Tibet Autonomous Region, Spending Most of Our U.S
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The American Association for the Advancement of Science of our time at moderate elevations. During the first part of the program (from Ruoergai to Xining) & Sigma Xi,The Scientific Research Society we will sleep in towns where the elevation does not exceed 12,000 feet above sea level. During the second part of the program, we will travel in the AAASTravels & Sigma Xi Expeditions PRSRT-STD TheTIBETAN Plateau Tibet Autonomous Region, spending most of our U.S. Postage Betchart Expeditions Inc. Western Sichuan & Tibet time around Lhasa (11,700 feet elevation) and in 17050 Montebello Road, Cupertino, CA 95014-5435 P AID the basin of the Tsangpo River, slightly lower. Staten Island, NY July 4-22, 2007 Since this is the last part of the trip, we anticipate Permit No. 169 that group members will be well-acclimatized. Our highest elevation overall is the pass that leads TIME VALUE to Namco at 16,900 feet. Since we will cross the pass briefly in the course of a day’s travel, we do Dear Travelers: not anticipate that this will present any altitude The Tibetan Plateau has for centuries been problems, even if it will most likely set a few a place of fascination for Western naturalists personal altitude records. and explorers. Nowhere else in the world even We sincerely hope that you will be able to join us comes close to putting so much terrain so high in Tibet in 2007! Space is limited, so please let us into the sky. Tibet is also home to a free-spirited know right away. pastoralist people with a distinctive Tantric Sincerely, Buddhist spirituality. Expansive grasslands in the eastern part nurture some of the richest alpine plant communities in the world. High ITINERARY basins further west support domestic yak and timid herds of wild ungulates like Tibetan Margaret M. Betchart Discover TIBET!... President Days 1/2 — USA to Hong Kong. gazelle and their predators, the Tibetan wolf Depart from Los Angeles International Airport on Explore the Tibetan Plateau and snow leopard. Betchart Expeditions Inc. for AAAS Travels & Sigma Xi Expeditions Cathay Pacific Airways for Hong Kong, crossing the from Western Sichuan to Lhasa! The Tibetan highlands—beyond the Himalaya International Date Line en route. July 4-22, 2007 range and west of Sichuan’s panda country— form a resplendent tapestry of rolling hills, Day 3 — Chengdu. meadows, lakes surprisingly large and often Arrive in Hong Kong this morning, and take a sky of deep blue with endless puffy clouds. a connecting flight to Chengdu. Transfer to the will drive over one 16,900 foot pass. Most nights will be Local people still accompany their herds of Minshan Hotel. Enjoy a walking tour along COSTS & CONDITIONS spent between 11,000-12,000 feet. This expedition will be yak, camping in traditional tents of canvas Chengdu’s Fujiang River and welcome dinner. a tremendous experience for travelers with an appetite for and felt. Birders and plant enthusiasts tend Tibet Trip Fee: $3,895 per person (plus air fare of approxi- adventure who would enjoy a chance to explore culturally Days 4/5 — Chengdu to to be well-rewarded for their efforts. mately $1,495 + fuel surcharge + tax Los Angeles or New York and biologically rich areas on the Tibetan Plateau. Please be Jiuzhaigou National Park. to Chengdu, China, round trip, and in-tour flights $695 per flexible concerning time schedules, hotels, food, bumpy After an introduction to the fascinating This morning, we will visit the giant panda person). roads, and mechanical breakdowns. With this in mind, we city of Chengdu and a visit to the giant breeding center in Chengdu, one of three or Questions: Please call Deborah Tostevin at Betchart will have a grand adventure of discovery. (No smoking in panda breeding center, we will visit China’s vehicles, during lectures, or meals, please.) four important locations for panda breeding Expeditions Inc., (800) 252-4910 or (408) 252-4910. spectacular Jiuzhaigou National Park. We and conservation in Sichuan. After lunch, we Air Fare & Airline Ticketing: International flights are on Expedition Fee Includes: Land transport; airport will then start our overland journey through will begin our journey with a flight to Chuanzhu Cathay Pacific Airways. Please phone Betchart Expeditions, the eastern part of Tibet (actually situated transfers; accommodations; all meals in Sichuan and Tibet; in the Min Shan Mountains and visit China’s tips to drivers and local guides; entrance fees; baggage (800) 252-4910 for further information. AIR FARES ARE today in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, SUBJECT TO CHANGE. handling; leadership, administration. Gansu and Qinghai). We will cross the Ruoergai spectacular Jiuzhaigou National Park. This UNESCO World Heritage site has remarkably Expedition Fee Does Not Include: International air fare Accommodations: Are in comfortable and reasonably grasslands and its extensive wetland areas, (quoted separately); in-tour flights; China visa fee; gratuities clean Chinese and Tibetan hotels based on twin share. including a high elevation nature reserve that clear lakes and an excellent system of board- to leaders; personal items such as laundry, phone calls, Expect a good bed, showers, Western style toilets, and walks and buses for exploration. Jiuzhaigou carefully prepared food. A couple of hotels are modest, provides breeding habitat for Greylag Geese and the Dalai Lama, and Ganden Monastery situated alcoholic beverages, snacks; personal insurance; foreign rare Black-necked Cranes. We will also visit Labrang dramatically on a ridge that overlooks the upper Hotel (2 nights). airport departure taxes. but are the best available for small towns not accustomed to western visitors. Between hotels, some Asian toilets or Monastery, an important center of Tibetan Buddhist reaches of the Lhasa Valley. Day 6 — Ruoergai Grasslands. What to Expect: This expedition is planned for travelers bush toilets may be available (some “clean” and some not). Learning, with colleges devoted to traditional As we explore the Lhasa Valley, we will travel north This morning, we will drive from Jiuzhaigou who would enjoy exploring the cultural heritage and natural Single accommodations are available for a supplement medicine, tantric studies, and Buddhist philosophy. onto the high plateau and Namco Lake, one of Tibet’s to Ruoergai, ascending to the eastern rim of history of Tibet, from the grasslands of the Eastern Tibetan of $550. This segment of the journey culminates at the city Plateau to the Tibet heartland around Lhasa. Leading the largest lakes situated in a basin at over 15,000 feet. the Tibetan Plateau and crossing an important Reservations, Deposits & Payments: To reserve a of Xining near Qinghai Lake or “Koko Nor,” once expedition will be an excellent guide with experience in Here the air is extraordinarily clear, providing place on this expedition, please mail a deposit of $500 per an important landmark along the Central Asian watershed divide from the catchment of the Tibet. The group will travel 4 to 7 hours by bus or van on extravagant views of glaciated peaks that encircle person with the completed reservation form to: Tibet trade routes. Yangtze to the Yellow River. This area has each of several days. On traveling days, we will take time for the basin. The highest of these exceeds 23,000 feet. both planned and spontaneous stops to walk, photograph, Expedition, Betchart Expeditions Inc., 17050 astonishingly beautiful, high elevation grass- Montebello Road, Cupertino, CA 95014-5435. From Xining, we’ll fly to Lhasa, historic center We will then travel south to Zedang, situated in the land landscapes. Along the way, we will visit the and talk with local people. Walks will be at a leisurely pace of the Tibetan world and currently the capital suitable for discovery; binoculars are suggested. Balance of land fee is due 60 days before departure. valley of Tibet’s largest river, the Yarlung Tsangpo. small Tibetan town of Sedi and enjoy a picnic of the “Tibetan Autonomous Region.” Lhasa has Around Zedang are the oldest villages and sacred Weather is pleasant in Tibet during the summer with Cancellations & Refunds: The initial deposit is lunch in the alpine grasslands. Ruoergai is a refundable up to 60 days before departure less a handling numerous sacred sites, each with distinctive sites in Tibet, some of which predate Buddhism in midday temperatures in the 70s to upper 80s and some rain. esoteric rituals, colorful iconography and profound newly refurbished city—buildings are brightly Our itinerary starts in the lower eastern edge of the Tibetan fee of $100 per person. There is no refund after the 60-day Tibet by more than a thousand years. period unless your place is resold, then only the $100 per spiritual significance to the Tibetan people. These painted, but many people on the streets are Plateau where we will reach elevations of 12,500 feet. We Although the Tibet Plateau is quite high, we have person handling fee is withheld. There are no refunds for include Jhorkang Temple, a destination for pilgrims traditional Tibetans from the grasslands in will acclimatize as we drive from lower to higher elevations. arranged the itinerary so that we will spend most Around Lhasa, we will stay no higher than 12,000 feet, and unused meals or other expedition features. from all over Tibet, the Potala, winter palace of town to shop. Sunshine Hotel at Ruoergai. Monastery complex. We’ll then take a short drive market, in the vanishing remnants of the old across high grasslands of Gansu Province, ecologi- Muslim part of town. Qinghai Hotel (2 nights). cally distinct from those of Western Sichuan. Enjoy Day 11 — Pari Takster. a picnic lunch en route. On the descent to Tongren This morning we will visit the village of Pari Junction, we will pass an interesting group of Takster, which was the birthplace and original Tibetan Villages called Shuangpengxi where we home of the 14th (current) Dalai Lama.