Tibetan Spheres Tour

Arrive in Lanzhou, drive about 6 hours to the picturesque town of Xiahe. The landscape changes dramatically from a desert like dry area into green mountains where you'll find Xiahe at 3,000 m altitude.

This is a predominantly Tibetan town, which centers around the huge Labrang monastery. This first day in Xiahe is spent exploring the monastery. You will see many monks, often in prayer or busily debating each other on religious issues. All year around you’ll meet the many pilgrims in town wearing their splendid traditional clothing and jewellery. In the morning you will join in with the monastery tour. A monk from the monastery guides this tour in English. In the afternoon, our guide will take you around the monastery again, but this time to different areas of the large monastery. Also you will go up the hills surrounding the monastery for a bird's eye view of the whole complex.

Today you will explore the grasslands around Xiahe where nomad families live in tents. When invited in their homes you simply can't refuse the infamous Tibetan yak milk tea and barley "tsampa". The grasslands are also a beautiful area for hiking. In summertime the flowers are like a carpet on the meadows.

First we will visit Hezuo to admire the nine-floor Milarepa temple. Inside are beautifully hand painted decorations of Tibetan Buddhist gods and deities. We will arrive in Langmusi at the end of the afternoon.

In Langmusi the ancient Tibetan custom of sky burials is still practiced. Sky burials are now limited only to a very small area in Tibet and are rare sights nowadays. The town of Langmusi is situated partly in Gansu province, and partly in Sichuan province, divided only by a small river. Therefore this small town has two monasteries, one in each province. We will visit the monasteries on the Gansu side of town and go hiking through a beautiful gorge.

Whole day drive from Langmusi to Jiuzhaigou. You will drive through the wonderful Zoige High Altitude grasslands. On the way you will stop for some short hiking trips.

Whole day to explore Jiuzhaigou National Park

Drive from Jiuzhaigou to Songpan. This is only 80 km. The rest of the day will be spent on horseback, exploring the beautiful mountains around Songpan.

Make a day trip from Songpan to Huanglong National Park, which is famous for its colored pools and forests.

Whole day drive from Songpan to Chengdu airport or train station