Days 1 - 6 Kathmandu is legendary amongst travellers and a fantastic place to start our overland journey. Despite being a busy, growing city, there are many great things to see and do. You can while away a few hours soaking up the atmosphere in Durbar Square, which is located in the old town and is full of temples, shrines, stupas and towers (a stupa is a Buddhist religious structure, originally built to cover the remains of Buddha). In Thamel you can shop for handicrafts and afterwards enjoy a Newari meal along with traditional dances. There are more temples throughout the city and neighbouring Patan.
Leaving the city we drive through the Nepalese countryside, past villages and fields to the Last Resort, situated in a beautiful, forested area where the Bhote Kosi River flows through a deep gorge. Here you can bungy jump, go rafting, canyoning or do a canyon swing - all optional! The border is a short drive away and crossing the Friendship Bridge, we leave Nepal and enter Tibet.
Now named the Tibetan Autonomous Region by the Chinese, this country has been under Chinese rule for nearly 60 years. There is little suppression of religion and Tibetan Buddhism is still going strong, although the Dalai Lama remains exiled in India. Geographically, Tibet consists mostly of the huge plateau at an average of 4000m above sea level.
Our drive is a steep ascent as we leave the forest behind and the vegetation gradually disappears, leaving a rocky, barren landscape. We spend a night or two at the small town of Nyalam to acclimatise to the high altitude.
Days 7 - 10
From Nyalam we hope for good weather - if it's clear we will have some stunning views of the Himalaya and Everest from Lalung Leh pass (5050m). En route, we stop at Milarepa's cave once home to a reclusive Buddhist saint, before reaching the town of Tingri. From here it's possible to make the optional jeep trip to the Rongbuk Monastery, the highest monastery in the world and Everest Base Camp for close up, awesome views of the world's highest mountain.
Days 11 - 14
We now descend, eventually passing by agricultural land and arriving in Tibet's second city, Xigatse. Here we can visit the 15th century Tashilhunpo Monastery, spiritual home of the Panchen Lama and which houses the tallest Buddha in Tibet. Further east is the small town of Gyangtse, where you can visit Palkhor Monastery housing Tibet's largest stupa as well as the historical old fort. Unfortunately this was the scene of a brutal and unnecessary battle in 1903, initiated by a British Colonel and in which thousands of Tibetans were killed.
Ascending along a rough road we cross the Kamba La Pass at 4510m and see the sparkling Yamdrok Tso - Turquoise Lake (occasionally, if conditions are bad, this road is closed and we take an alternative route). We continue to reach the legendary Forbidden City of Lhasa.
Days 15 - 18 Lhasa is the fascinating capital of Tibet and we spend a few days here to see its monasteries and palaces and to soak up the atmosphere in Barkhor, the old part of the city. The most prominent and impressive feature is the stunning Potala Palace - home of the exiled Dalai Lama. Built atop Mount Marpori, the 13 storey high edifice consists of two parts, the White Palace and Red Palace and you can explore some of the 1000 rooms, chapels and halls. You can also visit a host of other sites: the Dalai Lama's summer palace, Norbulingka; Tibet's most significant monastery, Jokhang; Sera Monastery where you may see monks carrying out their unique method of debating; the Garden Monastery in stunning scenery; Drepung Monastery on the outskirts of Lhasa or you may just like to wander the stall-lined streets of Barkhor.
Days 19 - 23
We have some hard days travelling as we leave Lhasa and cross our highest pass, Tanggu La at 5100m. At the same time we enter Qinghai Province and have breathtaking views of distant snowy mountains beyond the vast plains. Free camping at night, we travel on rough roads by day across the harsh and wild landscape of the Tibetan Plateau. This area also sees the beginnings of some of the most important rivers in Asia including the Yangtse River. Eventually we begin to descend, crossing the Tsaidam Depression and travelling through grasslands grazed by herds of yak and sheep. We reach Qinghai Lake which is the largest salt water lake in China and from March to June, a stopover for huge flocks of migrating birds including bar headed geese that fly over the Himalayas, thousands of metres above sea level.
Continuing east we travel through mountainous country to Xiahe. Here we find the Labrang Monastery, one of the six most important in Tibetan Buddhism and home to over 1700 monks. Nearby Linxia was also an important trading place on the Silk Road and its markets today are well worth a visit. This area is home to 3 minority people, the Hui, Donziang and Uyghur.
Days 24 - 30 Langzhou is the capital of Gansu province and was once a stop on the famous Silk Road. The Gansu Provincial Museum exhibits Yangshao pottery and interesting artefacts from the days of the Silk Road trading route. There are also temples and pagodas to see, a 13th century iron bell or you can try out the town's renowned noodles along with a Yellow River beer. If time permits we can take a trip along the Yellow River to Bing Ling Si where caves containing Buddhist images have been carved into the cliffs.
Continuing our journey, the truck brings us to Xi'an in Shaanxi Province. Xi'an is renowned the world over for the Terracotta Warriors, a 2000 year old army that stood guard over the tomb of Qin Shihuang until their discovery by villagers in 1974. Over 7000 figures of soldiers and horses have been excavated and restored and you can view these in the huge arena where they are displayed. It is thought that the warriors may have been modelled on their real life counterparts as the face of each one is slightly different.
Xi'an's other interesting sights include the 7th century Big and Little Goose Pagodas, the Drum and Bell Towers and the historical City Walls. As well as a Tao Temple, Xi'an has a mosque and the narrow streets of the Muslim Quarter are great to explore.
We leave the truck here and jump on board the overnight sleeper train to Beijing. This is a great opportunity to try out your Mandarin and no doubt there will be one or two English speakers, keen for conversation.
Days 31 - 33 Beijing is a huge, sprawling city, full of people, bicycles, traffic, history, tradition and modernisation and jam packed with great restaurants, shops and awesome sights. We include a trip out to the Great Wall, an incredible construction and icon of China, built over a timespan of 2000 years and stretching over 6000km. The wall was first constructed in the 3rd century BC under Emporer Qin Shihuang and later added to and renovated, particularly in the 15th century. After the Ming Dynasty it was neglected but in the last century it became one of the most famous sights in the world and in 2007 became one of the new 7 Wonders of the World. Walking along the wall involves some quite steep climbs but you are rewarded with views of the wall lining the ridges of the green hills far into the distance.
Beijing has a huge amount of sights to keep you busy for a few days including: Tiananmen Square where Chairman Mao lies in state in his mausoleum; the Forbidden City, home to Imperial China and emperors for over 500 years; the Temple of Heaven, the largest sacrificial complex in the world and the Summer Palace, the extravagant summer home of the 19th century imperial court. No doubt we will also try out some local food and check out the nightlife to celebrate the end of our overland journey!
If youre interested in Asia overland travel, enquire about Asian Odyssey trip or any of our other overland trips today!
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