Tibet Off The Beaten Path

 
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Trekking to EBC: to Cho Dzom

by Bonobo2005

The next day we passed a couple of villages. Always the children coming to us and shouting, sometimes asking for money but after ignoring them also happy to only walk hand-in-hand for a while. Adults and teenagers a little more reserved and very shy, but friendly if you start with a "tashi dele", taking the initiative in making contact. Help them with buying something at their small shop or order some (instant-)noodles instead of just giving money to the children. Don't bargain too hard. Only if certain people are special to you, a gift would be a good idea.

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Trekking to EBC: Tashi Dzom

by Bonobo2005

Tashi Dzom is a very nice Tibetan village with 2 places to stay. The biggest is on the left side when you enter and a the more professional. However, I found the other one, a small family guesthouse in the street a little further away (no sign) much nicer, with the curious and helpful family staying around us all the time, just to observe and to see if we needed something (they already gave away their own sleeping places).In the village a dozen of Chinese soldiers was settled who were in charge of road construction: barking at Tibetan workers in daytime, getting drunk and gambling in nighttime....well it's probably not the most wanted location for soldiers to be stationed.

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Trekking to EBC: over the pass

by Bonobo2005

3 km. from the junction is the village of Chay, where we were welcomed warmly.It was easy to organise a guide annex porter with horse to carry our bags to the village of Tashi Dzom. A tough day of about 30 km, which included the demanding climb over the 5170m Geu La pass. The pass is very difficult to find but more interesting for hiking than the road over the Pang LA pass, that is used by the jeeps. The views from both passes are fantastic: 4 out of 14 8000m+ peaks on earth are clearly visable from here!

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Trekking to Everest Basecamp (EBC)

by Bonobo2005

Trekking to Everest Base Camp (EBC) is demanding but very rewarding!During this 4 day trek we passed many 100% Tibetan villages with very friendly people, where we stayed for the night with families or at the occasional guesthouse. The trail (we started in Chay, then over the Geu-La pass), follows partly the jeeproute, and is mostly very scenic or at least impressive! However, the barren plains were very dry and dusty in November, so no green or snow but desert, rock and ice. Also it's important to be acclimatised well since this trek starts at about 4000 and ends at 5200. We started at half november which is a good time. It's the end of the season, freezing a lot at night but amazingly clear and sunny weather during daytime!

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A trip to Nam Tso: enjoy the colours of the Lake

by Bonobo2005

I even have been lying on the - 2 meter wide - beach for some time! Fantastic to watch the beautiful blue colours of the water. The colours change all day, and so does the weather! If the sun is out, it will be pretty hot, but it can easily be 15 degrees Celsius lower some hours later!

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A trip to Nam Tso: the long way to the Lake

by Bonobo2005

We left the village at 8. The tractor wasn't very convenient and the road terrible in the beginning, but at least we had enough time to enjoy the scenery and observe the yakboys and nomads, bringing the yaks to lower elevation. Regularly, at steeper parts, we had to go off and walk a bit, keeping us warm.

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A trip to Nam Tso: excellent viewpoints!

by Bonobo2005

The "island" is covered with two hills. It's really worth going up to the top since the views are great! I stayed only for 2 days at Nam Tso, but it was amazing! Then heavy snow was coming and I took the opportunity to buy a cheap seat in a 4WD back to Damxung.

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A trip to Nam Tso: lake with spiritual importance

by Bonobo2005

At the lake there's a tiny monastery with 1 monk, living in some kind a cave. Also traveller's accommodation is available on the "island", which is connected at one side with the mainland though. Since the lake has spiritual importance, usually pilgrims are around and you'll find prayerflags and cairns everywhere. Doing the circuit around the small island is a must (ca. 1-2 hrs. slowly)!

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A trip to Nam Tso: smelly busride to Damxung

by Bonobo2005

We took a bus from Lhasa to Damxung (on the Lhasa-Golmud Road); takes, depending on the driver and the bus, 3-5 hours. It was a great ride on good roads in a bus filled with an appealing melange of thick smoke and a tasty yak butter smell. Disturbed noise from the radio speakers on max volume. From Damxung a junction leads to the road to the Lake (40 km). Since there's no public transport we had to hitch. After we refused some ridiculous offers from jeep owners, a young Tibetan man on a kind of tractor, also in use for short distance taxi, stopped and he would take us to the Lake.

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Trekking to EBC: the start

by Bonobo2005

We first took a local bus from Shigatse to Lhatse approx. 6 hrs on a rough but scenic unpaved road. On the way we passed km. marker 5000, which indicates the distance to Beijing (!). There the public transport stops so hitching was the only option. Luckily we got soon a ride on an empty minibus heading for the border to pick up a touristgroup. Around sunset we reached the junction to EBC.A sign said 101 km. As it was almost dark we decided to camp. Cold it was (minus 15), but good sleeping bags we had! And a magical end-of-the-world-feeling.

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Reviews and photos of Tibet attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Tibet sightseeing.

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Off The Beaten Path: Cities in Tibet
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Q:  I am planning a trip of a life time and have two years to do so… so first I want to get some ideas from seasoned travelers and... 

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A: If you want to hike or bike, Tibet (which is stunning, by the way) is probably not going to work out. The Chinese government will only issue permits for people to enter... 

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