Kyrgyzstan – China (Xinjiang/Tibet/Yunnan) – Laos Overland Road Trip
About this Tour
Starting from Kashgar, the most Uyghur-style city in south Xinjiang, we enter Tibet on the world’s highest motorway G219. You will be at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters for many days, climbing over more than a dozen high mountains (passes), with the highest altitude of 5,433 meters. This is a severe test for tourists and motor vehicles, even though the road conditions are now not bad. Those with poor vehicle conditions, those with obvious heart, lung, brain, liver, kidney and other diseases, patients with severe anemia, hypertension and retinal diseases, as well as pregnant women, should not enter high-altitude areas. Please consult your doctor before signing up.
This is the area with the highest concentration of snow-capped mountains above 6,000, 7,000 and 8,000 meters in the world. We had the opportunity to view several mountains above 7,000 and 8,000 meters from afar.
Mount Kailash is located close to Lake Manasarovar and Lake Rakshastal. The sources of four major Asian rivers lie close to this mountain and the two lakes. These rivers are the Indus, the Sutlej, the Brahmaputra, and the Karnali (a tributary of the Ganges, fed by Mabja Zangbo). As a holy mountain jointly worshiped by Buddhists, Jains, Hindus, and Bon believers, Mount Kailash has a sacred and inviolable spiritual value in people’s hearts, which has resulted in this mountain remaining untouched and uncontaminated style.
We will visit Everest Base Camp and the Potala Palace, and spend enough time in Lhasa to experience this great city.
After leaving Lhasa, we continued to climb several mountains and arrived at Yunnan, the most popular tourist province in China. Shangri-La, Lijiang and Dali have always attracted tourists from all over the world with their beautiful nature and ethnic minority customs.
Total Distance: 5600km
Day 1: Torugart or Irkeshtam (1502m, 238km)
The guide will wait for you at the china side of the border. Procedures for people and vehicles. Today can’t stay in car or camping. Leave your vehicle at the Customs control department, driver
will come back tomorrow. We will transfer all of you to Kashgar. Overnight: Seman hotel
Today can’t stay in car or camping. Your Hotel for tonight included in price.
Day 2: Kashgar(1900m)
Get back to the port in the morning and driver/ride your vehicle to Kashgar city. Today can’t stay
in car or camping. Visit opportunity for people who stay in Kashgar: local Market (Live stock
bazaar only on Sunday morning ), the Mosquee Idkar, Abakh Hodja Tomb etc. Shopping opportunity: medicine, oxygen, car parts. You’d better prepare car parts that need to
be replaced in your own country, cause some can’t be bought in china, especially when there is
no such vehicles in china. Shopping opportunity: medicine, oxygen, car parts. You’d better prepare car parts that need to
be replaced in your own country, cause some can’t be bought in china, especially when there is
no such cars in china. Petrol Station: Fill Up Your Car at the Petrol Station in Kashgar… until your fuel tank is full!
Overnight: Seman Hotel
Today can’t stay in car or camping. Your Hotel for tonight included in price.
Day 3: Kashgar
We will finish the rest of the procedures in Kashgar. Obtain your temporary driver license and
temporary number plate. At the same time you could have a visit of this city. Overnight: Seman hotel
Today can’t stay in car or camping. Your Hotel for tonight included in price.
Day 4: Kashgar – Yecheng(1700) – Akazi Pass (3150m) – Kudi (2900m, 400km)
Drive out of Taklamakan and keep drive to Yecheng. Fill Up Your Car at the Petrol Station in
Yecheng … until your fuel tank is full!
There are many large trucks, so be sure to pay attention to oncoming vehicles when overtaking. There may be traffic jams.
If it’s still early when we arrive Yecheng and you don’t have any thing to buy or to visit, we will
keep driving to Kudi, a small town with 2900m altitude, highly recommend staying here for a night to acclimatize to the altitude.
Overnight: camping or guest house
Day 5: Kudi – Mazar pass(4969m) – Kirgizjangal Pass (Kekeate Pass or Heiqiazi Pass, 4909m) – Sanshili Yingfang (3700m, 210km)
Some people may have altitude sickness today, it’s normal. Drink more water, pee more. Walk
slowly, don’t jump!
There is a saying that you can see K2 (the world’s second highest peak) in Mazar Pass when the weather is good. This is a rumor. G219 cannot directly see K2 during the entire journey.
The altitude in the next few days will be higher than 4000m, so we also recommend adapting to the altitude here.
Day 6: Sanshili Yingfang – Kangxiwa Daban 4350m – Dahongliutan 4230m – Qitai Daban 5170m – Tianshuihai 4890m – Dead Man Valley 5140m – Jieshan Daban 5347m – Songxi Daban 5248m – Hongtu Daban 5380m – Domar Township 5200m
Departure early today, whole day’s drive! Many mountains, but good road, good view! Today we will bid farewell to Xinjiang and enter Tibet. Songxi Village may be the highest village in China.
Day 7: Domar – Palgon Tso lake – Shiquanhe – Tsada (4255m, 475km)
Visit: Palgon Tso See, Zhada Earth Forest National Geopark
On the road visit palgon tso lake, keep driving to shiquanhe town, a relative big town before lhasa. Then drive to Tsada.
Day 8: Tsada (4255m, 520km)
Visit: trip to Ruins of Guge Kingdom and Tholing Monastery
Day 9: Tsada – Darchen/Kailash (4560m, 234km)
Keep driving to Mt. Kailash! We will stop at Darchen town. This small town on the edge of National Highway 219, 10 kilometers south of the Mount Kailash, is the “base camp” for most people who want to do the famous Kailash Kora, and it is the starting point and end point of Kora.
wild dog
You may encounter a lot of wild dogs along the way to G219. It is recommended not to approach these wild dogs.
Marmot
Marmots look cute and cute, but contact with them is quite risky, because marmots are natural hosts of plague, and the fleas that live on their bodies are transmitters of plague. It is strongly recommended not to approach for feeding.
Day 10: Darchen/Kailash – Manasarovar lake & La’angcuo Lake (4588m, 50km)
Drive to Manasarovar lake & La’angcuo Lake take a walk around it. These two lakes have some of the best photography spots for taking pictures of Kailash.
Day 11: Manasarovar lake – Paryang (4598m) – Saga (4504m, 503km)
Whole day’s driving. Beautiful view on the road. Saga (“happy land”), which is situated along the banks of the Brahmaputra. Feast your eyes on the enchanting beauty of Tibet high land.
Day 12: Saga – Ronqpu Monastery & EBC (5154m) – BaSong Village (4200m)
Whole day’s driving. Opportunity to see Mt. Shishapangma. Good road condition. Visit Ronqpu Monastery & Mt. Everest Base Camp.
Day 13: Basong Village – Shigatse (3800m, 340km)
Finally we arrive a Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet. There are fancy hotel with shower, and good restaurant.
Day 14: Shigatse – Gyantse (4000m, 91km)
Visit: Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, Pelkor Monastery and Kumbum Stupa (100-Thousand-Buddha
Pagoda).
Tashi Lhunpo Monastery is now the largest functioning religious institution in Tibet – home to around 950 monks – and one of its great monastic sights. The huge golden statue of the Future Buddha is the largest gilded statue in the world.
Commissioned by a local prince in 1427 and sitting beside Palcho Monastery, Gyantse Kumbum is the town’s foremost attraction. This 32m-high chörten, with its white layers trimmed with decorative stripes and crown-like golden dome, is awe-inspiring. But the inside is no less impressive, and in what seems an endless series of tiny chapels you’ll find painting after exquisite painting (kumbum means ‘100,000 images’).
Gyantse Kumbum has been described as the most important of its kind in Tibet.
Day 15: Gyantse – Lhasa (3650m, 200km)
Visit: YamdrokTso lake, Sera Monastery
Yamdrok Lake is a freshwater lake in Tibet, China. It is one of the three largest lakes in Tibet. It is over 72 km long. The lake is surrounded by many snow-capped mountains and is fed by numerous small streams. The lake has an outlet stream at its far western end and means turquoise in English due to its color.
About 5 km north of Lhasa, Sera Monastery was founded in 1419 by a disciple of Tsongkhapa as one of Lhasa’s two great Gelugpa monasteries. About 600 monks are now in residence, down from an original population of around 5000. The half-dozen main colleges feature spectacular prayer halls and chapels. Equally interesting is the monk debating that takes place from 3pm to 5pm in a garden near the assembly hall. Don’t miss the fine, hour-long kora (pilgrim circuit) around the exterior of the monastery.
Day 16: Lhasa (3650m)
Visit: Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Street
The magnificent Potala Palace, once the seat of the Tibetan government and the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas, is Lhasa’s cardinal landmark. It is a must visit place.
The 1300-year-old Jokhang Temple is the spiritual heart of Tibet: the continuous waves of awestruck pilgrims prostrating themselves outside are a testament to its timeless allure. The central golden Buddha image here is the most revered in all of Tibet.
The Jokhang was originally built to house an image of Buddha brought to Tibet by King Songtsen Gampo’s Nepalese wife. However, another image, the Jowo Sakyamuni, was later moved here by the king’s other wife (the Chinese Princess Wencheng), and it is this image that gives the Jokhang both its name and its spiritual potency: Jokhang means ‘chapel of the Jowo’.
Barkhor Street is one of the most famous places to go shopping in Lhasa as well as the best place to go to get authentic, local-made souvenirs from Tibet
Day 17: Lhasa – Nyingchi (2700m, 406km)
Visit opportunity: Mila snow mountain, Basong Tso.
Day 18: Nyingchi – Basu (3200m, 451km)
Visit opportunity: Namjiagbarwa Mountain View from afar, Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, Ranwu Lake, Laigu glacier.
Time is tight and you may not have extra time to visit
Day 19: Basu – Mangkang (4317m, 363 km)
Time is tight and you may not have extra time to visit
Day 20: Mangkang – Shangri-la (3500m, 383km)
Driving through Deqen, see the holy mountain Meili snow mountain from distance.
Day 21: Shangri-la – Tiger Leaping Gorge (1800m, 90km)
Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of the deepest and most spectacular river canyons in the world. The inhabitants of the gorge are primarily the indigenous Nakhi people, who live in a handful of small hamlets. Their primary subsistence comes from grain production and nowadays hiking tourism.
Day 22: Tiger Leaping Gorge -Lijiang – Dali (1900m, 166km)
Lijiang ancient town has a history going back more than 1,000 years and was once a confluence for trade along the “Old Tea Horse Caravan Trail”. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Day 23: Dali
The old town of Dali has been preserved in a 1.5 by 1.5 km wide townsite surrounded by its ancient walls. The old town of Dali has become well known as a tourist site in part thanks to its picturesque location and historic Bai architecture.
Day 24: Dali – Jinghong (560km, highway)
Drive 560km, 8 hours on highway to Jinghong, the seat of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, in the far south of China’s Yunnan province
Day 25: Jinghong – Mohan(180km highway) – Laos
Complete China’s customs and border inspection procedures, leave China, and say hello to Laos.
