TRIP ITINERARY.

D 1 -Lanzhou

Arrival in Lanzhou. Your local guide and driver will meet at the exit gate. Drive to Labrang via Linxia Hui Autonomies Region. Check in your pre-booked hotel. Take a short rest in your hotel rooms. And meet at the hotel lobby at 7:0opm and join the welcome dinner at a Tibetan restaurant.
Driving hours: 3
Lodging standard: 3-star hotel
Average altitude: 3,000m/9,000ft

D 2 Labrang monastery - artist workshop
Your guide will meet you at the hotel lobby at 8.30 am. Our first site is Labrang monastery, which is the mother monastery of 108 other smaller monasteries in Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan provinces. It is a comprehensive university in Tibetan Buddhism, with complete branches of studies and full lineages in Gelugpa tradition. It is about a 2-hour visit led by your guide and the monk guide from the monastery. Afterwards, we will have a kora (A walk) around the monastery with the local pilgrims. After lunch, we will take a short trip to Sangkog grassland just outside of the town where you can walk on the flowery grassland. Dinner will be arranged at a restaurant on the grassland. After enjoying your dinner, we will drive back to the hotel. 

Driving hours: I

Lodging standard: 3-star hotel
Average altitude: 3,000m/9,000ft

D 3 Thangka painting workshop
Breakfast buffet at the hotel and meet at the hotel lobby at 8.30 am. Walk to the Snow Mountain Art Center. Meet Ms Tenzin Dolma, founder of the centre and her students. The morning sessions will include an introduction of her works, the basics of Thangkha painting, Thangkha painting as a traditional form of art and its new trends. After a short break, the session on the hands-on painting begins. Lunch at Nordan cafe with Tenzin. In the afternoon, the workshop continues till 17-30. Group photo with the art centre students. We will take to Dongri Mountain which stands right in front of Labrang monastery, we will hold a short talk on Buddhist meditation followed by practising 30 minutes of meditation. Meet for dinner at 19.30.

Driving hours: 0
Lodging standard: 3-star hotel
Average altitude: 3,000m/9,000ft
D 4 Labrang - Amchok - Tagtsang Lhamu (Chin: Lang Mu Si) 

Breakfast buffet at the hotel. Meet your guide and driver at 8.00 am with all your luggage. We will drive to Amchok, with splendid views of mountains and grassland. Our first stop is to visit Shamtse Yak hair handcraft. It is one of the few companies in the region making handwoven scarfs, shawls and clothes using the highland Yak wool which provides income for the local elder women. Meeting with Dolma Kyab, owner of the company and he will give you a short introduction of his works in starting a small business for social benefits. Lunch in this small town and we will drive another 2 hours to Tsgtsang Lhamu, through rich nomadic grasslands with yak and sheep herds. We will stop 2-3 times to stretch our legs and for photographs. Arrive in Tagtsang Lhamu around 17.00. We will stay at Trachung Tang Eco-lodge. Great location with mountain views. They also have a great cate with a large collection of books in Tibetan, Chinese and foreign languages.

Driving hours: 3-4

Lodging standard: Eco-lodge

Average altitude: 3,600m/11,800ft

D 5 Tagtsang Lhamu - Nego valley short trek - Meeting Mr Huasang. 

We will have breakfast at 7.30 am at the cafe. At 8.30 am, we will walk down to Kerti monastery. The town Tagtsang Lhamu is divided by a river and belongs to two provinces. We will spend about half an hour at the monastery, then we will do a short 1-2 hr walk in the Nego valley. Narrow, beautiful, covered by trees, a brook through, and caves, this is a holy site for hermits. We will come back to the town for lunch. At 2:00 pm, we will meet with Huasang and his team who have been working for years to preserve the local nomadic land from desertification, revive the traditional culture, document the environmental changes and many more lodging standards: hostel.

Average altitude: 3,600m/11,800ft

D 6 Tagtsang Lhamu - Kachuka nomadic pasture - camping.

After breakfast, we will leave for Kachuka where the nomads still live in the black yak hair tents on their summer pastureland. Along the road, we will be able to see some of the works that Huasang and his team did, together with the local communities. Arrive at the campsite before lunch, We will prepare a simple picnic lunch. In the afternoon, you will have plenty of time to discover the area and visit the nomadic tents. We will divide the group into small groups and help the nomads fetch their yaks from the mountains. After all the yaks are gathered, our host ladies will teach us how to milk the drills (female yaks). Dinner will be ready by 7:00 pm. we will have dinner at our camp with a great sunset on the grassland.

Driving hours: 1

Lodging standard: camping

Average altitude: 3,600m/11,,800ft

D 7 Kachuka - Tagtsang Lhamu.

The nomads start to gather their yaks early for morning milking and herding. After breakfast, we will set off to ride for a short horse trekking. Our guide and local nomad friends will help you to ride and where to go. You may also ask the guide or nomads to go next with you in case you are not very familiar with riding horses. The horses selected for the trip will be gentle and the nomad friends will escort them the whole time. Lunch will be ready at the camp at 12.00 pm. At 1:00 pm, we will start to drive back to Tagtsang Lhamu. Arrive at our hostel around 2:30 pm. The afternoon is free time for relaxation. You may take showers, read or have short hiking nearby, or walk to the town. Meet at 7:30 pm for dinner.

Driving hours: 1

Lodging standard: hostel.

Average altitude: 3,600m/11,800ft

D 8 Tagtsang Lhamu - Xiahe airport, and fly home. 

After breakfast, we will say goodbye and drive toward Xiahe airport. it is a 2-hour drive. Fly back out.

Driving hours: 2