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Itinerary: Tibet: Natural Highs
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Almost everywhere in Tibet offers superb scenery but let’s start at the top: Mt Everest. The views of the north face from Rongphu Monastery are unsurpassed.
Nam-tso, a day’s drive from Lhasa, offers superb scenery of a very different kind, more characteristic of the northern Changtang than of central Tibet. The huge salt lake is framed by the awesome jagged white peaks of the Nyenchen Tanghla range.
The scenery of the east is different again. Rawok-tso is possibly the prettiest lake in Tibet, fringed by both sandy beaches and mountain peaks. Draksum-tso, further west, is another gorgeous lake, with a superbly photogenic island monastery.
Tagyel-tso and Dawa-tso are two of the most impressive of the many lakes in western Tibet and offer great places to camp en route to Mt Kailash.
Yading Nature Reserve near Daocheng in western Sichuan offers sublime mountain scenery without any of the pesky permit hassles that dog travel to the TAR. You can stay in tourist tents and hike up to meadows and glacial lakes.
Peiku-tso, near the border with Nepal, is another of Tibet’s awesome mountain lakes, this time with impressive views of 8012m Mt Shishapangma to the south.
The deep blues of huge Lake Manasarovar are, of course, another natural highlight.
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