ASIAN ALPINE E-NEWS
Issue No 69. July 2020

Meili Snow Mountains Yunnan-Tibet border (above) Lake Basong Tso, east Tibet ( below)[Willian Boehm’s YUNNAN and TIBET]SONGTSAM G318 ROAD TRIP EXPLORATORY Part 1 ~ Part 6.
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SONGTSAM’S SHANGRILA TO LHASA EXPLORATORY ROAD TRIP SCENIC HIGHWAY G318; THE ROADLESS TRAVELED IN THE HIDDEN KINGDOM OF EASTERN TIBETPART 1 SHANGRI-LA YUNNAN

Songtdsam landrovers and photographers at Meil, Yunnan beginning the first foreign Trip into Kham Easter Tibet Autonomous Region from
Shagril-La Yunnan to Lhasa via Highway G318, a route that includes part of the traditional Tea Horse Trail

Beginning in the Song Dynasty In the seventh century, the elite of Tibet’s feudal Buddhist theocracy
discovered Pu er tea found in Sichuan and SW Yunnan. Supplying its growing demand meant forging a
network of trails across China for both porters and mule caravans through steep mountainous forests,
over 5,000 m (16,400 ft) passes, along deep gorges, and across unnavigable rivers traversed by ropeand cable. The journey was long, 4000 km (2400 mi) with the valuable tea carried by porters, or mulecaravans. In return, China needed the Tibetan sturdy war horse to fight the northern invaders. The
trade route became known as the Tea Horse Road, the Cha Ma Dao. It still exists with some of it
forgotten along ancient stone trails found in forests, some of it paved over beneath modern highways.
A few of the men who still live have shared about survival of often bitter lives on the trails. They werethe leaders of the mule caravans, the Ma Guo Tou, a culture of men who braved snow storms, bandits,and treacherous river crossings through one of the longest trade routes of the ancient world.
Songtsam now takes the traveler by landrover through Route G 318 that follows the tea horse trail
from Deqen Shangri-La to Lhasa, traversing passes over 5 000 meters high, crossing breathtaking
mountainous landscapes and deep river gorges. G318 is known for steep grades, hairpin, stomach
twisting turns, and snow showers that can come at high altitudes at any time of the year. But thescenery is spectacular, combining scenery comparable to Alaska and British Columbia with Tibetan
Culture. We undertook the first foreign journey November 2019 with Songtsam, and stayed in theirluxury Tibetan Style Lodges.
Pacific Northwest Americans love scenic road trips, choosing to either camp along the way or overnightin rustic lodges in our National Forests and Parks. There is Mt Rainier and Olympic National Parks in myhome Washington State, Highway 101 that winds along the Pacific Ocean from Washington State tosouthern California, the Icefields Parkway drive through Banff and Jasper National Parks Alberta,

Canada, or the scenic drive along Highway 20 from Lillooet in the Caribou Range Northeast of Vancouver
to the coastal town of Bella Coola in British Columbia, Canada. What else could compare to theseamazingly famous scenic drives in Asia? I then discovered Highway G318 through Southeastern Tibet’s
Hidden Kingdom, an exploration developed by Songtsam Boutique Lodges owner Mr. Baima Dorje
https://www.songtsam.com/en/.
The scenic East-West Highway G318 of Kham and Chamdo regions of Eastern Tibet threads throughsome of the most spectacular and dramatic landscapes in China: the highway connects Chengdu with
Lhasa and threads through the wild and dramatic Eastern Tibetan Hengduan Range. The Hengduan
Mountains consist of a group of north-south oriented mountain ranges in southwest China that traverse
the southeast portions of the Tibetan Plateau with the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau. The Hengduan Ranges
cover much of western present-day Sichuan province as well as the northwestern portions of Yunnan,
the easternmost section of the Tibet Autonomous Region, and touching upon parts of southern Qinghai.
The highway follows much of this ancient Tea-Horse trade route that transects through major climatic
zones, from tropical in southern Yunnan to arctic in Tibet, and along it, I was told one can find the mostbeautiful mountain scenery in China, one thousand year old towers, artistic and very ancient Buddhist

Top: Mt Mianzimu 6,054 metres (19,862 ft) from Meil Lodge, middle: Yanjing village known for its processing salt extracted from river wellson the Mekong River;Bomi Songtsam Lodge and the mountain ranger that surround the Parlung Tsampo river

Traditional Tibetan wedding Shangri-lamonasteries, and amazing ethnic towns and untouched Tibetan villages. A Tea Horse Road trip would be
wonderful from an archeological, cultural, historical as well as scenic outdoor adventure, more so thanthe more famous northern Silk Road. Pu'er tea, a distinctly Yunnanese form of broad leaf tea Camelliasinensis assamica, and possibly the first variety of tea ever to be consciously cultivated as opposed toParlung Tsampo River from below Bomi Songtsan Lodge

The 1350-year-old Drak Yerpa Monastery place at an altitude of 4,885m (16,022 ft) and below right; Left Shangri-La, ng the largest Tibetan
uddhist monastery in Yunnan, Songzanlin Monastery; Below Tea Horse Trail porters, turn of the century, muleteers with tea loads and salt

the harvesting of wild trees was highly valued as 'tribute tea' (贡茶) in the past, when precious
commodities from across the empire were offered up to the imperial court. Pu'er, unlike most varietiesof tea, is ideally suited for investment as it can be stored for decades and, depending on the quality ofthe tea, will 'improve' with age. Some of the Pu'er tea cakes (the tea is compressed into small discs forease of storage and transportation) were at this time commanding astronomical prices. It als became anecessary element of Buddhist meditation, with monks acting as middlemen in the trade routes.

Porters and mule train carrying Puer tea at the turn of the 20th century

Unexplored and only recently opened up to foreigners this year, I was privileged to join a Songtsam
photographic group at the request of Mr Baima Dorje. We would travel in a land rover caravan from theMap of the Tea Horse Trail Route G318 from Shangril-La Yunnan west across the three parallel rivers, , then across the Hengduan mountains
below the highest anchor of the eastern Himalaya Namcha Barwa, then west through the lowlands of Nyinchi and the Yarlung Tsangpo
River, finally ascending to Lhasa

Three Parallel Rivers area of Shangri-La, Yunnan across the Mekong and to the west the Nu River into
Nyinchi Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and the Yarlung Tsampo River, on to Nyinchi
and complete our journey in Lhasa. From Yunnan, the highway crosses east to west through Chamdo
and Nyingchi prefectures of the TAR. Unlike the high desert terrain of central Tibet north of the Makalu,
and Mt Everest in the Tibetan Himalayas I had experienced in May, the Eastern edge of the Tibetan
plateau is at a lower altitude with abundant rainfall and a great diversity of plants, a temperate lush
forest. The spruce, fir and oak-forested landscape is a striking contrast to the dry, brown mountains ofcentral Tibet, yet connected with spectacular mountains that include Namcha Barwa, the eastern anchor
of the Himalayas which span 2300 km (1400 mi) east from the Indus to the Brahmaputra Rivers. Gaya
Peri, the sister peak of Namcha Barwa only 22 km (14 mi) north are the two highest peaks over 7300
meters (24,000 ft) in this isolated section of the Hengduan Range. Between these two peaks lies the Mt

Namcha Barwa, 7,782 m (25,524 ft) above sea level, is the highest mountain in the Hengduan Mountain Range and as an anchor of theeastern Himlaya, ranks as the 28th highest peak in the world. Below it flows the Yarlung Tsangpo, creating the deepest canyon in the world.

great bend of the Yarlung Tsampo river that enters into the deepest gorge (6000 m or 19,680 ft deep
between summit to river) in the world, emerging as the Brahmaputra.
The largest river in Tibet, the Yarlung Tsampo mysterious unexplored gorge was first described in 1924
by a remarkable botanist-explorer from Lancashire named Frank Kingdon-Ward. Accompanied by Jack
Cawdor, a British nobleman, together struggled on hunters' trails through the Upper Gorge and deep
into the canyon, they discovered a stunning waterfall that they christened Rainbow Falls. They ascended
and crawled straight out over a highpass called Senchen La, and dropped
into the tropical Lower Gorge,
becoming the first outsiders totraverse the Tsangpo Gorges. "Every
day the scene grew more savage; themountains higher and steeper; theriver more fast and furious," Wardwrote in his 1926 book, The Riddle of
the Tsangpo Gorges. "Had we finally
emerged onto a raw lunar landscape,it would scarcely have surprised us." I
have wondered how Frank KingdonWard survived just one of his many
expeditions into the Himalayas.
The year before I had explored an area of Gaoligongshan on the Nu Jiang river spending three weeks on
hunter trails traversing near vertical peaks and ridges to photograph rhododendons. All this in pouringrain, and at my age now 73, almost gave up cross country travel. If he wasn’t moving horses across ariver by tramline, face to face with a black bear, he was clinging to a yawning precipice, or wobbling
precariously on flimsy rope-bridges suspended high above raging rivers to collect plant specimens. Ifyou thought that plant collecting in the Edwardian era was a peaceful and sedentary pastime, thinkagain. Thankfully exploring and hiking parts of Highway G318 mountains would not be that demanding.
Highway G318 is known as “heavenly road” for its wondrous scenery and unique Tibetan culture. The roaditself is challenging for its ruggedness at high altitude, multiple hairpin switchbacks and narrow sections
along gorges, and sudden snowstorms any time of the year. The highway courses through 5 mountainpasses that are hazardous, and descends in steep sections into deep river canyons that are narrow, withno turnouts. Mr. Baima Dorje, owner and creator of Songtsam Tibetan Lodges was completing his vision
20 years ago recreating the Tea-Horse Trail route from Yunnan to Lhasa, TAR, and has built Tibetan
boutique lodges from Lijiang in Yunnan to Lhasa in areas that were Tea Horse trail stopovers. This was thefirst trip open to foreigners to enter TAR, and area of Tibet that has been closed for 10 years. This journeyin the past took porters and muleteers up to 6 months to complete, was extremely dangerous, and only
done once a year. Pu’er tea had been transported for almost 1500 years from his home town in ShangriLa and southern Yunnan to Lhasa by crossing the deep gorges of three major rivers systems separated bysteep mountains, and high mountain passes. These caravans endured great hardships to make it to Lhasa,
where tea and salt was exchanged for Tibetan horses, necessary for fighting the northern invaders that
included the growing Mongolian empire in the past.
The Ancient Tea Horse Road became a network of trading routes linking the tea producing areas of
Yunnan (mainly concentrated in the southeast of the province in Pu'er 普洱, Xishuangbanna, 西双版纳)and Ya'an 雅安 Sichuan 四川 with the tea-consuming regions across China, but in particular with Tibet.
The network first emerged during the Tang dynasty (618–907), reaching its zenith during the late-Qing
period (1790s to 1911) and the first half of the twentieth century. The network also extends into
mainland southeast Asia, Nepal and India.

The tea road, in what was approximately a six-month caravan journey from Menghai to Lhasa, crossed
innumerable rivers, including the Mekong 湄公河 or Lancang 澜沧江 (more than once) and Yangtze(known as the Jinsha River 金沙江 in Yunnan), and over many high mountain passes, some exceeding
5,000 m (16,400 ft). In its progress tea porters and mule caravans traversed a range of distinct
topographical zones, from the temperate rainforests of Ya’an Sichuan to the high-altitude alpine forestsand meadows of modern-day Dequen and Shangrila. Today Highway G318 also travels through manydifferent cultural zones inhabited by a diverse range of ethnic groups, from Naxi, Dai, Bai and Tibetans.

Today the route still includes remnant paths and roads, bridges (arched, cantilever, and cable), market
towns, staging posts, and shrines and temples (including mosques and even a few Christian churches),
all elements of what is now termed 'tangible cultural heritage'.
The first half of the road cuts across several grand ravines of the Hengduan Mountains that include theLacang Jiang or Mekong, and the Nu Jiang Nu Rivers, while the second half meanders along the valleys oftributaries of Yarlung Zangbo River, namely the gorges in Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains. The north-southoriented Hengduan Mountains east of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the most complicated alpine gorge areain the world and a journey through this region is known as “soul in heaven and body in hell”. The gorges
along this road also enjoy great fame: the most beautiful gorge located within the Dadu River Gorge,Sichuan, the most dangerous Lancang River Gorge, and the first and third deepest in the world, theYarlung Zangbo and Parlung Zangbo Grand Canyons. We would be traveling through these biologicallydiverse areas, varying from desert canyons with rare thousnads year old Cypress trees (related to thesequoia in the US), to high altitude alpine meadows. The Yarlung Tsangpo that cuts south into India, andto the east the Nu, Mekong and Yangtse Rivers that are oriented North-South, allow the SE Asianmonsoon to penetrate further north into the Tibetan plateau than the western Himalayan Range thatlies to the west. Seasonal tropical moist air has created the greatest Temperate Forest and alpine
diversity in the world, with over 500 species of rhododendrons, primulas, lilies, and trees, over xxx
species of mammals, and xxxx species of birds, including an incredible array of pheasants, robinthrushes and sunbirds. The Hengduan Range allows the monsoon and milder temperatures to penetrate
deep into the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau that supports a great diversity of not only plants, but birds,
large and small mammals. The area we would travel through is immediately southeast of the Tibetan
plateau, and yields the greatest plant and animal diversity of Tibet.
I left Chengdu flying to Shangri-La, mesmerized looking out the window at a full moon and a spray ofstars at 29,000 feet that lit up scattered clouds filling the mountainous terrain below. I was joining agroup of photographers to begin our journey with Songtsam in northwestern Yunnan at Songtsam Linka
situatied on a beautiful plateau where Baima Dorje had grown up. Shangri-La is nestled in the mountains
between the Yangtze River east and only 50 km (30 miles) due west, the Mekong River. Our group of 12
participants included two Americans and myself, the rest amateur Chinese photographers from Beijing
and Shanghai, China. . I could see the Songzanlin Monastery from my lodge bedroom veranda, largest
Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan, built in 1679 and one of the famous monasteries in the Kang
region. It is located near Shangri -La County, at the foot of Foping Mountain. We were all anticipating anamazing scenic trip into Tibet.
Below: Songzanlin Monestary from Songtsam Linka lodge

Hengduan Mountains

Hengduan Mountains, below: The remote Yarlung Tsangpo River gorge from the air

Namcha Barwha, highest peak in the Hengduan Mountains. Songtsam photos from Eagle helicopter Service, SongtsamMt kawagebo, highest
peak of the Meili Mountains, Yunnan from Eagle Helicopter Service with Songtsam

SHANGRI-LA SONGTSAM LINKA

Songtsam shangrila Linka and shanri-La area

HUANGDAN MOUNTAIN RANGE FROM THE AIR: EAGLE HELICOPTER TOURS THROUGH SONGTSAMBOUTIQUE LODGESSONGTSAM’S SHANGRILA TO LHASA EXPLORATORY ROAD TRIP SCENIC HIGHWAY G318; THE ROADLESS TRAVELED IN THE HIDDEN KINGDOM OF EASTERN TIBET by WILLIAM D BOEHM
PART 2 MEILI TO MARKHAM, TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION (TAR)

Songtsam Linka Shangri-La Linka lodge and meal

Part2 journey Highway G318 through Southeastern Tibet’s Hidden Kingdom, an exploration developedby Songtsam Boutique Lodges owner Mr. Baima Dorje https://www.songtsam.com/en/.
We departed for Meili in the morning, and just outside the Shangri-La city we came upon a large numberof parked cars and hundreds of people dressed in Traditional Tibetan clothing gathered around a
Tibetan house. It turned out to be a Tibetan wedding festivity that had just begun, and we were invitedinside by beaming hosts into the courtyard to share in the communal celebration meal. We sat at low
tables with traditionally dressed Tibetan men and women, and plate after tantalizing plate of Tibetan
dishes appear before us. I delighted in the century eggs with a translucent lemon-yellow albumen, stirfried string tofu and braised minced yak meat, among the dozen exotic dishes.
The Tibetan bride and groom were present at the tail end of a parade where the groom had brought her
from her village home to the wedding celebration. With well-wishes and songs, a meal and ceremony that
we were privileged to witness for several hours, the bride would then leave with the groom to his house.
Women were dressed in beautiful silk dresses, with silver plated boxes hung around their necks whichcontained Buddhist writings and small images of Buddha. Older women wore traditional cylindrical hats
and wool capes, while men sported Stetson hats and sheep skin coats. We were fortunate to have seen
this amazing activity.

The older women wore a wool shawl on the back demonstrating their eldership, with a blue slit robe,
sleeveless vest, a ribbon around the waist, and a pink headband. Their blue aprons with black borders
seemed to have Naxi tribe influence. The grandfather wore a fox tailed hat, was considered the mostcultured in the village when he was young. The Diquing Tibetans valued the red, white, green, blue andyellow clothing, symbolic colors that represent the five origins of Bonismo, the older animist religion of
Tibet. Red the flame of passion, blue sky the worship of supreme power, white of white clouds and purity,
green river of life and wealth, and yellow, the land full of life and vitality. These colors were vibrant in thewomen’s dress, and the women exchanged their wealth of yaks for jewelry. They wore a gawu (small
talisman amulets made of silver to protect them, and a large Buddha box or chama worn on their chest
embossed with a mountain peak and water depicted with a wave that contain Buddha statues, sutras,
Buddhist relics and long knots) made of pure silver, or white copper with fine designs. The chama has set
jewelry, usually red agate, green coral, or turquoise, some with a base plum blossom made of gold. They
also wore chama or silver belt buckles, and nalongs (stone decorated earrings).

Tibetan Wedding party Shangrila. Top: women from both bride and grooms neighborhoods inline to welcome the groom as he brings thebride to the wedding party. Older women in fox fur Tibetan caps with wool shawls

Women wearing silver amulets with talisman to protect them from evil, and large a large Buddha box or chama worn on their chest
embossed with a mountain peak and water depicted with a wave that contain Buddha statues, sutras, Buddhist relics and long knots) madeof pure silver, or white copper with fine designs. Middle: Young girls, Righ: Uncle blessing the bride and groom. (bottom lf photo Scott Jiang)We finally left the wedding at lunchtime and drove north along the plateau stopping at the Songtsam
lodge in Benzilan for lunch, and visit the Dongzhulin monastery. Perched on the banks of the Yangtze
river, in a sunny valley with a very pleasant climate, the small millenary village of Benzilan was animportant stage on the road of tea and horses, in the time of the caravans who were preparing here tobrave their first really snowy passes from their perilous journey to Lhasa. A ferry on the river, made ofyak skins, was still active a short time ago.

Songtsam Benzilan lodge, Benzilan; Rt Dongzhulin monastery overlooking the Yangtze River

We left ascending the ridge from the Yangtze river across the Baima Snow Mountain pass to spend our
second night at the Songtsam Meili lodge, a well-designed Tibetan Stone structure with each bedroom
window commanding a view of the Meili Mountains. We were blessed with clear weather and arrived
just before sunset at 3800 m (11,811 ft).
Known for the grandest mountain view in Yunnan Province, Meili Snow Mountain boasts thirteen icecovered peaks that exceed 6,000 meters (19.685 feet) above the sea level. We had arrived in the middleof November, and there was some fresh snow from a storm days before our arrival. By morning clouds
had lifted revealing Kawagebo 6,740 metres (22,110 ft) and Mianzimu 6,054 metres (19,862 ft). It wasgood to be back as this was my third trip to Meili. We enjoyed an incredible evening of the peaks yielding
in a sunset alpenglow to a starlit night sky that revealed the Milky Way.

Meli Snow Mountains and Mt Mianzimu 6,054 metres (19,862 ft). Meili Mountain Range at eastern boundary of Hengduan Mountains

Meil snow Mountains morning, andnight sky, Deqen Yunnan fromSongtsam Meili Lodge

We left late morning thenext day in a caravan of 7
Land
Rover
discovery
vehicles and passed throughthe small town of Dequenthat overlooks the Meili
Mountains, then following
G214 north descended into
the Mekong River valley forour the first leg of the 1200n
km (746 mi) trip for a 300 km(186 mi) first day drive toMarkham in the Tibet
autonomous region (TAR). Once past our first checkpoint, we would enter as the first foreigners to passthrough here in 10 years.
Followed the Mekong River for several hours until we reached Yanjing village known for its processing
salt extracted from river wells. The village was surrounded on both sides of the river by woodconstructed scaffolding of clay terraces where salt water extracted and carried from the river could dry
in clay lined shallow pools. Amazing to see both men and women carrying the dried salt in 50 kg bags up
to the storage locations above the river. Reminded me of the ancient Tea Horse Trail where men carried
up to 60-90 Kg (132-198 lb.), which was often more than their own body weight in Pu’er tea. They
traveled such a long distance to Lhasa, and I reflected how strong they are.

Yanjing village known for its processing salt extracted from river wells.

From around a thousand years ago, the Tea Horse Road was a trade link from Yunnan to Bengal
via Myanmar; to Tibet; and to Central China via Sichuan Province. In addition to tea, the mule caravans
carried salt. Both people and horses carried heavy loads, and the porters carried metal-tipped staffs,
both for balance while walking and to help support the load while they rested, so they didn't need to lay
the bales down. The route earned the name Tea-Horse Road because of the common trade of Tibetan
ponies for Chinese tea, a practice dating back at least to the Song dynasty, when the sturdy horses were
important for China to fight warring nomads in the north.

Salt Terraces and the process of drying the river water, collecting the salt on clay terraces, and carrying to the village

For centuries the people of Tsakalho have carried their tradition as the bringers of the salt. Tsakalho is
the Tibetan name of the village which translated means a place where salt is found. Perched on a valleyside more than 3 km (9800 ft) above sea level, Yanjing marks the border between TAR and Yunnan
province. Once an important trading post between the Naxi minority capital Lijiang and Lhasa in Tibet,
the town retains its wild west atmosphere and its importance for the trade in one particular commodity.
Historically Yanjing was a traffic hub connecting
Tibetan Empire and the Kingdom of Nanzhao, as
well as the only way where Yunnan tea wastransported to Tibet. In ancient times, salt selling
was the primary source of income for local
villagers. The ancient salt well at Yanjing is the
only surviving artificial salt-sunning landscape. In
2009, the 1000-year-old salt fields in Naxi weremade a cultural relic site protected on the regional
level in Tibet. The salt producing technique inMarkam has been listed in the second batch ofnational intangible cultural heritage entities.

Wars were fought for control this commodity along the Mekong River, and today a Naxi community still
own a number of steep terraces while the Tibetans retained the gentle sloping side slopes facing thetown. On the dark red Tibetan terraces, workers carry their brine on a simple stick balanced at each end
by two buckets. On the Naxi side, the terraces are beige and the paths exceedingly steep. The Naxi carrylong wooden barrels on their backs: when full of salt water, each barrel weighs about 30 kilograms.
There are more than 3700 of these "salt terraces", each roughly three meters square, and all built on
wooden structures with hardened clay tops. Despite China's development and technological advances,
this valley has remained virtually untouched for more than five centuries. Its white crystals are prized
and sold throughout Eastern Tibet and West China. It is not known exactly when the terraces first
appeared, but according to local oral history the Qiang people were the first to inhabit the area andproduce the white gold.
The source of the salt are deep wells dug into the rock to reach the salt water table that lies below the
Mekong. It is rare in that it holds brine and not pure water. This precious brine is hoisted to the surface
and then emptied into collection pools. The buckets are submerged, filled and carried, step by arduous
step, to the clay terrace fields, where the brine is poured onto the terraces, covering the surface with
about 10 cm of salt water. After several days, the water evaporates, leaving residues of pure salt. The
crystals are scraped up, bagged and loaded at one time onto horses to take to town for selling. Today
the salt is hauled by lory.
We left the village in late evening light, and ascended the deteriorated and bumpy highway to the firstpass 4448m (14,590 ft) Hong Le. We were immersed into gently sloped high ridges of juniper yielding to
spruce/birch forests. From the pass summit we had an amazing view of a series of sharp, tooth-likemountain aretes to the west including Mt Damyon el 6324m (20748 ft) of the Hongla and Lawu
Mountain Ranges. Below lay the distant Lacang jiang (Mekong) River. The jagged peaks were bathed in
the evening light casting long shadows interspersed between the summits. We still had several hours todrive and our caravan descended in an evening light casting a mauve and golden tone over the distancehills, sending shafts of light rays through the gaps of the peaks into the meadows below, creating acolorful palette of gold with shadows in shades of blue and violet purple.
The highway followed the high ridges of forest until we crossed the second La pass 4338 m (14,228ft),then descended. We witnessed amazing clouds lit on fire in scarlet as the sun set into the valley of
Yulong. In the twilight we continued west along a beautiful valley of barley fields and traditional
century-old styled Tibetan houses made of mud and trapezoid shaped windows decorated with fading
paints. The light was striking the clouds in brilliant mauve and crimson tones set against a turquoise bluesky. Darkness came quickly before we reached Markham in the evening where the highway joined G318
from Chengdu, where we turned west to Zhuka, a small town nestled along the Mekong River upriverfrom Meili and Dequen. Threading through the town narrow streets of the village, we we came to
Mangkang Songzan Rumei Mountain House 2600 meters (8530 ft) located in Rumeizhen (Zhikacun).
This new Songtsam lodge had just opened this summer and were welcomed by a wonderful staff thattook us inside, served us ginger tea, and assigned our beautifully appointed rooms facing the MekongRiver. The evening was filled with a delicious Sichuan dinner. I slept well with the door opened in myveranda listening to he murmur of the Mekong River.

Abive: Meili Mountains; Below, village above the Mekong river; Right, Tibetan checkpoint along the Mekong River

Mt Damyon el 6324m (20748 ft) of the Hongla and Lawu Mountain Ranges

Mt Damyon el 6324m (20748 ft) of the Hongla and Lawu Mountain Ranges

View from pass looking back down into the Mekong River Valley

Mountains above the Mekong river approaching Markham above and below

Tibetan plateau clouds; Below left Town of markahm; Below right Village of Zhuka on the Mekong River

Town of Markham east of Zhuka on the Mekong River, where Songtsam lodge is locatedAbive: Songtsam Zhuka past the town of Markham on the Mekong river and rooms that face the riverSONGTSAM’S SHANGRILA TO LHASA EXPLORATORY ROAD TRIP SCENIC HIGHWAY G318; THE ROADLESS TRAVELED IN THE HIDDEN KINGDOM OF EASTERN TIBETPART 3 MARKHAM TO RANWU LAKE AND THE LAIGU GLACIER
Our caravan left early the next morning for a long day
drive through amazing sections of the Hengduan
Mountain Range, crossing two high passes andentering a deep river canyon. We will be following
the highway along sections that were once animportant trade route of the Tea-Horse trail that wasused for over a millennium since the Song Dynasty
960–1279. Today would be a long 430 km (258 mile)
drive across two high passes, descend into the
NuJiang Canyon, the deep canyon of the Nu also
known as the Salween River flowing from the Tibetan
plateau, then ascend into Ranwu Lake high in the central Hengduan Mountain Range. I had explored lastyear the Gaoligong Mountain Range and Nature Reserve west of the upper Nu River to the north, anddiscovered a remote watershed to be rich and diverse in flora and fauna.

Left the drier Mekong River valley and ascended into a Juniper and ceanothus (nitrogen fixing shrubswith leathery leaves known as buckbrush or California lilacs in the Pacific Northwest) forest at Ju Ba lapass 3911 m (12,828 ft), then climbed through open meadowed juniper forest Dong Da Shan pass at
5130 m (16,826 ft), the highest pass through the Dongda Mountains we would cross today and on our
trip. It was marked with countless prayer flags and two large stupas, reminders to Tibetan travellers of

Yu Qu River flowing from the NW as the highway ascends to the Bangda Prairie; Below near Bangda prairie

Remote Tibetan Village of Tiandu, Village and the Yu Qu River

Buddhist prayers being flung into the winds for travellers’ safety. We descended the cold and windy passinto a scenic valley of steep peaks, one with sharp shale vertical faces and jagged shale summits that
reminded me of mt Kidd in the Kananaskis and Medicine Lake in Jasper National Park in Canada. The
highway took us through more gentle valleys and we followed the Yu Qu River northwest until we againdescended through a stunning mountain range of red and white limestone peaks that rose steeply
above the river. We emerged onto a vast Bangda grassland prairie.
The Bangda alpine grasslands are fertile in the long valley, and in the past this is where muleteers on the
Tea Horse route would stop and pasture their tired horses from the long trip in southern Yunnan. Sometransferred their tea and salt loads to the slower moving yaks. Today the grasslands have mostly beencultivated with barley fields. Today the grasslands have mostly been cultivated with barley fields. We
stopped at a remote Tibetan village called Tiandu Town at 3660 m (12,000 ft) in ZongGong County, partof Chamdu prefecture and north of Nyinchi on the eastern edge of Tibet. The town consisted of theolder Tibetan style homes constructed with mud bricks and walls. Barley straw was drying on woodracks, children in tattered clothes playing in the streets, and homes spattered with drying yak dung, fuelfor the Tibetan stoves for cooking and heating though winter. Further up the valley we stopped at the
town of Bangdazhen for lunch.

Yela Pass 4658m (15,367 ft) where we descended the famous Tian Lu (Nu Jiang) 72 switchback turns down the steep mountain valley

Nu Jiang (River) Canyon

Nu River Canyon

We left the Bangda Prairie ascending the highway to the west along another mountain ridge with baregrass side slopes until we reached Yela Pass 4658m (15,367 ft) where it began to snow. Under heavy
clouds at the summit we descended the famous Tian Lu (Nu Jiang) 72 switchback turns down the steep
mountain valley and the dry steep precipitous canyon until we to the Nu Jiang. The peaks were vertical
uplifts of sedimentary silt, sandstone and shales, dramatic rock formations. At the bottom of theswitchbacks, the highway followed alongside the boiling Nu River which had carved a steep canyon, andthe road seemed to hang on the edge of the cliff. Nujiang Grand Canyon is one of the most beautiful
canyons in China, a spectacular, 315 km (189 miles) long marvel of nature, with banks that reach as highas 3,000 m (9,840 feet). Nujiang is one of the most important rivers in China, and flowing into Myanmar
it is known as the Salween river.
The highway gently climbed for 50 km (30 mi) towards Angela pass 4475 m (14,678 ft) and we drove inthe dark through a snow storm, reminding me of past night skiing trips to Stevens pass in my home.
Once across the pass we drove out of the snow storm and descended to Rawu, turned off G318 anddrove the 39 km (23 mi) up the once glaciated valley to Songtsam Leigu (Tibetan for glacier) lodge.
Arrived at 20:45 under a partially cloudy sky that revealed some stars. Late dinner but spent an hour inthe cold outside attempting to get decent star shots with the Laigu glacier descending from the Kangri
Garpo Range in the distance partly revealed.

Laigu Glacier at night from Songtsam Laigu Lodge

Ranwu Lake is the largest lake ineastern TAR and is the main
source of the Parlung Zangbo
River, an important tributary to
the Yarlung Tsangpo also known
as the Brahmaputra. Because ofits glacial turquoise color, it isconsidered a sapphire on the roofof the world. The largest of thethree connected lakes is 26 km(15.6 mi) long, with mountains tothe south rising to more than
6,000 m (19,680 ft) above sea
level. Ranwu Lake is surroundedby Mt. Gangrigabu to thesouthwest, the Azhagongla Glaciersouth and Bosula Peak to thenortheast, with the famous Laigu
glacier, one of the largest icefields
in the Hengduan Mountain Rangethat extends into the lake fromthe north. The size of thewatershed area is 1798 square km(694 sq. mi), and since it is a highaltitude lake, freezes over fromlate November until late Marchwith a thickness of the ice that canreach 2 meters (6.5 feet).
Right: Laigu Glacier night sky Scott Jiang

Ngan tso or Ranwu Lake was created through a massive debris landslide over a century past, and has
been designated a National Forest Park that encompasses a subalpine evergreen conifer forest andalpine vegetation zones that includes 505 species of plants, 42 species of mammals, 90 species of birds
and 5 species of amphibians. Mammals under state key protection live in the Ranwu Lake National
Forest Park include bahral sheep, snow leopard, white-lipped deer, golden eagle, and the white-tailed
eagle haliaeetus albicilla. Suring our stay we had only seen Himalayan vulture, Himalayan partridge andfox.
The following morning was cold with fresh snow on the ground. There were some patches of blue sky to
the east where the sun broke through lighting up the Laigu glacier and surrounding peaks. We visitedthe lake in the early morning, mirroring the brilliant shafts of light reflected off the mountains, thendrove to the Rawu monastery overlooking the mountains and lake. Found the monks and the villagepilgrims to be very friendly and happy, welcoming us with ‘tashi delek’ greetings in contrast to mostother monasteries we had visited that see more tourists. Beautiful lighting on the snow-covered peaks.
Came back and stopped just above the ridge and saw a fox in the snow. Then stopped by the lakeenjoying the reflections in the water of peaks in and out of clouds and sun patches.

Upper Ranwu Lake, a series of three lakes between Ranwu and the Songtsam Lodge Laigu Glacier (below)

Laigu Glacier and outwash plain

Ranwu Lake

Himalayan vultureLaigu Glacier

Laigu Glacier

VILLAGE life in Laigu and monastery at Ranwu lake

Laigu Glacial valley

ttom aerial view of Laigu glacier, one of the largest in the Hengduan Mountains TAR

Route from Songtsam Zhuka west of Markham to Ranwu and Songtsam laigu lower left

SONGTSAM’S SHANGRILA TO LHASA EXPLORATORY ROAD TRIP SCENIC HIGHWAY G318; THE ROADLESS TRAVELED IN THE HIDDEN KINGDOM OF EASTERN TIBET by WILLIAM D BOEHM
PART 4 RANWU TO BOMI ALONG THE KANGRI GARPO MOUNTAINS, THE HEART OF EASTERN TIBET

Laigu Glacier area west of Ranwu from Songtsam Helicoptter; Below: mountains above the Parlung Tsampo River on the way to Bomi G318

We now will follow the Parlung Tsangpo River and the northern slope of the Kangri Garpo Mountain
Range west, and in the early morning left for Bomi. We again stopped several kilometers from theSongtsams Lhagu lodge above the edge of the glacial lake full of calved ice from the Laigu Glacier. The
area reminded me of parts of Glacier Bay Natioal Park in SE Alaska 45 years ago when I worked as a park
ranger exploring Muir Inlet. We continued afterwards back to Rawu to connect with G318 for our next
destination at Bomi, 137km (82 mi) away. Drove along the serpentine road at the edge of the backed-up
Parlung River that forms a turquoise-colored lake wedged between steep vertical side slopes, reminding
me of the glacial rivers of Banff, Canada. The highway threaded through a steep valley of juniper forest,
then ascended into a canyon of forested spruce, fir, and birch. The side slopes were colored in yellow
ochre rock outcroppings resembling a part of the Yellowstone canyon in Wyoming. Within another 30
km (20 mi) the landscape again changed revealing peaks that rose vertically on both sides like theKananaskis, part of the southern Canadian Rockies. The road continued to wind through vertical walls a
section of solid granite that resembled parts of Yosemite National Park. Beautiful country that was so

Oak trees and mountains along the Parlung Tsampo River that flows west along the north slope of the Kangri Garpo Mountain Range.

eclectic in variety of landforms. After several hours we emerged into a forested valley, having reached
the broader floodplain and the Medui Glacier visitor center of the Kangri Garp Mountain Range. Here
there is a turnoff where the road ascends 7 km to the Midui trailhead to hiked to Midui lake where one
can view the spectacular Kangri Garpo Mountain Range that extends west and Medui glacier thatdescends from its peaks. Unfortunately, the road was closed for winter season.

Parlung Tsangpo river, one of the primary tributaries of the Yarlung Tsangpo that cuts between the eastern Himaalan peaks Namcha Barwa
and Gaya Peri and emerges from the deepest canyon in the world into the Brahmaputra River in India

Midui Glacier viewed from 7km trail from G318 Highway. The Midui glacier flows north from the Kangri Garpo Mountain Range that
supports the Lhagu Glacier to the southeast.

Our caravan followed the highway through more juniper, oak, and pine forests below a series of verticaland jagged peaks of the Kangri Garpos that now resembled the BC Coastal Range until we finallyreached the flood plain of the Parlung Tsangpo. Here we discovered a lush forest at the foot of peaks
that resembled the Snoqualmie or upper Fraser River Valley. Passed through the town of Bomi following
the Pauling Tsampo, a tributary of the Yarlung Tsampo and within another 30 minutes’ drive arrived at
Songtsam Bomi, Songtsams newest lodge that just opened October 31. Beautiful place with more of abeach house wood decoration following the local wood, traditional Tibetan, but to me seemed more like
NW BC coastal homes; nice touch. There was a Swimming pool, and such wonderful atmosphere. I havea deep tub to take a bath tonight. Incredible luxury. Thankyou lord for this.

Songtsam Bomi, just completed October 2019

Songtsam Bomi, just completed the end of October 2019

Parlung Tsangpo River and lush temperate forest Above and Below

This afternoon drove to the forest under still heavy overcast skies. Walked along the river to enjoy aforest of oak, pine, dogwood and sassafras. Forest included Sassafras albida, Lindera obtusilobo adeciduous tree, Quercus aguifolia an evergreen oak, Hedera nepalensis an evergreen vine, Araleaceae
Cerasus clarofolia (prunue) and a small tree in the family Berberidaceae, Bertberis gyalaica with edible
red fruit. The mountains rose above the turquoise colored Parlung Tsampo River that originates from
the Medui and other glaciers on its long journey towards the Yarlung Tsampo. Passed a wetland fieldRuddy shell ducks on the Parlung Tsangpo River

Above ruddy shelducks, unidentified duck, bar-headed geese, grebe pair, sandpiper, heron, Parlung Tsangpo River

Above warber spp, Derbyan Parakeet Psittacula derbiana below: Derbyan Parakeet Psittacula derbiana , snow pidgeons

Above, Bharal sheep, middle photo by Z Hua, rt granalawith grazing Tibetan ponies in a tranquil meadow, while a flock of Ruddy shell ducks flew overhead, thencongregated on the river gravel bar. Such a tranquil place.
Nov 20, Wednesday Day 6 Great breakfast and today we would ascend the Motuo highway to explore
the Gawalong glaciated valley next to the tunnel that connects to Medog, the last Chinese county
without access to highways until 2014. We crossed the Parlung River then ascended the Motuo highway
in a snow storm to the tunnel at an elevation of 4000 (13,123 ft) and the Galong Temple. We could notpass through because the south side was closed to foreigners. Beautiful forest of spruce, true fir, larch,and the hardwoods birch, poplar, sumac, and a flowering tree (budding?) possibly in the cherry family.
Snowed and cold up on top where there was a small Buddhist Kalong Temple, a branch of Dodong,
Ningma. We viewed a flock of snow pigeons that were roosting in a fir tree next to the temple. I learned
that the view from this Gawalong Glacier area was spectacular in clear skies, with jagged peaks and acouple small lakes all around us.
Beautiful view from the lodge this afternoon as the mountains were clearing from a low cloud cover.
The turquoise Parlung Zangbo River flows below, a branch of the Yarlung Zangbo River. Below the Bomi
Lodge, the river is backed up forming Guxiang Lake, a freshwater barrier lake caused by a huge glacial
mudslide that blocked the Parlung Zangbo River in 1953. There was evidence that debris flows andlandslides occurs frequently along Parlung Zangbo with scoured ravines leading into the river, seriously
damaging Highway G318 in the past. We saw across the scoured and still barren Jianmupuqu (Tianmo)
Ravine that had cleared the forest with massive boulders and gravel from the 2007 massive glacial
debris-flow, blocking the Parlung Zangbo River and covering 450 m (1,476 ft) of the Sichuan Tibet
highway at the other side. The following outburst of the flooded river destroyed a bridge 76 m (250 ft)
long, causing casualties. Since that year debris-flows with medium or on a small scale occur almost every
year. The steep slope and the huge altitude difference of the Jianmupuqu Ravine provide predominantenergy conditions for slope failure. The region is located in the southwest monsoon influence area, andconcentrated rainfall, as well as the strong glacier activity provides the water source for debris-flows.
Most debris-flows in the ravine are induced by the rainstorms, and combined with melted water may beblocking
off
Parlung
ZangboRiveragain.
The
ParlungTsangpothreads
through awideflood plain above tranquil, forested slopes of hardwoods, pine and oak with the Gawa Mountain grouprising abruptly with many horn-like summits. It’s a pleasant landscape, and to me more beautiful than
Meili as there is less human impact here. These mountains are spectacular, and the forest contrasted
with the steep snow covered and glaciated peaks is so much like the BC Coastal Range and the European

Alps. Weather is clearing and tomorrow we head to Nyinchi, a lowland fluvial flood plain of the large
tributary Nyang Qu River that joins the Yarlung Tsampo. Here lies the richest agricultural farmland andthe most diverse lowland wetlands and forests found in Tibet.

Motuo highway pass, Gawarong Monastery

Above: Motuo highway to the tunnel at 4300 m. Monastery; Below. Snow doves roosted in fir tree, flightMountain forested slopes of the north slope of the Kangri Garpo Mountain Range

Bottom: Peaks near bomi, RT Motuo pass on a clear day: photo songtsam

Gawalong Mountain and glacier above Motuo Pass Highway on a clear day: photo by Songtsam staff

Kangri Garpo Mountain Range and unnamed peaks rising above the Parlung Tsangpo River east of Songtsam Bomi Lodge above and below
KG 52 (Delupola) 6343M/20,810 ft center horned pk, and KG 52i 6065m/19898 ft and kg 52ii 6140m/20,144 ft just behind it to left.

KG 52 (Delupola) 6343M/20,810 ft center horned pk, and KG 52i 6065m/19898 ft and kg 52ii 6140m/20,144 ft just behind it to left. Bothpeaks extend from the ridge north of Gone Kangri 6347m/20823 ft of Kangri Garpo Mountain Range

Kangri Garpo Mountain Range and unnamed peaks rising above the Parlung Tsangpo River east of Songtsam Bomi Lodge. KG 52 (Delupola)
6343M/20,810 ft center horned pk, and KG 52i 6065m/19898 ft and kg 52ii 6140m/20,144 ft just behind it to left. Both peaks extend fromthe ridge north of Gone Kangri 6347m/20823 ft of Kangri Garpo Mountain Range,the latter peak higher than Mt Mckinley in N America.

Parlung Tsangpo river, flowing from Ranwu Lake west into the Yarlung Tsangpo that forms the Brahmaputra in India

Route from Ranwu (lower right) west to Bomi upper middle left. North of highway G318 is the East Mountain Range, south of the highway
and the Parlung Tsangpo River is the Kangri Garpo RangeSONGTSAM’S SHANGRILA TO LHASA EXPLORATORY ROAD TRIP SCENIC HIGHWAY G318; THE ROADLESS TRAVELED IN THE HIDDEN KINGDOM OF EASTERN TIBET by WILLIAM D BOEHM
PART 5 BOMI TO THE YARLUNG TSANGPO, NAMCHA BARWHA AND THE LOWLAND FORESTS OF NYINCHI
Nov 21 Thursday, Day 7

Nyainqentanglha Mountain Range north and above Tangmai Bridge where the Parlung Tsangpo River joins the Yiong Tsangpp from north

Left what was to become my favorite of the Songtsam lodges at Bomi and drove towards Nyinchi also
called Linzha following the highway alongside the downriver flow of the Parlung Tsangpo. The highway
diverted northwest ascending a small river within hardwood forests where we crossed a bridge of the
Bide (Boltoi) Tsangpo River that drains the Nyaingentanglha mountain Ranger. After an hours drive, we
stopped at Tongmai Bridge scenic turnoff, a bridge that had been destroyed several decades ago byglacial flood flows and that spans the Yigong Tsangpo where it joins the Parlung Tsangpo. The Yigong
drains the massive Nyainqentanglha East Mountains that are largely unexplored with the exception ofJapanese alpinist Tomatsu Nakamura and Tim Inoue. I wanted to explore upriver, as the area soreminded me of the BC Coastal Range Canada that likewise receives huge amounts of snowfall during
the winter, like this area.

BelowTangmai Bridge where the Parlung Tsangpo River joins the Yigong Tsangpp of the East Nyainqentanglha Mountain Range northMountains above Tongmai Bridge that was destroyed in past glacial/rain catostrophic landslides where the Parlung Tsangpo joins theYigong Tsangpo. The Yigong River flows south from the massive East Nyainqentanglha Mountain Range into the Parlung Tsangpo that thenflows into the big bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo, that becomes the Brahmaputra in India . Right large monsoon slope failure above Parlung
Tsangpo River, regular events that occur during summer Monsoon season.

Above left Looking downriver of the confluence of the Yigong tsangpo with the Parlung Tsangpo; Right Yigong Tsangpo upriver (TomNakaumura) that drains a major section of the East Nyainqentanglha Mountain Range. Below: Mt Tiba Kangri Elevation: (22460 ft) west ofTangmai in the eastern edge of the Himalaya immediately north of Gyala Peri 7294 m above the Yarlung Tsangpo canyon.

Wopu village Yigong Yssngpo Rivr and right Jongpo glacier and jongpo po rang 6570 m north of the river in the East Nyainqentanglha
Mountain Range. Both photos taken by Tom Nakamura, Kobe University Alpine clubAbove: Dipermarasong 6135 m southeast face, Nyainqentanglha East mountains above Yiong Tsnangpo River by tomatsu Nakamur

The Nyainqêntanglha Mountains form a high watershed between the Yarlung Zangbo (Tsangpo) Rivervalley of southern Tibet and the area of inland drainage and salt lakes on the high plateau. The
dramatic peaks of the range are extremely rugged and support large glaciers equal to parts of Glacier
Bay National Park, Alaska, with many sections above 6,100 metres /20,000 feet, with some individual
peaks well above 6300 meters that include Kona Kangri I 6378 m/ 20925 ft, andjust north of the Parlung Tsangpo and Yigong Tsangpo juncture Jalong Kangri 6420 m / 21062 ft.

Nyainqentanglha East mountains nr konga krangi 1 pk and village of Jinlingxiang. Aerial photo of Maraipo glacier and jumbo lake sourceof Xungqu qu that flows into the Yigong Tsangpo tribuary of Parlung Tsangpo, a tributary to the yarlung Tsangpo that cuts throughNamche Barwha and Gyala Peri to form the Brahmaputra in India. The mountains here average above 6100 meters /20,000 ft. The
Nyainqêntanglha Range proper forms a high watershed between the Yarlung Zangbo (Tsangpo) River valley of southern Tibet and the area
north to the Nu River, and area of inland drainage and salt lakes on the high plateau.

Above:Map of part of Nyainqentanglha Mountain Range East. Below photos of Jumba Lake and Maraipo Glaicer taken in the top center ofthe map, near Kona Kangri IElevation: 6378 m / 20925 ft Below: unnamed peak at head of Jumbo Lake. map shows the Yigong Tsangpothat flows left to right towards the Parlung Tsangpo River bottom left. Photo below unnamed peak 6018 m/20000 ft at head of Maraipo
Glacier photo by Tomatsu Nakamura. These mountains experience a tremendous amount of snowfall from the seasonal summer monsoon
and dramatic peaks of the range are extremely rugged and support large glaciers equal in scale to parts of Glacier Bay National Park

Above:Nyainqentanglha East mountains Maraipo glacier and jumbo lake, the same lake of aerial photo above taken by Tatsumo Nakamura.
Unnamed peak on right 6018m/19744 ft.

Nyainchanglandla Mountain Range, Mt Pumonuji 5782m/ 18,970 ft, and right Mt Pulongu 6310m/ 20,702 ft unclimbed peaks south of theYigong Tsnagpo River and NE of Lake Basaong. Distance Namche Barwha Rt and Gaya Peri to its left, gap of the Yarlung Tsangpo T Inoue

Nyainchanglandla Mountain Range, Mt Jainija 6586 m/ 21,607 ft, and unnamed peak to right 6444m/ 21,142 ft both unclimbed and south of
the Yigong Tsangpo River NE of Lake Basong. Photo by Tim InoueLeft: First glimpse of Namche Barwa Pk

The Parlung Tsangpo River was
surrounded by steep, icecovered mountains within theforested river valley. Moredramatic glaciated peaks of thewestern extremity of the Kanri
Garpo Range partially hidden inclouds. We then followed thewinding highway as it ascended
into a fir, spruce and Juniper
forest before emerging to ameadowed, rhododendron and dwarf oak forest of Lulang. Beautiful lake with snow mountainreflections of Tiba Kangri, 6846 m (22460 ft), a sister peak of Geya Peri. Had lunch in the newly createdhotels of Lulang that lay below a pass that gives commanding views of Namcha Barwha and its sisterpeak Gaya Peri. Lulang forest and village is nestled between the mountains and glaciers at an elevationof 3,700 m (11,943 ft), a vast expanse of meadows, forests and villages. In Tibetan, the name means “aplace to forget your homesickness”. The forest consisted of cypress, rhododendrons, spruce, maple, oak,and pine trees, a landscape that resembled a brush-and-ink Chinese painting of a serene scene with
distant ice-covered mountains, glaciers, primitive forest, villages and rivers nearby. Following lunch,weascended the switchbacks through a rhododendron, juniper, and dwarf oak forest to Sejila Pass 4,720m (15,481 ft) and at the lookout got a partial view of Namchu Barwa Snow Mountain, and to the northits sister peak Gawa Peri. The Yarlung Tsampo descends between these mountains that forms thedeepest gorge in the world. Rising 7,782 m (25,524 ft) above sea level, Namcha Barwa is the highest

Above: Gaya Peri 7254 m in center foreground, Namche Barwha 7782 m center background and Sanghung 7015 m left. The Yarlung Tsangpo
travels in between these peaks, flowing within the deepest canyon in the world.

Unnaned lake with snow mountain reflections of Tiba Kangri, 6846 m (22460 ft), a sister peak of Geya Peri.above and below

Town of Lulang where we took lunch before ascending Sejila pass with views of Namcha Barwa

Recently constructed resort town Lulang.

Namcha Barwha 7,782 m (25,524 ft) , the highest peak of the Hengduan Mountains and the eastern anchor of the Himalayas. The Yarlung
Tsangpo River courses between Gaya Per Gyala Peri 7,234 m (23,727 ft) i through a water gap, forming the deepest canyon in the world witha maximum dept of 6,009 m (19,709 feet), then emerges into India forming the Brahmaputra. Namcha Barwa below Nigel Hans photo

mountain in the Hengduan Mountain Range and as an anchor of the eastern Himalaya, ranks as the 28th
highest peak in the world. It is one of the most revered snow mountains in southeast Tibet as the main
holy mountain for Bonism, the oldest anamistic religion in Tibet. The Yarlung Zangpo Grand Canyon (orTsangpo Gorge) is longer than the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and the deepest canyon in the world.

Namcha Barwa 7,782 m/ 25531 ft from Sejila pass

The river passes between the peaks of Namcha Barwa 7,782 m (25,524 ft) and Gyala Peri 7,234 m(23,727 ft) reaches a maximum depth of 6,009 m (19,709 feet) then emerges into Medog, and India as
the Brahmaputra. The tropical monsoon and mild climate penetrate through this water gap into the
Nyanchi valley to then north, facilitating an incredible diversity of plants and animals that rivals the
Kharta valley, an extension of the Arun River of Nepal, and Yunnan, Sichuan mountains. Because of its
remoteness, Namcha Barwa has an intact vegetation zonation that still can be found in China, withevergreen and semi-evergreen tropical rainforests scattered in the river valley.

Tiba kangri and Gyala peri 7,294 m/23930 ft north 22 miles of Namcha Barwa from Sejila passNamcha Barwa and the remote canyon of the yarlung Tsangpo River Outside magazine yalung tsangpo expedition 2003.
Below: Glacial source of the Yarlung Tsanpo SW of Mt Kailesh and runs east for about 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi), draining a northern
section of the Himalayas before it enters the gorge.

The Yarlung Tsangpo
originates southwestof Mt kailesh, andflows east parallel tothe Himalayan Origin
for 2,057 km (1234mi) before it drops
abruptly over a 2 km
(1.1 mile) knickpointand changes
trajectory by 180
degrees in a gorge
only 200 km (120
miles) long in the
Eastern Himalayan
syntaxis. The river drains 200,000 km 2 of Tibetan plateau making the Yarlung one of the major drainage
catchments in Tibet and the largest in the southern plateau and Tibet. The upper reaches it is called
Tachog Khabab (Maquan River), gets water from Jiema Yangzong glacier in the Himalayas.
Descended from the pass into the beautiful Nyang River valley, where we then took a side road past avillage of small Tibetan homes surrounded by rich agricultural fields of corn, wheat and barley. At 2600m(8,528 ft) elevation, other crops grown in the valley include rice, peanuts, apples, oranges, bananas, and,tangerine, honey peach, pear, grape and lemon. It was evident this is the bread-belt of Tibet. The
landscape with mountains and a large, broad alluvial valley reminded me of the Fraser River valley in BC,

Nyang River valley

Nyang River valley

but with more dramatic, ice-covered peaks here. We stopped at the scenic Yani wetlands created by the
braided Ni Jang (Niyan qu) river.

The lowland forests of Nyinchi is documented with over 2,000 species of higher plants, 165 species of
medical herbs and fungus. According to local forestry officials, Nyingchi is TAR s’ largest primary forest
region, with the forests of Bomi, Zayu and Loyu having ancient dragon spruces Picea asperata whichreach heights of over 80 meters and diameters of 2.5 meters, and a type of sequoia Cupressus gigantea
that can reach 5.8 meters diameter and age of 2600 years. This forested area is unique for Tibet, part of
the Northeastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests that cover 46,300 square km (17,900 sq. mi) in thesoutheast Tibetan Plateau, occurring between 2,500 to 4,200 m (8,200 to 13,800 ft). The forests occur
primarily in the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, tributary valleys including those of the Nyang
River and Parlung Tsangpo, and the Zayü River and Tawang Valley. Many of these forests are found inso-called "inner valleys", which are valleys that are shielded from the South Asian monsoon by mountainridges but still receive enough precipitation to support thriving forests. At higher elevations, thisecoregion grades into Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows. In lower elevations it grades
into Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests.
The dominant trees of this temperate forest include hemlock Tsuga dumosa, spruce Picea smithiana,
and true firs Abies spp. Less common are larch, pine and yew Larix griffithiana, L. potaninii, Pinus
wallichiana, and Taxus baccata. Near timberline grow a variety of junipers, birch and oak: Juniperus
indica, J. recurva, and J. squamata. Betula utilis, and Quercus spp. Other broadleaf plants include maple
Acer spp., magnolia, Magnolia spp., laurals, Lauraceae, Viburnum, mountain ash Sorbus spp., oak
Quercus spp. and Araliaceae. Rhododendrons reach their pinnacle in this ecoregion with the Yarlung
Tsangpo River gorge alone having over 60 species. It also is purpoted to have the highest forest in theworld with Tibetan juniper Juniperus tibetica reaching heights of 4,900 m (16,100 ft) in Baxoi
County, TAR. Mammals typical of this ecoregion include the red panda, snub-nosed monkey, takin, musk
deer, red goral, Asiatic black bear, and leopard, but are rarely sighted. The diversity of birds include
the Tibetan eared-pheasant, white-eared pheasant, and the giant babax, a drab-colored laughing thrush.
We visited a 600 years old Demu Monastery damaged by 8.4 Richter scale 1950 earthquake andreturned to the freeway that led into Linzhi City (Nyingchi). It was late evening and in the dark the city
looked like a small-scale Las Vegas with all the new hotels, streets and shop lit up with a display of
Christmas tree strings of lights. Everything so new and well-laid out here. Nyingchi also has an airport.
Known as the Swiss Alps of Tibet, Nyingchi is one of the lowest areas of the Tibetan plateau inside the
TAR, and is renowned as one of the most beautiful places to visit in Tibet, with beautiful lakes, deep
gorges, stunning valleys, vast forests, and lush green meadows. Nyinchi was an important stopover for athousand years for the Tea-horse caravans on their way to and from Lhasa from Sichuan and Yunnan.

Namche Barwa above and below on the Yarlung Tsampo River where new Songtsam lodge will be contructed by 2020

Nyinchi (Linzhi) at night, lit up like Las Vegas. A very modern cityDemu Monastery outside of Nyinchi (linzhi)

600 years old Demu MonasteryHotel Tingyard, Nyinchi

Route Bomi through the Mountains between Namche Barwa and Geya Peri to Nyanchi Valley

SONGTSAM’S SHANGRILA TO LHASA EXPLORATORY ROAD TRIP SCENIC HIGHWAY G318; THE ROADLESS TRAVELED IN THE HIDDEN KINGDOM OF EASTERN TIBETPART 6 Nyinchi to Lhasa
Nov 22, Friday Day 8

Leaving the Linzhi valley and the Nyang River

Basamtso lake (Draksum Tso)

We leave for Lhasa today, and will stop by one of Eastern Tibbets most beautiful mountain lakes, Basam(Draksum) Tso. Leaving Nyinchi, we entered the freeway west through the broad alluvial valley of the
Nyang Qu River. The road ascended and took us into oak forests where we turned off an exit to drive
some 40 km (24 mi) up the valley of Basamtso lake. We gathered at the commercialized entrance gate ina large parking lot surrounded by shops and restaurants at the foot of this beautiful mountain range
waiting for opening. Drove to the overlook and hiked up a long flight of stairs to get the incredible viewof the mountains surrounding the glacial colored turquoise lake. Jagged ice-covered peaks with glacierssurrounded the lake, a scene reminiscent of Howe Sound driving from North Vancouver BC into

Peaks surrounding Draksum Tso (Basam Tso) Lake

Squamish with the coastal range in view, but with more magnificent peaks. Spent several hours here
including exploring a small nearby islet where there was a boat launch for lake touring, and a monastery.
Apart from the sheer beauty of the lake and its surrounding 6000m (19,680 feet) peaks, the site hasstrong connections to Gesar of Ling, the semi-mythical ruler of eastern Tibet, and Guru Rinpoche, theIndian sage, both of whom are said to have resided at the lake centuries before.
Draksum Tso is an alpine lake at the mid-upper reach of the Bar River, the largest tributary of the Niyang
River which flows south into the Yarlung Tsangpo. The l18 km (11 mi) long lake within a glacial valley at
3,538 m (12,631 ft) above sea level. Historically valley glaciers have formed the lake and retreated,creating a watershed of rivers that converge into its turquoise blue waters. Dramatic peaks surround thelake with sharp toothlike summits and glacier cirques, with many of the alpine glacial tongues extending
to lower elevations deep into the lush, old-growth forests. The giant trees and flourishing understory
that include oak, hemlock and juniper still support rare wildlife like bear, leopard, bharal sheep, musk
deer, and birds that include ruddy shelducks, black-necked crane, and Tibetan snow pheasant.

Draksum Tso (Lake)We returned down the valley back to the freeway, and it
took us four hours to get to Lhasa located within the
broad alluvial plain of the Yarlung Tsampo River. We
arrived at night, and passed the Potala Palace flooded
with lights, then across town in a small valley reachedour final destination, Songtsam Lodge Linka. We again
were warmly greeted by staff that included the manager
Lhamo and Baima’s Sister, now the general manager ofsongtsam Lhasa and served warm ginger tea. Nice to stayhere as the rooms are amazingly well decorated inTibetan style with wood beams and side walls. We relaxed and were served an amazing dinner tocelebrate our arrival at our final destination in Tibet.

The next morning, we visited the lesser known meditation caves at the1350-year-old Drak Yerpa
Monastery place at an altitude of 4,885m (16,022 ft). An hour drive south of Lhasa, we walked up to aseries of caves decorated on the outside showcase a riot of primary colors to match the deep blue sky.
The walkway threaded through Jiaye basib caves and main temple set on nearly vertical limestone cliffs.
Each small temple was built around a cave where monks had in the past meditated. Pilgrims came toworship visiting each temple cave, giving money and carrying their prayer beadsBeautiful setting, like all
Temples seem to be. Monks were stoking large clay stoves with mulberry, pine, cypress branches andhighland barley powder. There is superstition that the mulberry smoke fills and connects with themountain god and nature. In Tibet, incense burners are usually placed at the entrance to temples,
before sacred mountains or at the mountaintop pass to pray for blessings. In the homes of the local
people, there are small simmering mulberry stoves, which can also simmer and purify before festivals
and important guests come.
We had traveled for 10 days through an incredible variety of landscapes, and experienced adisappearing part of Tibetan culture still seen in a few remote villages. Reflecting on the journey, I
wanted to return and explore more, discover alpine areas by trail, and find areas of wildlife that still areprotected in this remote area of Tibet. Songtsam Lodges is aiming to turn the long-forgotten YunnanTibet Tea Route into a historical, cultured boutique travelling route with beautiful scenery and excellent
hospitality facilities. I was fortunate to have taken this journey, and look forward to returning toexperience the new lodges that will be constructed at Namjibawa, Basong, and Yigon. I concluded that
yes, it rivaled some of the most beautiful drives in North America, with the additional bonus ofexperiencing a unique Tibetan culture. The Hidden Kingdom was becoming accessible now for the avid
adventurer.

Potala Palace lhasa; Below Potala palace group, Songtsam linka Lhasa below

Songtsam linka Lhasa; below enroute to Drak Yerpa Monastery place at an altitude of 4,885m (16,022 ft)

Drak Yerpa Monastery place at an altitude of 4,885m (16,022 ft)

Songtsam Linka lhasa and group dinner celebrating the end of our G318 journey.