Destination: China
LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: Tibetan Trekking & Hiking
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There are some great day hikes around Lhasa, which will help you get acclimatised before attempting anything too adventurous.
The hills around Pabonka Monastery offer great scope for ridge hiking. The day hike to Shugsheb Nunnery, 20km south of Lhasa, is another good warm-up trip. The retreat caves of Drak Yerpa offer an excellent overnight hike from Lhasa (take a sleeping bag).
The most popular trek in Tibet is probably the four- or five-day Ganden-Samye trek. Even if you don’t want to do the whole thing, there are some fine day hikes from Samye Monastery, primarily to the Chim-puk meditation caves.
A close second in popularity is the Everest region, and specifically the trek in from Tingri. The short hike between Rongphu and Everest Base Camp is a great walk, though many miss its sights by rushing up to Base Camp in their Land Cruisers. The dusty road route into Everest from Shegar is probably best done with a combination of hiking and hitching, and there are some lovely villages en route.
Hiking and hitching is also the most adventurous way to get to the sights around the Yarlung Valley, though you’ll have to keep an eye out for the PSB.
The little-visited Riche Ganden retreat makes for a fine half-day hike from Gyantse.
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