Destination: China

LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION

Itinerary: Yunnan/Sichuan to Lhasa

TWO TO THREE WEEKS

A wild overland adventure through spectacular alpine scenery. Officially open only to organised Land Cruiser tours which can be arranged in Zhongdian, Lijiang or Kunming, though increasing numbers of hitchhikers are making their way through.



There are two main routes through Sichuan, a northern route and a southern route. The Tibetan areas of western Sichuan and northwestern Yunnan do not require permits; the eastern Tibetan Autonomous Region does.

Both routes take in superlative scenery. The northern route offers a range of scenery from forested alpine country to the high plateau of the Changtang and passes many large monasteries; the southern route is lower, wilder and more alpine, passing fewer towns and monasteries.

The northern route through Sichuan starts from Kangding and passes the grasslands and monastery of Tagong and several large monasteries around Ganzi. The timeless printing press of Derge is a day’s bus ride further but there are plenty of exciting excursions en route, including to remote Dzogchen Monastery and pretty Yilhun La-tso. From Derge you cross into Tibet proper over some wild passes to Chamdo, the biggest town in eastern Tibet. For the route west of Chamdo see the second half of the Eastern Tibet loop; alternatively travel south to join the southern route.

The southern route through Sichuan runs west from Kangding past the Khampa town and monastery of Litang and then low-lying Batang before climbing up into Tibet at Markham and continuing over concertina passes to Pomda. For the route west, reverse the first half of the Eastern Tibet loop itinerary.

A popular alternative option is to start in Yunnan at the Tibetan town of Zhongdian (Gyalthang), from where it’s a day’s bus ride to Deqin. From here you cross the Tibetan border (and checkpoint) near Yanjing; then it’s 111km to Markham on the Sichuan southern route.

From Zhongdian to Lhasa, allow a week in a Land Cruiser. From Chengdu you are looking at two weeks along either the northern or southern route.