B2 T-junction just down from China Telecom. of Tibetans wandering the streets but, like you, To Bus Station (100m); To Lhasa At the far end of the old main street, heading they are probably visitors from further afield. Mt Kailash (330km); Lhasa (Northen Route) towards the hills, is the Tibetan quarter. The town is expanding rapidly, especially to (Southern Route) (1500km) (1700km) The government guesthouse Gegye Binguan the south of the river, and there’s a big army (革吉宾馆; Geji Binguan; %0897-263 245; d Y90) is presence. After the barren emptiness of the given a travel permit for the region for Y50, or they may be Y300, discounts of 30%) A popular place with Land the best in town. Rooms have high ceilings, surrounding country, Ali, with its video-game sent back to wherever they came from. Check with other Cruiser tours, with large clean rooms lacking decent beds and TV. The bathrooms are parlours, department stores and karaoke bars, travellers on the latest situation. The new office is way out any style. The bathrooms in the more expen- locked though, so you must use the dirty comes as a real shock to the system. in the southeastern suburbs; take a taxi and ask for the xin sive doubles are very large but the water drips squat ones outside. The hotel is on the old For views of the town, climb up to the gong’anju – 新公安局. The office is on the ground from the showerheads. The hotel has a decent main street 150m up on the left. It’s a large, prayer-flag-strewn hills to the north of town. floor, at the end of the corridor to the left. Note that at the inexpensive restaurant (dishes Y5 to 30) on official-looking building inside a compound Don’t take pictures of the army compound time of writing the PSB were stopping travellers on the street the ground floor with an extensive Chinese with a white tiled arch. to the west (recognisable by the huge army asking to see passports and permits. There were also obvious menu. The niurou mian (beef noodles; Y5) is Qile Guesthouse (奇乐招待所; Qile Zhaodaisuo; symbol painted on the hillside above it). undercover officers pretending to be fellow travellers. very cheap, as is the plate of shuijiao (dump- dm Y30) is a basic Tibetan-run guesthouse Sunway Dry Cleaning (Saiwai Ganxidian; per piece Y4- lings; Y12). There’s also a more expensive across the road from the Gegye Binguan, Information 5) Will do laundry; ask for normal wash (shuixi; 水洗) but quite pleasant (in a generic kind of way) on the 2nd floor. There’s a cosy teahouse at For cheap international calls visit one of the not dry-cleaning ( ganxi; 干洗). teahouse-sports bar (drinks Y15 to Y30) on the end of the hallway. many private telecom booths around town. the 2nd floor with a widescreen TV. The old main road contains a couple of Agricultural Bank of China (Zhongguo Nongye Yin- Sleeping & Eating Shi Quan He Guesthouse (Shiquanhe Binguan; %282 small grocery stores, plenty of Chinese and hang; h10am-7pm Mon-Fri) Near the army post, west Your sleeping options are limited in Ali as 4977; d with bathroom Y300, s/d without bathroom Y80/160, Muslim restaurants (dishes Y10 to 30), and of the roundabout. Will change cash US dollars, euros and many hotels are off-limits to foreigners. tr per bed Y30; discounts of 15%) This charmless two- a couple of Tibetan teahouses. Don’t expect UK pounds only (no travellers cheques). There’s an ATM Telecom Hotel (Ali Dianxin Binguan; %282 2998; d/tr star hotel offers bright, Western-style rooms WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) an English menu anywhere. outside on the Visa, MasterCard and Cirrus networks. Y150/130) This place has really dropped in qual- with small bathrooms (24-hour hot water), China Telecom Internet Bar (Zhongguo Dianxin ity (and fortunately in price) and while the and very spartan rooms without. Rooms here Gegye to Ali Wangba; per hr Y4; h24hr) Go through the gate and rooms are still fine for a night’s stay (they’re are often booked out, especially the triples. Ali is just 112km (three hours) from Gegye. At take the stairs to the left to the 2nd floor. Private booths clean but the furnishings are taking a beating), Ali has numerous Chinese restaurants first the road follows the infant Indus River. are available with windows if you can’t stand the smoke in there’s no running water, and you should ex- south and west of the main junction and, Then at kilometre marker 1260 it crosses the the main room. pect discreet knocks on your door throughout given the town’s remote location, they are river and soon enters a marshland with an PSB (Gong’anju; %282 1542, 136-1897 7294; h10am- the night from the local gals. surprisingly good value for money. There are abundance of birdlife, including golden ducks 1pm & 4.30-7pm Mon-Fri) Groups will need to register here. Heng Yuan Guesthouse (Heng Yuan Binguan; %282 also a few Tibetan places around. Don’t expect and large black-necked cranes. Individuals without permits may be fined Y350 and then 8288; s/d/tr without bathroom Y180/185/188, d with bathroom English menus. WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) 226 WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) •• Mt Kailash lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.comlonelyplanet.com WESTERN RUNNINGHEAD TIBET (NGARI) •• RunningSubhead •• Mt Kailash 227

Uyghur Ashkhana (noodles Y10) For something MT KAILASH completely different head to this popular place 冈仁波齐峰  TO THE LAND OF SHIVERING SHIVA that greets you at the entrance with the hang- Going to western Tibet and not completing a ‘Are you cold?’ I asked Mr Ranjan as we met in the hallway of the Saga Hotel. He was wearing ing carcass of a cow. A loaf of thick naan and kora around Mt Kailash would be like visiting a thick blue North Face jacket, ski gloves, ski pants, balaclava and a woven scarf wrapped up to 10 beef skewers is a cheap Y11. To find the a great capital and stopping short outside its his stubbly chin. I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, sandals and jeans. place head north 100m from the main round- most famous treasure. Mt Kailash dominates ‘I haven’t been outside yet,’ he answered. ‘But the altitude is very high here I think. I can’t about. Look for a man barbecuing outside the region with the sheer awesomeness of its take any chances falling ill. I am on my way to Kailash.’ a glass building. (The cow inside is another four-sided summit, and its centrality in the He didn’t need to tell me. On my walk around the holy mountain I’d seen hundreds of Indian dead giveaway.) mythology of a billion people. And like the pilgrims, and they had all been dressed literally exactly like him. greatest works of art, a Taj Mahal or a Hamlet, Hindus are a common sight around the Kailash area from June to September. For them, Mt Shopping it captures the imagination generation after Kailash is the abode of Shiva and Lake Manasarovar a mental creation of Brahma. An agreement Ali is a good place to stock up on supplies. generation. between China and India allows a limited number of pilgrims to make the journey each year. The best selection is in the supermarkets by The mountain has been a lodestone to pil- The trip is so important that the quota is oversubscribed and places have to be determined by the main roundabout. For fruit head to the grims and adventurous travellers for centuries a lottery. I could see why Mr Ranjan was taking no chances with a stray breeze. If he missed market (h7am-10pm), a couple of hundred but until recently very few had set their eyes this opportunity to do a parikrama (the Hindu equivalent of a kora) around Mt Kailash, there metres east. on it. With the means of transportation get- would not be another. ting easier and easier, and road conditions I had finished my own circuit around Mt Kailash not three days before and when he heard Getting There & Away improving, this is fast changing. Camp sites this Mr Ranjan suddenly became all flashing eyes and questions: Had I walked all the way around From Ali to Darchen, the only town in the and guesthouses can now be crowded, and the sacred peak? What was it like? What did I see? I answered that yes I had circumambulated vicinity of the Mt Kailash kora, it’s a day’s sadly littered with plastic bottles and instant- the peak, the route was an easy one to follow and I had seen the four sides of Mt Kailash: the journey of around 330km. noodle packaging. There’s no denying that northern peak, with its black granite face, was most beautiful. A civilian airport is scheduled to open this distracts from the sense of holiness of the These were not the answers he wanted, of course, but I didn’t feel like admitting I had spent here in 2010. place, at least for foreign visitors. three days wanting to vomit from the effects of acute mountain sickness (AMS). What was it like? Any reasonably fit person should be able It was like being out of mind but not body. What did I see? I dreamt one night of Milarepa, riding BUS to complete the three-day walk, but come a St Bernard, flying me down off the mountain on a beam of light. Tibetan Antelope Travel and Transportation Co prepared with warm and waterproof cloth- ‘Are you going to take a horse around the mountain?’ I asked to change the direction of the (藏羚羊旅运有限公司; Zanglingyang Lüyun ing and equipment. For more information conversation. Most Indian pilgrims to Mt Kailash drive as far as they can up the Lha-chu Valley Youxian Gongsi; %282 3828; [email protected]) runs about the kora, including a map of the route, on the first day, and then switch to Tibetan horses, with herds of yaks and their handlers in a bus service between Lhasa and Ali. The of- see p302. tow with supplies. fice is in the far southeast of town, not far But Mr Ranjan was clear that this was not the way to do things. from the new PSB building. History ‘I walk the holy ground with my own legs,’ he said, not boasting, just matter-of-factly. ‘Oth- The sleeper bus runs every two or three Throughout Asia, stories exist of a great erwise, why do I go?’ days nonstop along the northern route and mountain, the navel of the world, from which I agreed and at that our conversation ended. Mr Ranjan uttered a final ‘God bless you’, then takes 60 hours. The tickets are priced from flow four great rivers that give life to the areas walked to the end of the hallway, turned into the lobby, exited the front door and stepped into Y651 to Y751. Booking tickets two or three they pass through. The myth originates in the 25°C weather dressed like a snowman. days in advance is essential. For details of the Hindu epics, which speak of Mt Meru – home Lhasa services, see p127 . of the gods – as a vast column 84,000 leagues The company also runs buses to the fol- high, its summit kissing the heavens and its Mt Kailash, at 6714m, is not the mightiest the domain of Shiva, the Destroyer and Trans- lowing: Yecheng (Y500, 50 hours) every two flanks composed of gold, crystal, ruby and of the mountains in the region, but with its former. To the Buddhist faithful, Mt Kailash is days, road conditions permitting; Rutok Xian lapis lazuli. These Hindu accounts placed Mt hulking shape – like the handle of a millstone, the abode of Demchok (Sanskrit: Samvara), a (Y50) once a day; Zanda (Y200) every two Meru somewhere in the towering Himalaya according to Tibetans – and its year-round wrathful manifestation of Sakyamuni or Sakya or three days; Darchen/Purang (Y230/280) but, with time, Meru increasingly came to be snowcapped peak, it stands apart from the Thukpa, thought to be the equivalent of Hin- every two days. associated specifically with Mt Kailash. The pack. Its four sheer walls match the cardinal duism’s Shiva. The Jains of India also revere From the government bus station at confluence of the myth and the mountain points of the compass, and its southern face is the mountain as the site at which the first the south end of town buses also run to is no coincidence. No-one has been to the famously marked by a long vertical cleft punc- of their saints was emancipated. And in the Lhasa, Darchen, Purang, Zanda, Rutok and summit to confirm whether the gods reside tuated halfway down by a horizontal line of ancient Bön religion of Tibet, Mt Kailash was WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) Yecheng. there (although some have come close), but rock strata. This scarring resembles a swastika – the sacred Yungdrung Gutseg (Nine-Stacked- Mt Kailash does indeed lie at the centre of an a Buddhist symbol of spiritual strength – Swastika Mountain) upon which the Bönpo Getting Around area that is the key to the drainage system of and is a feature that has contributed to Mt founder Shenrab alighted from heaven. Fleets of taxis are part of the mirage-in-the- the Tibetan plateau. Four of the great rivers Kailash’s mythical status. The mountain is In May 2001 Spanish climbers gained per- desert shock of arriving in Ali. Within the city of the Indian subcontinent originate here: the known in Tibetan as Kang Rinpoche, or ‘Pre- mission to climb the peak, only to abandon limits there’s a standard taxi fare of Y5, but Karnali, which feeds into the Ganges (south); cious Jewel of Snow’. their attempt in the face of international the centre of town is actually compact enough Indus (north); Sutlej (west); and Brahmaputra Mt Kailash has long been an object of wor- protests. Reinhold Messner also gained per- that you can walk anywhere. (Yarlung Tsangpo, east). ship for four major religions. For Hindus, it is mission to scale the peak in the 1980s, but WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) 228 WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) •• Mt Kailash lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.comBook accommodation online at lonelyplanet.com WESTERN TIBET RUNNINGHEAD (NGARI) •• •• Lake RunningSubhead Manasarovar 229

monasteries, it was rebuilt (in 1986) after the usually electricity after 9.30pm. The guest- PLANNING A LAND CRUISER TRIP TO MT KAILASH depredations of the Cultural Revolution. It is house is inside a large red compound in the Any pilgrimage worth its salt involves its fair share of trials and tribulations, but with careful possible to drive here, but it’s a fine 2½-hour southeast of town. planning it’s possible to avoid many of the common pitfalls of arranging a trip to Mt Kailash. walk. At the crossroads near a stream, head The restaurant (hbreakfast, lunch & dinner; dishes Your first step should be to write up a detailed proposed itinerary for the trip, to give to both west if you want to visit Selung Monastery, a Y10-30) attached to the Tibet Manasarovar Trav- your agency and other prospective travellers. Mention all sights you wish to see so the agency two-hour walk. els Guesthouse serves decent Chinese food will know which permits to apply for. Once you’re on the road, it’s usually too late. and you can get a cheap breakfast of baozi If you’ve acclimatised in Lhasa, the slow rate of gain along the way shouldn’t pose any serious FESTIVALS & EVENTS (meat-filled buns) and xifan (rice porridge) problems. From Lhasa, most groups spend five to six days to get to Mt Kailash, often stopping The festival of Saga Dawa marks the enlighten- before heading off for the Mt Kailash trek. en route at Shigatse and Sakya. After three or four days on the kora, a day is spent at Lake Ma- ment of Sakyamuni, and occurs on the full- Chinese restaurant (dishes Y15-25) This restaurant nasarovar to rest up and enjoy the scenery. From the lake it’s four days back to Lhasa, though moon day of the fourth Tibetan month (in is just south of the Tibet Manasarovar Travels you can do it in three. May or June). Saga Dawa is a particularly Guesthouse below the East-West Hotel. If you plan to visit Thöling Monastery and Tsaparang, add at least three days to your proposal. popular time to visit Mt Kailash, though you An itinerary that takes in both the northern and southern routes will eat up around 21 days, will have to share the Tarboche camping area GETTING THERE & AWAY though it will be hard to find other travellers to join you. with several hundred other foreigners, most of Darchen is 6km north of the main Ali–Par- Costs usually come to about Y1000 per day but can be more, or less, depending on the month. them on group tours. You can also expect that yang road, about 12km from Barkha, 107km This pays for your driver and guide, the Land Cruiser, most permits and fuel. It does not pay for all the hotels in Darchen will be booked solid north of Purang, 330km southeast of Ali and your expenses, including meals, accommodation and entrance fees. Additional days cost Y500 throughout this time. The rudeness of some a lonely 1200km from Lhasa. to Y800, meaning it’s often cheaper to book fewer days than you really plan to travel (there are tourists and their intrusive camera lenses can Land Cruiser trips are the most popular of course limits to this). spoil the occasion. Other times offer a less way to get to Darchen. During the peak season colourful but more personally spiritual time (July, August and September) you’ll prob- to make your kora. ably find three or four trips advertised on abandoned his expedition in deference to the Mt Kailash it will last two days. There’s also The highlight of the festival is the raising of Lhasa’s noticeboards at any one time. For tips peak’s sanctity when he got to the mountain. a woman who bakes traditional flat bread in- the Tarboche prayer pole on the morning of on planning Land Cruiser trips, see opposite side the compound of the Tibet Manasarovar Saga Dawa. Monks circumambulate the pole and p345. Darchen 塔钦 Travels Guesthouse (opposite ). in elaborate costumes, with horns blowing. There are buses every two days between Mt Kailash is accessed via the small town of There are plenty of stalls, a fair-like atmos- Ali and Darchen (Y230), but none between Darchen (Taqin; elevation 4560m), the start- PORTERS & YAKS phere and a nonstop tidal flow of pilgrims Darchen and Saga. You may be able to get a ing point of the kora. It is a dirty, forgettable Big groups often hire yaks to carry their sup- around the pole. After the pole is raised at ride back in a Land Cruiser. Ask around. little village, littered with various compounds. plies. These cost Y50 a day plus another Y80 about 1pm everyone sets off on their kora. Most travellers linger long enough to organise for a guide. However, yaks will only travel How the flagpole stands when it is re- LAKE MANASAROVAR their kora and then get out. The smart ones except in pairs or herds, so you have to hire at erected is of enormous importance. If the elev 4560m  arrange to sleep at Lake Manasarovar just over least two. Most hikers get by with the services pole stands absolutely vertical all is well, but Lake Manasarovar, or Mapham Yum-tso an hour’s drive away. If you need medical of local porters for Y80 a day. if it leans towards Mt Kailash things are not (Victorious Lake) in Tibetan, is the most ven- attention, however, there’s a Swiss-funded good; if it leans away towards Lhasa, things erated of Tibet’s many lakes and one of its Tibetan clinic in Darchen to the northwest. DANGERS & ANNOYANCES are even worse. most beautiful. With its sapphire-blue waters, The PSB (公安局; Gong’anju) is in the There are many stray dogs in Darchen and Particularly large numbers of pilgrims as- sandy shoreline and snowcapped-mountain middle of town in an unmarked building 100m sometimes on the kora path. Most are friendly, semble at Mt Kailash every 12 years, in the backdrop, Manasarovar is immediately ap- north of Tibet Manasarovar Travels Guest- but a Tibetan woman was killed by a pack Tibetan Year of the Horse. The next gathering pealing, and a welcome change of venue from house. Groups will need to get their travel a couple years ago and now many Tibetans is in 2014. the often-forbidding terrain of Mt Kailash. permit stamped here on arrival. ‘Tickets’ for won’t hike alone. According to ancient Hindu and Bud- the Mt Kailash kora (Y50) are available here. SLEEPING & EATING dhist cosmology the four great rivers of the Travellers also need to register with the mili- SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES Pectopath (%139-8907 0383; dm Y30) The 10-bed Indian subcontinent, the Indus, Ganges, Sutlej tary, and the office for this is on the northeast If you’ve got extra time at Darchen, or you dorm is clean and cosy, if slightly cramped. and Brahmaputra, arise from Manasarovar, side of town inside the police compound. want to spend a day or two acclimatising be- The attached teahouse is a great place to plan though in reality only the Sutlej originates fore setting out on the Mt Kailash kora, you your kora and chat with other travellers. The at the lake. WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) SUPPLIES can find some interesting short walks in the owner, Diki, speaks some English. The guest- Manasarovar has been circumambulated by From June to September, nomad traders set area. The ridge to the north of the village ob- house is west of the red compound of the Tibet Indian pilgrims since at least 1700 years ago up a row of tents in the south end of Darchen. scures Mt Kailash, but an hour’s walk to the Manasarovar Travels Guesthouse, or north of when it was extolled in the sacred Sanskrit lit- Mostly they sell drinks, snacks and instant top offers fine views of the mountain. To the the nomads’ tents across an empty lot. erature the Puranas. A Hindu interpretation has noodles at inflated prices. south you will be able to see the twin lakes of The House of Support (%139-8997 5186; dm Y40) it that manas refers to the mind of the supreme For something better try to locate the roud- Manasarovar and Rakshas Tal. Another friendly dorm with a cosy restaurant. god Brahma, the lake being its outward mani- ian (butchery) in the centre of town and buy A dirt road just to the east of Darchen It’s beside Pectopath. festation. Accordingly, Indian pilgrims bathe some fresh lamb. Then take it to a restaurant leads up to the Gyangdrak Monastery, largest Tibet Manasarovar Travels Guesthouse (tr per bed in the waters of the lake and circumambulate and ask the staff to boil it. In the cooler air of of the Mt Kailash monasteries. Like other Y60) Rooms are basic and clean and there’s its shoreline. Tibetans, who are not so keen on WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) 230 WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) •• Lake Manasarovar lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.comlonelyplanet.com WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) RUNNINGHEAD •• Tirthapuri •• Hot RunningSubhead Springs & Kora 231

Sleeping & Eating hot springs enjoy close associations with Guru KAILASH & MANASAROVAR BOOKS You need to register with the PSB in Darchen Rinpoche. Pilgrims traditionally bathe here There are numerous books about Mt Kailash, Lake Manasarovar and the surrounding area to whet before spending the night. It’s not necessary to after completing their circuit of Mt Kailash, your appetite for adventure. The Sacred Mountain by John Snelling reports on early Western explorers, go in person if you are on a Land Cruiser tour; but the springs are growing weaker year by including those who turned up in the early 1980s when the door to China and Tibet first creaked the guide and driver can handle this. year and are now oddly diverted into a barren narrowly open. The Kailash chapters in German-born Lama Anagarika Govinda’s The Way of the White There are a couple of simple, friendly guest- field. Tirthapuri has a one-hour kora route. Clouds (1966) includes a classic account of the pilgrimage during a trip to Tibet in 1948. There’s also houses such as White Horse Hostel (d Y40) in Chiu It’s somewhat interesting to follow, though Sven Hedin’s three-volume Transhimalaya: Discoveries & Adventures in Tibet (1909-13). village, on the bluff near the bathhouse. Our most people can safely give this place a miss Books such as Kailas: On Pilgrimage to the Sacred Mountain of Tibet by Kerry Moran (with photos favourite, though, is an unmarked guesthouse if time is tight. by Russell Johnson) and Walking to the Mountain by Wendy Teasdill may make you jealous that (dm Y40) down on the sandy shore of the lake Starting from the hot springs the trail you didn’t get to the mountain just a decade or two earlier. Both highlight the much greater to the left of the Indian pilgrim Manasarovar climbs to a cremation point, an oval of rocks difficulties (and, in their eyes, rewards) that one would experience on a pilgrimage as recently Guesthouse compound. The guesthouse is run covered in old clothes and rags. From this as the late 1980s. by a very sweet nomad family, and is striking point, an alternative longer kora climbs to The more scientifically inclined can turn to Swami Pranavananda’s Kailas Manasarovar, an for it’s uncluttered space and rustic but cheery the very top of the ridge, rejoining the trail account of the author’s findings over numerous stays in the region between 1928 and 1947. atmosphere. Sure it has pit toilets (pretty clean near the long mani wall. The regular kora trail The book was reprinted in India in 1983 and you should be able to find a copy in a Kathmandu and with a fabulous view of the monastery) continues past a hole where pilgrims dig ‘sour’ bookshop or online. and mud-brick walls with old blue and white earth for medicinal purposes. Further along, Charles Allen’s A Mountain in Tibet investigates the hunt for the sources of the region’s four paint, but it’s exactly the kind of unpreten- there’s a ‘sweet’ earth hole. The trail reaches a great rivers and is perhaps the best introduction to the region. tious place we’d want for a simple lakeside miniature version of Mt Kailash’s Drölma-la, retreat. There’s a cosy teahouse inside where marked with mani stones and a large collec- you can get simple noodle and rice dishes, tion of yak horns and skulls. Below, prayer the bathing bit, generally just walk around it. location atop a craggy hill overlooking Lake and drinks. flags hang right across the gorge and a series Legend has it that the mother of the Buddha, Manasarovar. The chapel here contains im- Most other guesthouses can also provide of rocky pinnacles are revered as rangjung, or Queen Maya, was bathed at Manasarovar by the ages of Sakyamuni and Guru Rinpoche, simple meals. self-manifesting or self-arising chörtens. gods before giving birth to her son. but most people love the lake views, the The trail passes the Guru Rinpoche (Tirth- The Hindi poet Kalidasa once wrote that winding stone staircases and old wooden Getting There & Around apuri) Monastery. Where the trail doubles back the waters of Lake Manasarovar are ‘like doorframes of this fairy-tale-like structure. You will have made it this far either by hitch- to enter the monastery there is a rock with pearls’ and that to drink them erases the ‘sins On a clear day you can see Mt Kailash and ing or by hiring a Land Cruiser. There is no a hole in it right below the solitary prayer of a hundred lifetimes’. Be warned, however, 7728m Gurla Mandata, the huge peak on the public transport and very little truck activity wheel, which is a handy karma-testing sta- that the sins of a hundred lifetimes tend to southern horizon. between Darchen and the monastery. tion. Reach into the hole and pull out two make their hasty exit by way of the nearest stones. If both are white your karma is excel- toilet. Make sure that you thoroughly purify HOT SPRINGS TIRTHAPURI HOT SPRINGS & KORA lent; one white and one black means that it’s Manasarovar’s sacred waters before you drink There are wenquan ( hot springs) behind the OK; and if both are black you have serious them, however sacrilegious that may sound. monastery piped into a glass-roofed bath- On the banks of the Sutlej, only a few hours’ karma problems. Perhaps another Mt Kailash Manasarovar is linked to the smaller Rak- house (admission Y20) close to the village. The drive northwest of Darchen, the Tirthapuri kora would help? shas Tal (known to Tibetans as Lhanag-tso) by water is channelled from the hot springs the channel called Ganga-chu. The two bodies into individual cubicles via open ducts. The 0 100 m TIRTHAPURI HOT SPRINGS & KORA 0 0.1 miles of water are associated with the conjoined odourless water is silky to the touch, much Alternative Longer Kora sun and moon, a powerful symbol of Tantric like the waters the Japanese describe as a Longer Kora Rejoins Main Buddhism. On rare occasions, water flows ‘beauty bath’. Route through this channel from Lake Manasarovar Someday, a proper spa will be built here Cremation Point to Rakshas Tal; this is said to augur well for (and the view it will have of the lake!) but until To Moincer Sour Earth Hole the Tibetan people and most are pleased that then you must be satisfied with a good wash (9km) water has indeed been flowing between the with great water in rather dodgy-looking tubs Sweet Earth Hole Karma-Testing Hole two lakes in recent years. (bring a towel to sit on and wear sandals). Monastery Guest House Guru Rinpoche Tirthapuri Monastery WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) Most groups and individuals base them- Hot Springs Dorje Phagmo Shrine Demon's Arrow Mani Wall selves at the picturesque Chiu village, site of TREKKING Prostration Rock Circular Mani Wall Rangjung the Chiu Monastery, on the northwestern For a trek, walk along the ridge to the south- Chörtens shore of the lake. For an overview of the Lake east of the monastery or make a half-day Sutlej Manasarovar kora, see p311 . trek along part of the lake kora to the ruined Zenkhang Shrine Mani chörten and prayer wall at Cherkip, return- River Walls

Sights & Activities ing via the shoreline cave retreats (see p311). CHIU MONASTERY There are fine views and lots of nesting birds Thirty-three kilometres south of Darchen, along this route, but bring repellent against Chiu Monastery (admission free) enjoys a fabulous the annoying shoreline flies. WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) 232 WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) •• Guge Kingdom lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.comlonelyplanet.com WESTERN RUNNINGHEAD TIBET (NGARI) •• •• RunningSubhead Guge Kingdom 233

The monastery dukhang (assembly hall) Tsaparang is 20km west of Zanda, while 243km. It’s 65km from Darchen to Moincer, dering around and taking pictures as the army has stone footprints of Guru Rinpoche and Thöling Monastery is now merely an adjunct which is the turn-off to Tirthapuri, and then maintains a strong and visible presence, with his consort Yeshe Tsogyel to the right of the to the town. To visit both you need to budget another 56km from there to the army base at bases at both ends of town. altar. Outside the monastery a large circle of at least three days (two merely for getting Ba’er/Songsha, where there’s a basic Tibetan The Cultural Affairs Bureau (%062 2110), just mani stones marks the spot where the gods there and back from Darchen). restaurant. By the end of 2007 the road from south of the entrance to the Hubei Hotel danced in joy when Guru Rinpoche was en- Songsha to Moincer should be paved, though courtyard (Shuili Binguan), may issue permits shrined at Tirthapuri. Beside it is a mani wall History this won’t cut off much time as the 122km for the caves at Dungkar (p237 ) – or get one at (a wall made of mani stones) over 200m long, By the 10th century the Guge kingdom was a from Songsha to Zanda is the hard part and the PSB in Ali to be safe – and help you find a the end result of a demon firing an arrow at wealthy centre supporting several thousand takes six to seven hours of zigzagging down local who knows the way. the guru. (The guru stopped the arrow’s flight people, and the great Guge king Yeshe Ö began and up fantastically eroded gorges and gullies. There are good hot showers (yushi) on the and transformed it into this wall.) Finally, the to nurture an exchange of ideas between India The road then enters the wider Sutlej Valley 2nd floor at The Masses Bath (Dazhong Yushi; Y20; kora drops back down to the river, passing a and Tibet. The young monk Rinchen Zangpo and, after crossing a bridge, finally reaches h9am-1am) in the south end of town near the large collection of mani walls of various sizes (958-1055) was sent to study in India and Zanda. Chongqing Hotel. On the 1st floor you can on the way. returned 17 years later to become one of Ti- get your laundry (per piece Y4-5) done. There’s There are limited facilities at the hot springs, bet’s greatest translators of Sanskrit texts and TO/FROM ALI an internet bar (wangba; per hr Y8) in the shop just so you should be self-sufficient. The monastery a key figure in the revival of Buddhism across Coming from Ali, the road is equally tough beside the laundry. guesthouse (d Y30) has a couple of rooms and the Tibetan plateau. Rinchen Zangpo built going, but highly scenic, and will also take you can camp further downstream (purify all 108 monasteries throughout western Tibet, around eight hours of driving though it’s only SLEEPING & EATING river water here). Ladakh and Spiti, including the great mon- around 200km. The first hour is on paved Telecom Hotel (q with/without TV Y60/50) This place There is no public transport to Tirthapuri, asteries of Tabo (Spiti) and Alchi (Ladakh). road that runs above and then through the has big rooms with fairly comfy beds and a which is 9km south of Moincer (Mensi), Two of the most important were those at Tsa- super-flat Gar Valley. About 64km from Ali desk. The pit toilets at the back of the com- which in turn is 65km west of Darchen along parang and Thöling. He also invited Kashmiri the route crosses a bridge to the western side pound are reasonably clean. the main road to Ali. There’s a checkpoint artists to paint the unique murals still visible of the valley. A further 10km and the road The Letter Reaches the Guesthouse (%139-8997 at Moincer, which sometimes charges a fee today. It was partly at Rinchen Zangpo’s be- branches right off the main road. Now more 1972; s/d Y60/80) Friendly place with small rooms to proceed to Tirthapuri. Moincer is the hest that Atisha, a renowned Bengali scholar like a trail, or wagon path, the road climbs but decent beds. There’s even a real sink and dormitory town for the coal mines 20km and another pivotal character in the revival huge switchbacks up to the 5300m Lalung-la mirror in the common area for washing up. to the northeast and has a decent selection of Tibetan Buddhism, was invited to Tibet. (Laling Gutsa), then the Laochi-la before de- And yes, the crazy English name is what you of shops, restaurants and the basic Meiman Atisha spent three years in Thöling before scending and climbing again to a third pass. will read on the sign over the door. Zhaodaisuo guesthouse. travelling on to central Tibet. About 65km from the turn-off there’s a per- Chongqing Hotel (Chongqing Binguan; %136-2897 A further 14km west from Tirthapuri is the The kingdom fell into ruin just 50 years mit checkpoint (this used to be just outside 6950; d Y100) Rooms are in small cabins with TV Bönpo-sect Gurugyam Monastery. The nearby after the first Europeans arrived in Tibet in Zanda). and cheery flowery bedsheets. The cabins are upper Sutlej region, a further 10km away, is 1624, after a siege by the Ladakhi army (see From a plateau there are stunning 180- set in a large quiet compound, which is right peppered with abandoned cave settlements p216 ). degree views of the Indian Himalaya, stretch- beside laundry, internet and hot showers. and forms the Kyunglung (Garuda) Valley, the ing from Nanda Devi in the south to the La- The main street has at least half-a-dozen location of the early kingdom of Shangshung Permits dakh range in the north. The route then drops places to eat, mostly generic Chinese restau- (see p216). If you have a particular interest You need a travel permit for the region and down into deep, eroded wadi-like gullies be- rants, though also a couple of Tibetan op- in this archaeological site and other remote it will be checked on the road into Zanda. If fore finally reaching the Sutlej Valley. Around tions, and one Muslim eatery. Hong Man Tian monasteries in the area, bring a copy of Victor you hire a Land Cruiser, the permit will be 80km from the turn-off look for a village sur- Restaurant (dishes 10-25) was newly painted and Chan’s Tibet Handbook and be prepared for arranged in Lhasa. Otherwise, try to get one rounded by eroded cliffs with hundreds of spruced up at the time of writing, though some serious exploration. from the PSB in Ali. tombs carved into the soft rock. more importantly it was serving good Chinese The Sutlej Valley is a wonderland of eroded food. There’s an English sign out the front. GUGE KINGDOM Getting There & Away clifffaces that have taken on the most aston- Menu in English. The barren, eroded landscape around modern From Ali there are buses (Y200) every two ishing shapes. You’ll swear over and over Zanda is unlike any you will have encountered or three days to Zanda. There are two main again that you’re seeing the ancient ruins of SHOPPING so far, and seems an improbable location for roads to Zanda from the Darchen–Ali road. a monastery, or a castle, or the high pillars that There’s a small grocery store up from China a major civilisation to have developed. Yet the Both are rough and go over some very high once held the roof of a mighty palace. Telecom and an underground market just past WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) ancient Guge kingdom thrived here as an im- passes. In a Land Cruiser it’s possible to make After crossing the valley and then a long that sells fresh fruit. portant stop on the trade route between India it to Zanda from either Ali or Mt Kailash in bridge you wind up in the foothills to Zanda, and Tibet. Today, the remains of Thöling a single day, providing you get an early start. 130km from the turn-off. Thöling Monastery Monastery, once a major centre of Tibetan There is no public transportation for the 21km Founded by Rinchen Zangpo in the 10th cen- Buddhism, and neighbouring Tsaparang, a to Tsaparang. Zanda 札达 tury, Thöling Monastery (admission Y50) was once 9th-century fortress etched into the very stone %08927  / elev 3650m Ngari’s most important monastic complex. of a towering ridge, are two of western Ti- TO/FROM DARCHEN Zanda (Zhada), or Tsamda, is the bland, one- It was still functioning in 1966 when the Red bet’s highlights, though few Western tourists It’s about an eight-drive from Darchen to street town that has been built up the slopes Guards shut down operations. Three main bother to make it this far. Zanda, though the distance is only about from the Thöling Monastery. Be careful wan- buildings survive within the monastery walls. WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) WESTERN TIBET (NGARI)

234 WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) •• Guge Kingdom lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.comlonelyplanet.com WESTERN RUNNINGHEAD TIBET (NGARI) •• •• RunningSubhead Guge Kingdom 235

Approximate INFORMATION Scale You enter the Mandala Chapel through the SIGHTS ZANDA & THÖLING China Post ...... 1 B2 0 200 m Gyatsa Lhakhang and finish off a visit by walk- Chapel of the Prefect MONASTERY 0 0.1 miles China Telecom...... (see 12) Cultural Affairs Bureau...... 2 B3 ing around an interior kora of empty chapels. Just inside the entrance to the complex is a A B Internet 㔥৻...... 3 B2 small building that was a private shrine for Tsa- 4 The Masses Bath ...... B2 OUTSIDE THE MONASTERY WALLS parang’s prefect or regent. The caretaker has SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES 1 A few steps east of the monastery compound named it the ‘Drölma Lhakhang’ after his own Chörten...... 5 A2 Lhakhang Karpo...... 6 A1 is the recently restored Serkhang chörten. A sculpture of Drölma (Tara) displayed here. Lines of Minature Chörtens ...... 7 A1 similar chörten stands in total isolation just to The wall murals date from the 16th century, Main Assembly Hall ...... 8 A2 Serkhang Chörten...... 9 B1 the west of the town. To the north, between by which time the style evinced in other Tsa- ) Yeshe Ö's Mandala Chapel...... 10 A2 the monastic compound and the cliff-face parang murals was in decline. The exuberant Langchen Tsangpo (Sutlej River SLEEPING that falls away to the Sutlej River below are murals include fantastic multicoloured images Chong Qing Hotel 䞡ᑚᆒ佚...... 11 B2 two long lines of miniature chörtens. The area of elephants, Garuda-like bird-people, her- Telecom Hotel ...... 12 B2 is superbly photogenic at dusk. mits and snow lions, among others. The main 9 The Letter Reaches the Guesthouse...... 13 B2 7 6 mural on the back wall shows Sakyamuni 2 EATING 10 8 Bei Bei Quick Meal Shop ...... 14 B2 Tsaparang flanked by Tsongkhapa and Atisha (Jowe-je). Thöling 12 15  18 Happy Restaurant for Travellers...... B2 The citadel of Tsaparang (admission Y106, plus Y10 for Small figures of the Buddha’s disciples stand Monastery Guge 16 Hotel 3 Hong Man Tian Restaurant ...... B2 Chinese-speaking guide) has been gracefully falling beside his throne. 16 SHOPPING 13 into ruin ever since its slide from prominence Supermarket...... 17 B2 To Ali (204km) Supermarket...... 18 B2 in the 17th century. The ruins, which seem to Lhakhang Karpo Tibetan Old 17 grow organically out of the hills in successive Slightly above the entrance, the large Lhakhang Town 2 15 levels, are crowned by a red Summer Palace Karpo, or White Chapel, holds the oldest paint- 4 14 Zanda 5 the protectors Dorje Jigje (Yamantaka) and 11 Shuili atop a yellow cockscomb-like outcrop. It’s a ings at Tsaparang and is probably the most Binguan Namse (Vairocana) decorate the main entry. photogenically surreal landscape. important chapel in Ngari. The murals of the 3 1 The site’s early Tantric-inspired murals chapel date back to the 15th or 16th century To Tsaparang (21km) WHITE CHAPEL (LHAKHANG KARPO) are of particular interest to experts on early but their influences extend back to 10th- The entry to this side chapel is marked by Buddhist art. (See p232 for a history of the century Kashmiri Buddhist art, and for this To Ali (204km); Darchen (241km) a finely carved deodar (cedar) doorframe site.) For everyone else there are the views reason are of particular interest to scholars that originated in India. Inside are detailed over the valley and the twisting paths and of Buddhist art. Apart from Tsaparang, very 15th- and 16th-century murals. The left wall secret tunnels that worm their way through little material evidence of early Kashmiri art Even if you have little interest in Buddhist in particular has been hit by water damage and the fortress. remains (noticeably at Alchi Monastery in statues and murals, it is still fascinating to a Swiss team is currently working on a restora- The ruins climb up the ridge through three Ladakh). Lay people can spot the Kashmiri walk around the complex, with its cramped tion plan. The central statue is an old Sakya- distinct areas. At the bottom of the hill is the influence in the Hindu-inspired deities, with hallways and low doorframes, and open views muni Buddha; only his hands are of recent monastic area with the four best-preserved their slender torsos and thin waists, the de- across the Sutlej Valley from the courtyard. origin. Lining the sides are the eight medicine buildings and their murals. From there the trail tailed brocade of the figures’ robes and the buddhas in various states of destruction. Male to the top climbs through former residential general richness of the colours. MAIN ASSEMBLY HALL (DUKHANG) deities line the left wall; female bodhisattvas on quarters, where monks’ cells were tunnelled The ceiling is beautifully painted, as are the The dimly lit chamber of the dukhang has the right. The far-right-corner murals depict into the clay hillside. Finally, the route burrows many thin columns that support it. The carv- especially fine wall murals, showing strong sky burials. straight into the hillside through a tunnel be- ings and paintings of Sakyamuni that top each Kashmiri and Nepali influences; bring a pow- fore emerging in the ruins of the palace citadel column are particularly noteworthy. At one erful torch (flashlight) to enjoy the rich detail. YESHE Ö’S MANDALA CHAPEL (NAMNANG at the very top of the hill. The vast, rough-hewn time, 22 life-size statues lined the walls; today The Kashmiri influences are noticeable in the LHAKHANG) landscape of the Sutlej Valley that spreads out only 10 remain and these are severely dam- shading on the hands and feet, the detail of Once the main building in the Thöling com- before you is both terrifying and sublime: you aged. Even so, this chapel has fared better than the jewellery and dress, the tight stomach plex, Yeshe Ö’s Mandala Chapel was also can’t take your eyes off its beauty, but you most temples attacked during the Cultural lines and non-Tibetan images of palm trees known as the Golden Chapel. Before its know you wouldn’t last a day alone in it. Revolution. Originally each statue would have and dhotis (Indian-style loincloths). Scholarly destruction in the Cultural Revolution, the Tsaparang is 21km west of Zanda, but un- been framed by a torana (halo-like garland). opinion varies on whether the murals date square main hall had four secondary chap- less you get lucky hitching a ride, the only way Only partial sections of these remain (look in WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) from the 13th and 14th, or 15th and 16th els at the centre of each wall. Figures of the to get there is with a rented vehicle. Walking the far left corner and back recess), but you centuries. deities were arrayed around the wall facing is risky as the dirt roads change every year can still see the holes where these structures The main statues here are of the past, towards a central image atop a lotus pedestal, because of the monsoons. were once anchored to the walls. present and future buddhas (all of recent ori- in the form of a huge three-dimensional Ti- Early evening (particularly around 8pm) of- The doors are flanked by two 5m-high gin), and there’s also a footprint of Rinchen betan mandala (a circular representation of fers the best light. No photography is allowed guardian figures, red Tamdrin (Hayagriva) Zangpo. The lower walls of the inner area the three-dimensional world of a meditational inside the chapels. Bring a strong torch, lunch and blue Chana Dorje (Vajrapani). Again, have murals depicting the life of the Buddha deity). All the images have been destroyed but and water, and expect to spend at least half a both are damaged but even armless they hint and the founders of the monastery. Murals of the four chörtens remain. day exploring the ruins; longer if possible. at the lost marvels of the chapel. WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) 236 WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) •• Guge Kingdom lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.comlonelyplanet.com WESTERN TIBET RUNNINGHEAD (NGARI) •• •• Dungkar RunningSubhead & Piyang 237

Approximate TSAPARANG Scale The beautiful original chapel door, with its Dorje Jigje (Yamantaka), to whom the chapel Other Sights 0 100 m concentric frames and carvings of bodhisat- is dedicated. On the left as you look back at North of the main entrance to Tsaparang a 0 0.1 miles tvas, mantras and elephants, has survived and the door is Namtöse (Vaishravana), the God trail follows a green river valley down about cave To Zanda Mummy Cave is worth close inspection. Inside, many thin of Wealth, who is depicted riding a snow lion 700m to a on the left that holds the mum- (21km) columns support the chapel roof, similar to and surrounded by square bands of Tibetan mified remains of several bodies. On the way those of the neighbouring Lhakhang Karpo. warriors. back, visit the chörten and ruined chapel

Lotsang By the main door are images of Chenresig Like the Chapel of the Prefect, the paintings of the Lotsang Lhakhang. Only the feet of the Lhakhang Ticket Office (Avalokiteshvara), Green Tara and an eight- here are of later origin, central Tibetan in main statue remain. Also worth a quick visit armed White Tara, with Drölma and Jam- style (rather than Kashmiri-influenced) and are the caves and chörtens to the west of the Toilets Caves pelyang (Manjushri) to the right. of lower quality; the golden years had passed main site, near the public toilet behind the Entrance The statues that once stood in the chapel by this point. All the statues that once stood caretaker’s compound. Lhakhang Karpo were placed towards the centre of the hall, here were destroyed. not around the edges, and although only the DUNGKAR & PIYANG Chapel of  the Prefect bases and damaged fragments remain, the Summer Palace Caves with extensive wall paintings were dis- Lhakhang Marpo Dorje Jigje crowded feel to the space, the intense col- From the four chapels at the base of the hill, covered at remote Dungkar approximately Lhakhang ours and the eerie silence combine to create the path to the top climbs up through the mo- 40km northeast of Zanda, during the early a powerful atmosphere. You almost expect nastic quarters and then ascends to the palace 1990s. At around 1100 years old, the cave Indiana Jones to come striding out from be- complex atop the hill via a tunnel. The Sum- paintings are possibly the oldest in Ngari and hind the wreckage. mer Palace, at the northern end of the hilltop, have much in common stylistically with the

Monastic Although the wall murals have been dam- is empty, with a balcony offering wonderful Silk Road cave murals of Dunhuang in China Quarters aged by vandalism and water leakage, they re- views. The Sutlej Valley is just to the north. (particularly in their almost cartoon style, and main so remarkably brilliant it’s easy to forget Across the smaller valley to the northeast is the flying apsaras, painted on a blue back-

Very Steep that they are actually over 350 years old. On the ruined Lotsang Lhakhang. ground). There are three main caves, of which

Cliff the left wall are the famous murals chronicling The most interesting of the palace build- the best preserved is the mandala cave. You the construction of the temple: animals haul ings is the small but well-preserved Man- need to have an interest in early Tibetan and Tunnel Cliff the building’s huge timber beams into place dala (Demchok) Lhakhang, the red-painted Silk Road art for the trip to be worthwhile. Summer Very Steep Palace as musicians with long trumpets celebrate building in the centre of the hill-top ridge. Lovely Dungkar village also has a ruined mon- Stairs down to the completion of the temple. Officials stand The centrepiece of this small chapel was a astery above the town. Winter Palace in attendance (a Kashmir delegation wears wonderful three-dimensional mandala with The PSB in Ali (p224 ) will usually give you a turbans), followed by members of the royal Tantric murals, only the base of which sur- permit (Y50) to the caves, but if it doesn’t, try Mandala family, the king and queen (under a parasol), vived the desecrations of the Cultural Revo- the Cultural Affairs Bureau in Zanda ( p233). (Demchok) Lhakhang Öpagme (Amitabha) and, finally, a line of lution. It is currently being restored and is It may give you a letter of introduction to the chanting monks. The royal gifts frame the closed to visitors. caretaker. Remember, though, that if he’s not bottom of the scene. at home when you arrive, you won’t get in as Murals on the far right (northern) wall Winter Palace no-one else has the key. depict the life of the Buddha, showing him Accessed by a steep and treacherous eroded Also note that you may not get there at all tempted by demons and protected by a naga staircase (now with a rough railing in place), as most Land Cruiser drivers do not know serpent, among others. On the eastern wall the Winter Palace is an amazing ants’ nest of the area and the dirt roads are unsigned and The huge figure of Sakyamuni that once are eight stylised chörtens, representing the rooms tunnelled into the clay below the change every year after the monsoons. Your stood in the recess, the Jowo Khang, at the eight events in Buddha’s life. Summer Palace. The rooms were built 12m best bet is to bring a local with you, but this back of the hall has been replaced by one of The main deities in the chapel have very underground in order to conserve warmth, probably means bringing a local back with the caretaker’s statues. On the side walls at the ornate toranas, decorated with birds and and the eastern rooms have windows that you to Zanda. Realistically plan on at least a back were once row after row of smaller dei- crocodiles, and topped with flying apsaras open out onto the cliff-face. There are full day to visit the caves. ties, each perched on its own small shelf. (angels). At the back of the hall, statues of seven dusty chambers, all empty, linked by A couple of kilometres north, further up the the 35 confessional buddhas once sat on in- a cramped corridor. Branching off from the valley, the village of Piyang is worth the small Lhakhang Marpo dividual shelves; a handful of them still have stairs you will see a dim passage that pro- detour. It lies at the foot of a large ridge hon- WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) Above the Lhakhang Karpo is the equally bodies but all the heads have gone. vided vital access to water during sieges and eycombed with thousands of caves and topped large Lhakhang Marpo, or Red Chapel, which served as an emergency escape route for the with ruined monastery buildings and walls. was built around 1470, perhaps 30 years ear- Dorje Jigje (Jikji) Lhakhang royal family. lier than the Lhakhang Karpo. The murals The murals in the smaller chapel a few steps The easily missed stairs to the Winter Pal- RUTOK XIAN 日土县 in this chapel were repainted around 1630, above the Lhakhang Marpo are also painted ace lead down from between the Summer Pal- The new Chinese town of Rutok Xian (Ritu shortly before the fall of the Guge kingdom, red and gold, and are almost solely devoted to ace and the Mandala (Demchok) Lhakhang. Xian), 132km from Ali, is a modern army post, so they are actually younger than those in the wrathful deities such as Demchok (Chakras- Don’t go down if you’re prone to vertigo but there are a couple of great sights nearby Lhakhang Karpo. amvara), Hevajra and the buffalo-headed or claustrophobia. that warrant the trip. The road between Rutok WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) 238 WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) •• Western Nepal to Mt Kailash lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.comBook accommodation online at lonelyplanet.com WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) RUNNINGHEAD •• Western •• Nepal RunningSubhead to Mt Kailash 239

and Ali was being upgraded at the time of antlered deer racing across the rock and look- carvings. The hall itself is presided over by from Darchen or Lake Manasarovar is one writing, so the journey there in the future ing back at three leopards in hot pursuit. Also a figure of Jampa (Maitreya). To the far left of the most scenic in western Tibet. From should be fairly quick. depicted are eagles, yaks, camels, goats, tigers, is a small chamber with paintings from the the lake, the monastery is easy to work in as About 8km north of Rutok Xian, the road wild boars and human figures. earliest days of the monastery. Hanging from a day trip. hits the east end of lovely turquoise Pangong- Less visited are the Lurulangkar paintings, the ceiling to the right of the entrance are the tso (4241m). The long lake extends 110km about 12km southwest of Rutok. The rela- stuffed carcasses of a yak, an Indian tiger, a Purang into Ladakh in India. tively primitive carvings are right beside the snow leopard and a wolf. %08060 /. elev 3800m The old Tibetan village of Rutok lies about road, up to a height of 4m above the ground, The eight-pillared Rinchen Zangpo Lha- Purang (Taklakot to the Nepalis) is a large trad- 10km off the main road from a turn-off about and show a variety of pre-Buddhist symbols khang adjoining the main hall is dominated ing centre comprising a number of distinct set- 5km south of Rutok Xian. The drive passes and animals, including dogs, yaks, eagles, deer by the trinity of Chenresig (Avalokiteshvara), tlements separated by the Humla Karnali River, the pretty chörtens of Bankor village en route. and goats. Human figures are shown standing Jampelyang (Manjushri) and Chana Dorje known in Tibetan as Mabja Tsangpo (Peacock Lovely white-painted traditional Rutok hud- in isolation or riding on horses. There are a (Vajrapani). To the right of these statues is River). Nepali traders come up from the Humla dles at the base of a splinter of rock, atop number of hunting scenes showing dogs chas- a rangjung (self-manifesting or self-arising) district and also the Darchula region in the which is Rutok Monastery , flanked at both ends ing deer and hunters shooting at them with speaking Tara. The revered 2ft-high statue extreme west of Nepal to trade a variety of of the hill by the crumbling, but still impres- bows and arrows. once warned the monastery’s abbot how to goods, including rice, carried up from Nepal sive, ruins of Rutok Dzong. From here, you can Most people visit Rutok Xian as a day trip prevent flooding of the local area. During the in huge trains of goods-carrying goats. Indian see the reservoir below and Pangong-tso in from Ali, though there are a couple hotels in Cultural Revolution the statue was buried for consumer goods and Nepali rice are traded for the distance. The surrounding villages are town and many restaurants. There’s no ac- safekeeping. Tibetan salt and wool in the Darchula bazaar, largely deserted in summer, as herders have commodation or any other facilities at old When you finish inside do a final kora a 15-minute walk south of Purang. moved to higher pastures. Rutok. around the compound. Little appears to have Purang is also the arrival point for the an- The intensely atmospheric main chapel of changed here or in the surrounding valley for nual influx of Hindu pilgrims from India, the monastery has a large statue of Jampa Getting There & Away a millennium. intent on making a parikrama (the Hindu (Maitreya) and a bronze Garuda to the left. From Ali there are daily buses (Y50) to Rutok Khojarnath is 130km from Darchen or equivalent of a kora) of Mt Kailash, which Clearly, at one time the whole eastern face Xian, but there’s no public transport to old about 107km from Chiu Village on Lake Ma- devout Hindus consider the abode of Shiva. of the hill was covered in monastic build- Rutok and very little traffic on the road. nasarovar. Travellers to these areas should try The hill northwest of town is the site of a huge ings. The monastery was destroyed during the to pay a visit to Khojarnath. The drive south army base said to extend far into the mountain Cultural Revolution and rebuilt in 1983-84; it WESTERN NEPAL TO MT KAILASH 0 400 m now has just six monks. See Lonely Planet’s Trekking in the Nepal PURANG 0 0.2 miles

Himalaya for details of the trek from Humla, To Darchen ACB (107km); D Sights a restricted region in the far west of Nepal, to Mt Kailash

r ANCIENT PETROGLYPHS Mt Kailash. This route is open only to tour e v i In 1985 prehistoric rock carvings, or petro- groups that trek in from Humla and you will R i l a glyphs, were found at several sites in Rutok need a specially endorsed Chinese visa. 1 n r a County. This was the first time such finds From the Nepali border at Sher, the road 9 K

a had been made in Tibet, although similar makes a long descent to a stream and then l m u finds have since been made at numerous follows the Humla Karnali to the village of H other sites. Khojarnath, 10km north. 8 Humla The extensive collection of rock carvings at New Bridge Bazaar Under Construction Rumudong is right beside the road, about 36km Khojarnath 10 7 south of the old Rutok turn-off, or about 96km elev 3790m 

north of Ali. There are kilometre markers every For those travelling north from Nepal, Kho- INFORMATION 2 5km along this road. Travelling north from jarnath, 21km south of Purang, is the first 4 Agricultural Bank of China...... 1 C3 Post Office...... 2 C3 Ali, start looking on the east side of the road large village over the border in Tibet. It boasts Telecom Office...... 3 B3 at kilometre marker 970 (though the kilometre the wonderful Korjak Monastery (admission Y30), Hospital...... 4 C2 Hot Showers...... 5 B3 markers may change with the upgraded road); an important monastery of the Sakya order. Army Camp Internet Bar...... 6 C3 the petroglyphs would be at around 967. There The blood-red compound, which dates back WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES are two distinct groups on the rockface right to 996, is sited in a narrow valley hemmed Chang Home-brew Stores...... 7 C2 Gokung (Tsegu) Monastery & beside the road, just before it crosses a bridge in by hulking dark-green mountains dotted H 12 u Caves...... 8 B2 to travel along a causeway over the marshy with traditional villages. Korjak escaped the m Shepeling Monastery...... 9 B1 l 11 a Wooden Bowl Workshops...... 10 B2

valley floor of the Maga Zangbu-chu. worst excesses of the Cultural Revolution and K

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The first, and more extensive, group also the damage sustained has been repaired with n 3 SLEEPING a

l 6 Peacock Hotel...... 11 B3 features a number of more recent Buddhist financial assistance from German and Italian To Shepeling Monastery; i 5 Indian Border To Darchula

R Bazaar (1.5km); carvings, some of them carved right over their sponsors. (closed to foreigners) 2 EATING i Khojarnath (21km); v 1 Peacock Restaurant...... 12 C3 e Sher (28km);

ancient predecessors. The most impressive of The atmospheric main hall is entered via r the rock carvings features four extravagantly an ancient wooden door with particularly fine Nepali Border WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) WESTERN TIBET (NGARI) the above - ‘Do the right thingwithourcontent.’ the above -‘Dotheright thetermsandconditions onoursiteforalongerwayofsaying youknow,orresell it.See everyone site,mass emailitto only. Inotherwords, pleasedon’tuploadthischapterto apeer-to-peer Inreturn, wethinkit’sfair toaskyouuseitforpersonal,non-commercial purposes restricted. © LonelyPlanetPublications. iteasier foryoutouse,accessthischapterisnotdigitally Tomake 0139; d/trperbedY100/40,steY280) Peacock Hotel EATING & SLEEPING Mt Kailash kora. administered byChukuMonastery onthe is beingrestored. Themonastery iscurrently hall andtodayonlytheassembly Revolution armyshelledChinese itduringtheCultural monks, asthebiggest intheregion. The this Kagyud monastery, 170 which housed In 1949theSwamiPranavananda described the townfromitsdramatichilltopposition. and several passes Bazaar with prayerflags.ThedirtroadfromHumla couple of upper-floor cave chapels decorated Monastery (Tsegu) retreat In thehillsabove are theHumlaBazaar many SIGHTS vertently photographedarestricted area. by agroupof soldiers after histourgroupinad- pounds intown.Oneguideweknowwasbeaten totheeastoranyof base thesmallcom- tary careful mili- nottophotographtheChinese Be DANGERS &ANNOYANCES directly acrossthehall. of town,and in adarkroomonthe2ndfloormiddle INFORMATION missiles here, aimedatNewDelhi. ofin aseries caves. rumoured It’seven there are 240 © LonelyPlanetPublications There’s The ruined bowl workshops ETR IE NAI • WsenNplt tKiah (NGARI)••WesternNepaltoMtKailash WESTERN TIBET caves caves

an internet bar internet formed around the cliffside formed aroundthecliffside

( 孔雀宾馆 hot showers Shepeling Monastery Shepeling Monastery . Here, aladderleadsupto . (wangba; perhrY10; chang home-brew stores chang home-brew (yushi; Y20; ; KongqueBinguan; Allroomshave h towers over 10am-11pm) h % Gokung Gokung 24hr) 290

dishes Y10-25) Chinese dishes andisaveryChinese neatand Ali toPurangviaDarchen. FromPurang and chörtens in this area. fields andthedifferent designsof thehouses Tibet, you’llbestruckbythelushterraced stillpartofla (4700m).Though Western riversfording several enroute totheGurla- number of smallTibetan and settlements quaint village of Toyobefore passinga for theMt Kailash kora. 33km fromthere point toDarchen, starting the shores of Manasarovar Lake andanother it’s 74kmnorthtotheChiuMonastery on for the28kmdrive viaKhojarnath to Purang. arrange tobemetatthebordertownof Sher Western trekkers arrivingfromNepalusually THERE&AWAYGETTING establishment. presentable restaurants. tle flavour of thesubcontinentinPurang’s atany stay of them. intown,butthePSBhouses maynotletyou all thebedsin a triple. you wantprivacy,thebestdealistopayfor butnobathrooms.If decent bedsandTV, is theHimalaya. than thewaynorthasfirst youface sight Chiu Monastery you’llpassbya gold mine. few kilometres before reaching thevillage at a clearday)MtKailash comeintoview.A The waysouthisactuallyfarmore scenic TalJust beyondthepass, Rakshas and(on the The roadnorthfromPurangpasses twodaysfrom (Y230)runevery Buses Despite theproximity toNepal,there’s lit- There are afew otherhotels andguest- Thishasadecentrange of Peacock Restaurant lonelyplanet.com

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