West Tibet’s Ngari (Ali, 阿里 in Chinese) is the hardest part of a Tibetan trip, because there is no road for automobiles. From Lhasa, now there are northern and southern routes to go to Shiquanhe River and no coach to get there. The only mean to get Ngari is to rent a car. Cargo trucks choose the better northern but not pass the most magnificent places such as the Holy Mountain Kailash (神山冈仁波齐) and the Holy Lake Manasarova (圣湖玛旁雍措) etc. It is suggested that travelers to rent cars but you must pay attention that it takes about 14 days and there are few place for replenishment. There are two 4WD Land Cruisers and a replenishment truck to be provided by the travel agency during travel to Ngari. You will find it hard to find at least 10 people to accompany you in Lhasa; it’s all about your luck! 

Holy Mountain of Kailash (神山冈仁波齐) 

The main spot in Ngari is the Kailash Mountain, the holist among the holy mountains in the world and the holy lake just besides it: Manasarova. 

Kailash is about 6,600m above sea level and it is the main peak of the Gangdisi Ranges (冈底斯山脉). The peak is symmetry in shape on the four sides, just like the Pyramid in Egypt, thus makes you feel quite mysterious! This is the center of the world regarded by Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism and Bon Religion, so the believers of their religions will come here to pilgrimage every year. However, there is no one has climbed this mountain yet because it is a holy land. 

Go round the mountain once will make you free of any sin within you, if you walk round the mountain ten times you will free from hell in the 500 years of transmigration cycle, and a hundred years later you will be a Buddha and ascend to the Heaven! Because the Buddha Sakyamuni (释迦牟尼佛) knew that He was born in the Year of the Horse when He attained the highest state of spiritual enlightenment, therefore the walking path surrounding the mountain was flocked by pilgrims from various sects, countries or regions in Years of the Horse of Tibetan calendar (the same Year of the Horse as in Chinese calendar, once in twelve years). 

Lake Manasarova (玛旁雍措) and La’angcuo Lake (拉昂措) 

Manasarova is a holy lake located at 4,588m above sea level, 20km southeast of Kailash. There is an “evil” lake lies on the other side of the road, which is the route from Baga (巴嘎) to Pulan (普兰), called La’ang. The Manasarova is fresh water and the la’ang is salty. The former is lively clear and the latter is silently dead! 

Zheda Soil Forest (札达土林) 

Lies in the river valley between the Gangdisi Mountain and the Himalayas, a large, majestic field called Zheda Soil Forest, which occupies 210 square kilometers with average altitude of over 4,000m above sea level. The “trees” inside the forest have various sizes, the scenic beauty is at its best when the golden light of morning or evening glow comes. The site of the ancient Guge Kingdom is there. 

The site of the ancient Guge Kingdom (Ticket 400 Yuan per capita) 

It lies 18km from Zheda County and the site is very remote with few buses there. You can try to wait passing vehicles but sometimes, only a few military vehicles pass there! 

The ancient kingdom site occupies about 180,000 square meters with height range of 300m. Houses, monasteries and caves a total number of about 600 distributing throughout the hillside. In recent years many ancient treasures such as statues, carvings and murals have been unearthed. The Buddha statues were mainly made of silver, of which the silver eye sculpture was the highest artistic success. Murals are preserved the best among the artworks in the site. Their unique style had entirely depicted the daily life of the ancient people. 

The site has circumvallation surrounded with forts on its four corners. The kingdom has three height levels: the highest level is for the kingdom palaces, the middle for monasteries and the lowest height for civilian residence. 

It is reminded that you need an admission certificate issued by the State’s Public Security Bureau, and then buy the entry ticket in the Cultural Bureau. If you want to take photographs in the site, you need to pay 50 Yuan per capita. Moreover, remember to bring your electric torch, because the site is sometimes dark. The scenic beauty with its decadency of ancient relics is at its best when the light of morning or evening. 

You can lodge at Postal Guesthouse, Armed Police Guesthouse or Guge Guesthouse in Guge County with room priced about 25 Yuan per night. There are 3 or 4 restaurants but the dishes are not cheap.