Tibet Tibet is a land of many extremes and many unknowns.
Global Adrenaline's Tibet trips offer many
Roof of Jokang Temple. (Lhasa, Tibet)
options for those interested in seeing Tibet. Our
journeys follow routes that provide the rare opportunity to see Tibet in
all of its geographic extremes from the high plains and passes of central
Tibet to the lush semi-tropical forests of the southern and eastern regions.
Perhaps most interesting are the ethnographic variations among the Tibetans
themselves and the other minority populations living along our chosen routes.
The greatest asset one can have while traveling in Tibet is time. With at
least a small amount of time and a knowledge of where to go (provided by
our seasoned Tibet guides from around the world), the stage is set for fascinating
and unique situations to arise. We feel our itineraries provide exposure
to the best that Tibet has to offer.
Lhasa To most of the world, Tibet begins and ends with
Lhasa, the Potala Palace and the Himalayan mountains to the south of the
ancient city. Travelers who have visited the "Roof of the World"
often see only Lhasa, and the sites along the "friendship highway"
leading from the city to the border with Nepal. These tours are fascinating
in and of themselves, but at the end one leaves having seen only a fraction
of central Tibet and its high desert landscape. There is so much more
to see and to experience.
Central Tibet - Mount
Everest Central Tibet is one of the most culturally rich
parts of Tibet. The Yarlung and Kyichu Valleys run parallel in an east/west
direction through the region. These valleys have been the cradles of
North Face of Mount Everest. (Everest Region,
Tibet)
Tibetan civilization for centuries. Separating the
valleys are several ranges of moderate height, which we will cross on our
fascinating overland journey. As we journey south from Lhasa, the landscape
progressively becomes more arid. We also climb steadily in altitude. Before
we reach the Himalaya proper, we will encounter isolated monasteries perched
beneath high glaciated desert peaks, framed against the cloudless cobalt
skies. The main range of the Himalaya abruptly comes into view when we reach
some of the last passes on the route. Suddenly, the arid moonscape will
end against the towering crystal peaks of the central Himalaya, which are,
of course, dominated by our goal, Mount Everest. After wandering the glaciers
of the mountain, we will drive through ever more lush landscape as we near
the Nepali border. Participants on our trips will thus benefit from the
rare opportunity to see a nearly complete cross-section of Tibet's cultural
and geographic zones.
As the highest point on earth, Mount Everest (29,028
feet, 8,848 meters) needs no introduction. The Nepali name of Mount Everest
is Chomolangma - literally translated as "The Mother Goddess".
Group at Everest base camp. (Everest Base
Camp, Tibet)
The mountain was first recognized as the world's
tallest in 1840 when it was labeled Peak XV during the Great Trigonometrical
Survey of India and the Himalaya. In 1865, after failed attempts to discover
a local name, the survey named it Mount Everest in honor of the genius behind
this huge project, Sir George Everest.
It is well-known that the Tibetan approach to Mount
Everest affords far better vistas than the Nepal side. The northern flanks
of Everest are unobstructed by neighboring peaks or ridges, allowing for
excellent views of the entire mountain from Rongbuk and Kangshung Face
base camps. Everest base camp is one of the most popular trekking destinations,
but this doesn't mean the region is swarming with hikers. The hikes to
Everest base camp are challenging, but well worth the hike. Four wheel
drive vehicles can reach Everest base camp directly as well.
Eastern Tibet - Four
Sisters Peaks The word Siguniang roughly translates into English
as "The Four Sisters Mountains." This name is a new "postliberation"
name given by the Han Chinese. The original name of the group of peaks
was Kula Shidak, a Tibetan phrase meaning "Abode of the Mountain
Protector." Local Tibetan and Qiang people still refer to the highest
peak as Yaomei. The Siguniang peaks are the highest
Tibetan monk. (Shekar Dzong - Shekar, Tibet)
mountains in the Qionglai range, which runs in a
north-south direction. Mount Siguniang is the main peak of the range with
an altitude of 20,370 feet.
The area is incredibly pristine, which is unusual given
its close proximity to Chengdu, less than a day's drive away. The area
was first opened for trekking and mountaineering in 1981. The Japanese
were the first to climb Siguniang that year, with the Americans following
soon after. Across the valley from Siguniang are a group of huge granite
walls similar to El Capitan in America's Yosemite National Park. Some
of these walls were first scaled by Westerners in the early 1980s. These
valleys have remained one of China's best-kept secrets. Few outsiders
have visited them, other than the odd climbing team that almost always
seems to be present in the area around Mount Siguniang.
Our trek up the Chang Ping valley brings us right to
the base of these peaks, as well as many others that have never been climbed
and, in some cases, have never been named. The Chang Ping and Double Bridge
valleys are a trekkers' paradise, in part because of the largely level
topography. They are nearly perfect U-shaped valleys. As we leisurely
hike up one of the valleys, we will travel through old growth forests
of hemlock, juniper and various other coniferous trees.
Eastern Tibet - Minya
Konka Peak "Minya Konka - Highest Peak on the Globe
- 30,250 feet", wrote American explorer Joseph Rock in the late 1920s
after setting eyes on the stunning truncated summit of Minya Konka. The
National Geographic Society, which funded Rock's expeditions to the peak,
regarded the report with skepticism and listed the peak at 24,000 feet
(7,500 meters). Their guess was closer to the mark. Several years later,
in 1932, during the chaotic warlord period in China, Americans Terri Moore
and
Eastern Tibet's highest peak, 7,556 meter Mt.
Minya Konka-first climbed in 1932. (Mount Minya Konka, Tibet)
Richard Burdsall climbed the peak, after spending
almost a year traveling through China just to reach its base. Their measurement
of Minya Konka came in at 24,891 feet. Internal conflict in China cut the
mountain off from the outer world until 1980. In 1981, Americans again climbed
the peak, this time known as Gongga Shan, a name given by the Chinese who
had climbed it in the late 1950s.
The Tibetan word 'Minya' refers to an ancient kingdom
that formerly controlled the region. 'Konka' is a corruption of the Tibetan
words 'kang kar', meaning white snow. Thus the mountain's name means "White
Snow Mountain of the Kingdom of Minya." Minya Konka is the highest
peak in the Da Xue range, which runs in a north-south direction through
Sichuan province. Surrounding the peak are countless lesser peaks, many
above 19,200 feet in elevation.
The Da Xue range of peaks are centralized in Kangding
county, which today is part of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Region. Before
the Chinese communist takeover of the area in the 1950s, Kangding was
the capital of the Kham region of east Tibet. Today Kangding continues
to be a Tibetan cultural stronghold.
Northwest Yunnan - Mount
Kawa Karpo Extreme northwest Yunnan is one of the most geographically
unusual areas on the planet. As the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween rivers
descend south from their headwaters in Qinghai and northern Tibet, they
reach a point at the intersection of Tibet, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces,
where they flow parallel to each other through a stretch of land not more
than 31 miles wide. Such mighty rivers in such close proximity has created
a fascinating geography. Separating the rivers are the Salween/Mekong
and Mekong/Yangtze watersheds. These watersheds form the southern extreme
of the Hengduan mountains, which reach a high point in the area on the
21,568 foot summit of sacred Mount Kawa Karpo. Covering these valleys
are (unfortunately, in some cases we must say 'were') vast tracts of old
growth forests. The remoteness of the region coupled with large areas
virtually uninhabited by humans supported the flourishing of many animal
species.
Early exploration of the area
began around the turn of the last century with Bacot, the French Tibetologist.
Following in his footsteps was the indomitable British plant hunter F.K.
Ward, and
East flanks of Mt. Kawa Karpo with Buddhist
Chortens (Tibet).
after him came the American botanist/explorer Joseph
Rock. All were utterly awestruck by the beauty of the region and the natural
sense of sanctity it engendered in them as they approached the Kawa Karpo
massif. All of these explorers did the circumambulation of the peak. The
account of each one (see the reading list on our general website page on
Tibet) attests to the otherworldly beauty of the land and the reverence
the local Tibetans displayed towards it.
The central peak of the Kawa Karpo massif is, from
many angles, a perfect pyramid of ice and snow. During his journey around
the peak in 1923, Joseph Rock described the peak thusly: "It (Kawa
Karpo) stands out isolated towards the east of the main range and is the
most beautiful of the entire chain resembling an ice palace of a fairy
tale, or an enormous mausoleum with gigantic steps and buttresses, all
crowned by a huge majestic dome of ice tapering into a spire of ethereal
blue, almost transparent, merging into an azure sky". Living in this
sort of environment century after century, the local Tibetans had come
to see the mountain as sacred even before the introduction of Buddhism
into Tibet during the Tang dynasty.
People Tibet and Tibetans need little introduction. In
the last few years this land and its people have captured the imagination
and dreams of the world. For many years, adventurers have sought access
to this myth-enshrouded land beyond the Himalaya. Today it is possible
to travel to Tibet for a glimpse of the Tibetan way of life, which has
managed to survive the tumultuous 20th century, severely tested but relatively
intact. It is indeed a privilege to visit Tibet, to walk in its Buddhist
temples, and to approach its high peaks, all of which seem suffused with
an intangible, yet unmistakable, sense of sacredness. We highly suggest
that you take some time to read a book or
Tibetan children. (Lungjung, Tibet)
two on the land and people of Tibet before you
begin your trek with us. Once you arrive, you will appreciate the idea
of the depth of Tibetan culture you will garner from your reading. Our
skilled guides assure that you will leave this trip enriched, with a better
understanding of the rich cultural legacy that Tibet has given the world.
Gyarongs While hiking in Aba TAR, and especially in the
Siguniang peaks, we will be passing through areas dominated by the Gyarong
people. The ethnic origin of the Gyarong has been the subject of much
debate. Many Gyarong people feel that they represent a distinct race.
Others feel that they are closely related to, if not identical to, the
Tibetans. There is also evidence in favor of Qiang ancestry. The Gyarong
speak a dialect of Tibetan intelligible only to themselves, but their
written language is standard Tibetan. Recent Gyarong history is war torn.
Two wars in the 18th century, known as the Jin Chuan Wars, decimated their
population. These wars were fought during the reign of the Qing Dynasty
emperor Qian Long, between his Imperial troops and the eighteen Gyarong
kingdoms concentrated mainly in Jin Chuan county. The first war was fought
between 1744 and 1749, and the second between 1771 and 1776. While fighting
these two wars, Qian Long nearly emptied the imperial treasury in his
efforts to crush the fiercely independent kings of Gyarong, who refused
to pay homage either to Peking or to Lhasa. The Gelupa sect of Tibetan
Buddhism, dominant in Lhasa at that time and intolerant of the many Gyarong
Bonpos, allied themselves with the Imperial aggressors. By the end of
the second war, nearly 80% of the Gyarong population had been killed or
forced into exile. Bonpo monks had been massacred, and their monasteries
converted to Gelupa establishments. Some of these monasteries have, since
1980, converted back to Bonism.
Bonpos and Bonism Bon was the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet. Practitioners
of Bon are called Bonpos. The religion has shamanistic/animistic characteristics
such as belief in mountain gods and a host of nature spirits thought to
inhabit rocks, trees, streams and the like. Bon was begun by the semi-mythical
figure known as Shenrab Miwo. He is thought to pre-date the historical
Buddha by several thousand years. Bonpos were often persecuted in central
Tibet by sectarian leaders of the Gelupa
Religious ceremony. (Sakya, Tibet)
school of Tibetan Buddhism. Because of this repression,
they moved to east Tibet where they have intermittently flourished to
this day.
Khampas On our "Minya Konka Trek," we will visit
Tibetan Buddhist monasteries of all of the sects that thrive in the area.
Standing in the center of town, one can see minority peoples from all
over China engaging in barter and just hanging out. Dominating the Kangding
population are the Khampas from east Tibet. Khampa men are renowned throughout
Tibet for their fierceness in battle. When the Chinese began to annex
their lands (as well as the rest of Tibet) in the late 1950s, the Khampas
formed guerrilla warfare units that became legendary throughout Tibet.
These Khampa warriors were eventually forced to flee the area, but they
have since returned.
In Kangding it is very easy to spot a Tibetan Khampa.
Many of them are six feet tall, an unusual height in this part of the
world. They wear knee-high leather boots and thick wool-lined robes tied
at the waist. All of them carry knives, often reaching broadsword length,
tucked into their belts. Hair is worn in two long braids wrapped around
the head, into which black or red string is intertwined. Large earrings
and a grin exposing a few gold capped teeth usually completes the picture.
People of Northwest Yunnan Within China, there are 56 recognized minorities.
Northwest Yunnan contains 22 of these 56 minority groups. Most common
from Kunming north to Deqen on the Tibet/Yunnan border are the Nu, the
Li, the Drung, the Pumi, the Tibetan, the Yi, the Bai and the Naxi. Often
the word 'Zu', meaning nationality, follows the ethnic group's name. Thus,
when inquiring about the nationality of the local peoples, a typical response
would be Nu Zu or Naxi Zu or the equivalent. Within Yunnan, the Yi are
the largest group, numbering greater than 3 million people. The smallest
group are the Drung, a group much more common to the north in Zayul and
the Bomi regions. All of these groups maintain, to a greater or lesser
extent, their own language, though the lingua franca is the Sichuan dialect
of Mandarin Chinese. With Beijing's easing of conformist political pressure
in the early 1980s, all of these peoples have revived their unique customs
and festivals.
Without question, the focus
of our journeys in Northwest Yunnan will be on Tibetans and their unique
form of Vajrayana
Tibetan woman. (Lhasa, Tibet)
Buddhism. Northwest Yunnan is actually geographically
part of the Tibetan plateau. Like most of eastern Tibet, the region was,
in pre-1949 days, more of an independent fiefdom than anything else. The
Tibetans of Deqen county paid allegiance neither to the Dalai Lama in Lhasa
nor to the rulers in Beijing. Leadership was often assumed by high incarnate
lamas from a nearby monastery. There are several thriving monasteries in
and near the town. We will have opportunities to visit most, if not all,
of them. The region is also home to an interesting Tibetan hospital and
a center for storage of a precious medicinal mushroom highly coveted in
Japan -- known locally as Song Rong and in Japanese as Matsutake. Both of
these spots are definitely worth a visit.
Travel Tips Tourism is a growing industry in Tibet. Though
many tourists the world over come to visit Tibet, very few of their dollars
ever make it into the hands of the Tibetans or those of any of the other
minority
Our driver with a local Tibetan girl. (Rongbuk
Monastery, Tibet)
peoples. We have made special efforts to cooperate
with a Tibetan-run travel company in northwest Yunnan, which insures that
more than 60% of the funds generated from our expeditions stay in Tibetan
communities. The cost for our expeditions to Tibet may be slightly higher
than the cost of some of our other expeditions, but we feel that any additional
expense is justified by our efforts to support and help preserve one of
the planet's truly magical wildernesses.
All of northwest Yunnan is greatly threatened with
environmental and cultural degradation. In recent years, the Chinese government
has done much to stop logging in the mountainous regions of northern Yunnan
and the rest of eastern Tibet. Minority groups have ironically been hurt
by these logging bans. Many of them made their living in the logging industry
and now find themselves out of work.
Temperature/Weather The weather in Tibet is likely to vary from hot
to quite cold. Sunny days can get as warm as the upper 70s, whereas cloudy
days can bring light snow. Evenings will always be chilly. Thus, to fully
enjoy the trip, one must have clothes for all conditions. Since you will
not be expected to carry anything, weight is not a real concern. That
being said, please note that internal China flights keep baggage weight
limits under 25 kilos.
Reading List In order to make the most of your trip to Tibet,
the following reading lists will help you gain a better understanding
of the landscape, culture and people. Here you can also purchase any books
you might need for your Global Adrenaline trip!
Global Adrenaline, Inc.
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Chicago, Illinois 60602
USA
Tel: +1-866-884-5622 (toll free in USA)
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Fax: +1-312-873-4440
Email: info@GlobalAdrenaline.com
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