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Four Rivers, Six Ranges - The Horse Festivals of Kham Tibet
offered by supplier M08534 (view this supplier profile)
Key Information:
Tour Duration: 15
day(s)
Group Size: 2
- 12
people
Destination(s):
China
Tibet
Specialty Categories:
Festival Tours
Season: July - August
Airfare Included: No
Tour Customizable: Yes
Minimum Per Person Price: 1995 US Dollar (USD)
Maximum Per Person Price: 2093 US Dollar (USD)
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Summer fun begins… First off, you have to enjoy festivals - and by that we mean the whole deal - camping, dancing, drinking (if you’re that way inclined) and generally making merry. Secondly, it would really help if you enjoyed doing this with a large number of Tibetan nomads and townspeople! And thirdly, you need to enjoy the prospect of a fair amount of ‘gompa stomping’! If that’s an affirmative to all of the above, then you’re in for an enormously good time. Suffice to say this is a trip that the crew at HWT will be doing whether anyone signs up or not! It is focused around two (possibly three) horse festivals in Kham Tibet, the first two of which, though famous throughout Kham, are still almost completely unknown to the outside world.
The trail starts with a night at the renowned Kumbum Gompa and 2 fast days’ drives up to and across the high wide grassland of Amdo Tibet, stopping to camp in sight of Amnye Machen, one of the most sacred sites in Amdo. We then arrive the night before the start of the festival at the site just outside Yushu in Kham Tibet. After 3 nights there we move south to the somewhat more nomadic festival of Sershul, where we’ll spend another 3 nights. Leaving Sershul we drive down through prayer flag-adorned country with a huge concentration of gompas to arrive at Ganzi from where we’ll have the choice of attempting the road directly south to catch the opening of the better known Litang horse festival, or cutting loose for 2 days of gompa stomping, before heading down to Chengdu and the end of the trail. For those who wish, on one of the days at the festival there’ll be the option of taking a jeep and exploring the surrounding area.
These festivals are the highlight of the nomadic Tibetan year and people travel from far and wide to attend. They’re a rare chance to catch a huge diversity and mix of peoples from all over Kham Tibet. For once, rather than travelling all over Tibet, why not let Tibet come to you…?
Your Itinerary
Day 1: Xining
Meeting in the morning we’ll take off early afternoon to spend the rest of the day (and night) in the vicinity of Kumbum Gompa, where (if we haven’t had the chance already) we’ll combine a little orientation with a chance to explore one of Tibet’s most famous monasteries. Although becoming increasingly commercialised, as the birthplace of Tsongkhapa (founder of the Gelukpa school of Tibetan Buddhism) this is still one of the most sacred sites in Tibet. And despite the superficiality of the ticket gates, souvenir stalls, etc., still a teaching gompa of no little import. A great gateway to the area.
Hotel
(B)
Day 2: Huashixia
An early start as the trail heads southwest by 4WD up onto the Amdo grasslands on a high (generally over 4000m) remote road through the vast rolling plateaus, which are the stomping grounds of the Golok nomads. Sightings of the Asiatic wild ass (kiang) and the Tibetan Gazelle relatively common on this stretch down to Yushu. As we rise onto the plateau the scenery just keeps getting bigger, dotted with yaks and nomadic tents, until finally the unmistakable profile of Machen Gangri (6282m) - highest peak of the Amnye Machen (Magyel Pomra) range, held sacred by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and located in the heart of the Golok country - starts to loom above the horizon. During this and the rest of our driving we’ll be trying to make time so as to get where we’re going - however setting up camp within sight of the mountain is just rewards indeed! This is also where we’ll meet the rest of our group who opted for the 7-day Amnye Machen trek extension log. And what a great place to meet someone!
4WD / Camp
(B) (D)
Day 3: Yushu
Another long day’s drive over the high plateau (reaching 5000m), passing plains scattered with nomadic summer camps. Worth a visit en route is Drubgyuling Gompa with its hundreds of young student lamas, to the hamlet of Xiewu in the afternoon where the plateau begins to break up into the mountains and valleys of Kham. With time we’ll have a chance to stop off at the Sakyapa monastery overlooking Xiewu, before heading along a valley lined with monasteries, burial grounds and what might indeed be the worlds’ largest mani pile (Gyanak Mani). Nearing Yushu the road descends to the Yangtze, into the gorge country of Kham, where the 3 rivers – the Yangtze, the Mekong and the
Salween – flow off the plateau in close proximity. Yushu is a big town with even a few internet cafes. Pulling up to the festival site as the sun goes down, fires being lit and tents going up… Great stuff.
4WD / Camp
(B) (D)
Day 4: Yushu
The Jyekundo (Yushu) Horse Festival is a huge event, attended by nomads and townspeople from a 2-300 mile radius. Much of the festival’s prominence stems from the importance of nearby Yushu town, for centuries a major way-point on the caravan trails between Lhasa and Xining, and the festival is still as much about trade as it is about dancing or riding skills. What also adds special character to this area (and thus to the festival) is that the Yushu area has long been dominated by the Sakyapa and Kagyüpa schools of Tibetan Buddhism rather that the more orthodox Gelukpa school.
Camp
(B) (D)
Day 5: Yushu
More of the above - enjoying the festival, catching the dancing competition, etc. However, for those with itchy feet it’s possible to take the jeep off to explore the surrounding area (Jyekundo Gompa, Wencheng Temple, Benchen Gompa, Trangu Gompa, etc.). We’d recommend spending at least the whole of one of the days actually on site, but it’s your choice!
Camp
(B) (D)
Day 6: Shiqu
Leaving Yushu the trail climbs out of the valleys back up to the high plateau, aiming southwest for Shiqu (Sershul). Shortly before town is Sershul Gompa - probably the only monastery you’ll ever see built with pink(!) tiles - a large and obviously rich monastery, it’s a bit more Han than Tibetan Buddhist. Back on the road to Shiqu proper, home to Bumnying Gompa (Gelukpa) where some 200 monks reside, and a bit beyond, we arrive at the festival site.
4WD / Camp
(B) (D)
Day 7 & 8: Shiqu
The Sershul festival is quite a different proposition altogether from Yushu. While the town itself is nestled on a valley bottom, the festival site is spread across an expansive grassland providing temporary abode to hundreds of the decorative Tibetan festival tents (some are 2 stories high!) which comprise the Sershul festival. Also, whereby much of the character of the Yushu festival comes from the town’s status as a major trading post and market town, Shiqu itself - until a couple of years back - was just a poor dusty town populated by a few Tibetans and the PLA. In many ways the history of the festival is quite independent of the town and its stronger nomadic roots are still evident, with more festival and less trading. The recipe for the two days here is the same as Yushu, with lots of people-watching and festivalling to be done, but if you do get itchy feet there’s also the jeep!
Camp
(B) (D)
Day 9: Ganzi*
Break camp, pop an aspirin, grab breakfast and hit the 4WDs as the trail heads south towards Ganzi. This is a fantastic stretch of wild nomad country rarely visited by outsiders, with perhaps the highest concentration of monasteries in the area and valley sides spotted with prayer flag formations. Among possible stops are a ‘hidden’ valley where the impressively renovated Dzogchen Gompa (Nyingmapa) complex sits. Further down, after crossing the 4633m Muri La, just before Ganzi is Dargye Gompa (Gelukpa), the oldest of the 13 Horpa monasteries, and once the top monastery in these parts. Renovation started in the ‘80s, and the interior painting, taking 2 years to complete, is an astounding accomplishment.
Something of a cowboy town (like so many are in this region), Ganzi is THE market town in NE Kham, having gained wealth and influence as a meeting place serving the needs of the Khampa nomads to the west and north and the farmers on the plains surrounding it. Up to a couple of years back, yaks roamed the streets, electricity was a rarity and the main form of entertainment for the nomads was drinking and playing pool on the outdoor tables that lined the streets. Now the shops and stalls selling all manner of Tibetan ware remain, but neon & KTV have arrived, if anything only increasing its wild west- like atmosphere. A dazzling site after several days on the road! Ganzi is quite simply very enjoyable. Surrounded by the old Tibetan quarter, and with an eagle-eye view of town, is Kandzê Gompa, a large and very active (though rather orthodox) Gelukpa monastery that has seen its fortunes grow impressively in the last few years. Compared to many monasteries in the area, it has an almost austere atmosphere, but given time is worth the walk up.
* At this point the trail comes to a crossroads and as is the character of such a thing there’s a choice involved…
The default option is to head due south from Ganzi to Litang, via Xinlong, for the start of the Litang Horse Festival. But at this time of year the road is touch and go. While we’ll be keeping an eye on it during the weeks ahead, decisions can be turned on a last-minute landslide. The options pan out as follows:
a) If no problem is heard of, either before or upon arrival at Ganzi, then we strike south to Litang via Xinlong (see D10 & 11).
b) If prior to arriving at Ganzi we hear the road is down, then we slow down after Shiqu and take a couple of side routes in search of afternoon hikes and remote gompas! One we should try to aim for is Zhechen Gompa, involving a small detour off the main road via a pristine valley surrounded by mountains. Other possibilities include Tsatsa Gompa, Rinyur Gompa, etc.
c) If the road south is looking good, but upon arrival at Ganzi we find the road is indeed down, then we backtrack slightly and essentially revert to option (b).
Of course if anyone would prefer the (b) option come what may (e.g. gompa stomping in lieu of another horse festival) come what may, then please let us know in advance - it’s by no means an inferior option!
4WD / Hotel
(B) (D)
Day 10: Xinlong
However, if all things run to plan (ho ho ho!) then we proceed with option (a), and it’s a day’s drive due south down the deep gorge of the Nyarong valley into deep Nyingmapa country, way off the beaten track to Xinlong. The trail follows the Yalong through a forested, fairly secluded valley, with pretty landscape to feast our eyes on. Along here is the Da-ge Drongtok Gompa (important branch of Katok Gompa). Xinlong is a small town set alongside the banks of the Yalong River, largely unvisited due to a road only recently repaired/completed. It’s the capital of Nyarong county, a relatively poor area compared to its neighbours. Set atop the hill behind town is Zera Gompa, a teaching monastery with about upwards of 50 monks here.
4WD / Guesthouse
(B) (D)
Day 11: Litang
A day’s extreme back-country drive to Litang, following the river south. There are in fact 2 roads we could take so we should at this point get there one way or another, whatever the weather! At 4100m Litang is one of the highest towns in the world, set on a broad grassland with Lithang Gompa dominating it from the north. It has played a central part in the region, from its days as an independent Kingdom, allied with Kagyü rulers of the Kingdom of Dêrge, through to its absorption by the great Gelukpa expansion east in the 16th, 17th & 18th centuries, to its position as a (nominal) outpost of the Qing dynasty all the way through to its role as a centre of resistance in the Khampa uprising against the incoming PLA in the 1950’s. As with Ganzi further north, it’s a market town and administrative centre, heavily coloured by its roots as a trading post for the Khampa nomads that populate the high plains.
4WD / Camp
(B) (D)
Day 12: Litang
Of the three festivals, the Lithang Horse Festival is perhaps the best known to the outside world and consequently a little more commercialised and with a less remote feel to it. But being big does bring its own advantages and after all these days wandering you’ll even see ‘civilisation’ again - a bit of big town pzazz and the occasional Dutch tourist may be just what’s called for.
Camp
(B) (D)
Day 13: Kangding
Heading south then due east the road crosses two 4000m passes, heading into the mountains and steep valleys of Kangding. Kangding is the traditional trading and meeting point between the Tibetan plateau to the west and the Han river plains in the east, and the buildings, wares and mix of people reflect this. Say goodbye to the highlands…
4WD / Hotel
(B)
Day 14: Chengdu
Hit the road for an early start to our last day's drive, which follows what was the old tea route between China and Tibet and is now the main military road into the TAR. Stop for lunch at Luding, site of one of the more heroic episodes of the Long March, we then proceed to cross the 3000m Erlang pass and the 10-km Erlang tunnel, skirting north of the 7756m Minyak Gangkar (Gonggashan) to the south which given clear weather we should get views of, before hitting the fertile plains (the breadbasket of China) and major highways and so, into the fires of Chengdu…
A huge intense city, with a history dating back to pre-Han dynasty… It has variously acted as a dynastic capital and centre of southern radicalism, before reaching its status today as provincial capital of Sichuan and home to some 6 million people. Today it carries all its history with it in the sheer complexity of its layout and culture - modern boulevards, intersected by mazes of narrow crooked side streets, traditional neighbourhoods next to high end department stores, Sichuan opera houses, the Mao statue in the main square, the street-side restaurants serving arguably some of the best food in China, the parks, Zen monastery and neighbourhood tea houses - where for centuries rebellion has been plotted. Chengdu rarely leaves people neutral - depending on your point of view, it ends our trip with a bang, or is the sting in its tail…!
4WD / Hotel
(B)
Day 15:
There is an 8 day trekking extension around Amny Machen available.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
* £1800 (2 people)
* £1420 (3-4 people)
* £1300 (6-8 people)
* £1200 (10-12 people)
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