Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Next up is
Gānzī
(Garzê; elevation 3394m), a dusty but lively market town in a pictur-
esque valley surrounded by snow-capped mountains. It's easy to spend a couple of days
exploring the beautiful countryside, which is scattered with Tibetan villages and monaster-
ies. Between Gānzī and Derge is the stunning turquoise
Yilhun Lha-tso
(), a holy alpine
lake which has great hiking and camping possibilities. The town nearest the lake is tiny
Yùlóng or Mǎnígāngē, commonly referred to by its Tibetan name, Manigango.
The last town before the TAR is
Derge
(elevation 3270m), cut off from the rest of west-
ern Sìchuān by the towering Chola Mountain. Derge is famous for its 18th-century monas-
tery housing a printing press that still uses traditional wood-block printing methods. There
are more than 217,000 engraved blocks of Tibetan scriptures here from all the Tibetan
Buddhist orders, including Bön. These texts include ancient works about astronomy, geo-
graphy, music, medicine and Buddhist classics, including two of the most important
Tibetan sutras. A history of Indian Buddhism, comprising 555 wood-block plates in Hindi,
Sanskrit and Tibetan, is the only surviving copy in the world. All in all the monastery
holds an astonishing 70% of Tibet's literary heritage.
After Derge you cross into the TAR. Chamdo is still another 347km away.
The Southern Route (Hwy 318)
The southern section of the Sìchuān-Tibet Hwy is shorter and less remote (relatively
speaking, of course), and so is more commonly used by travellers (especially cyclists, who
number daily in the hundreds), young Chinese hitchhikers, and pilgrims who prostrate
their way slowly along the main road, often walking as far as Lhasa.
Travel here takes you through vast grasslands dotted with Tibetan block homes and con-
tentedly grazing yaks, while majestic peaks tower beyond. While journeying along this
route is slightly easier than taking the northern route, it's still not for the faint-hearted:
road conditions vary from rough to rougher and, just like on the northern route, cold
weather and altitude can be an issue.
One of the major stops along the route is
Lithang
(Lǐtáng, elevation 4014m) with op-
portunities for getting into the surrounding mountains by horse, motorbike or simply hik-
ing. Lithang is famed as the birthplace of the seventh and 10th Dalai Lamas, and has one
of the Tibetan world's biggest and most colourful festivals: the annual Lithang Horse
