Nanjia’bawa Peak 

In Motuo. The south of the crooked passage of Brahmaputra River are the dividing mountain of Nyingchi, Motuo and Milin (米林). The ancient Tibetans regarded the Nanjia’bawa Peak as the “road to heaven”, “gods’ living place” and called as “Father of Mountains”. The peak is the point between the Himalayas and Nianqingtanggula Mountains and the highest peak (7,756m) of eastern end of the Himalayas. There are full of legends about the peak. It is said that the gods descended and gathered because its height, people who were living in the valley paid their high respect and reverence to it. At its foot, many hot springs with dense vegetation, an ideal place for exploration and recuperation. 

Midui (米堆) Glacier 

100km east to Bomi County, Nyingchi Area. The main peak of Midui Glacier is 6,800m high of which the icy section is 4,600m. The glacier is lowest altitude on our planet. It consists of two large icy falls with height about 800m and width 1,000m each and a virgin forest field in between. Flowers like precious jewelry around the glacier! 

Midui Village is at the bottom of the glacier between Ranwu Town (然乌) and Bomi. To reach the village, it is closer to start at Ranwu Town than at Bomi County, coach starts in Qamdo and Nyingchi as far as Ranwu Town. It takes about 2 hours to reach the glacier from Midui, you return at night and lodge in Youth Hostel. You can also hire people to take you to the glacier but pay about 20 RMB if you want they help to carry your baggage. 

Benri’shenshan Mountain (苯日神山) 

Located in northern bank of Brahmaputra River, Nyingchi, it is said that Benri’shenshan Mountain was the venue for the duel between Master Lianhua’sheng (莲花生大师) and A’qiongjiebo (阿穷杰博) the leader of the Bon Religion. The masters of Bon had been cultivated and attained the highest state of spiritual enlightenment. Unlike Tibetan Buddhism, the worshipers of Bon have to walk around Benri’shenshan Mountain and spinning the scripture cylinders anticlockwise. 

Paga Monastery (帕嘎寺) and Paga God Mountain (帕嘎神山) 

Niangpu Village (娘蒲乡) in Gongbujiangda (工布江达) County. The monastery was belonged to the Huang (Yellow) Sect of Tibetan Buddhism and established during the reign of Dalai Lama V, with about 1,000 small Buddha statues inside. 

The mountain behind the monastery is well known and it looks like the Goddess of Duoji’pamu (多吉帕姆女神). Her navel is a divine hole regarded by the locals with two holy Manis (玛尼) at the entry. The cave is so deep and goes up inside and like a chimney. The mouth of the chimney is regarded as the mouth of the goddess and below the navel there has a cave and interval fountain. The cave was nicknamed as female genital. The interval fountain is for all seasons with water running out once in four hours with extreme accuracy. It was also called as “Paga Goddess’ Fountain” and when water was running, there would be an eagle flied out from the cave and returned when the water had been stopped. 

There is also a waterfall called Jiaxing’gou (加兴沟) about 20km from the Paga Monastery. The curtain as if waterfall has height 25m and divided into three, each of them comes out from the cave at top. There is full of bine vegetation around the cave’s mouth. You can experience the grand scenery there when the sunset comes. 

Bujiu’Lama Monastery (布久喇嘛林寺) (Ticket: 30 RMB) 

The monastery belongs to Red Sect of the Tibetan Buddhism and it is the most important religious venue in Nyingchi area. It shaped square inside and the eave at the 1^st floor has 20 corners, with 8 corners for the eaves of 2^nd and 3^rd floors. The height of the temple is about 20m and 10m width. The pagoda at the top is gilt with gold. The colors walls on the four sides are white, blue, red and green respectively. It is also the site of practice of Lianhua’sheng Master. The murals inside are known as the great feat in eastern Tibet. 

Giant Cypress Forest (Ticket: 10 RMB) 

That is the forest just on the sides of the highway. Tibetans are seeing trees as divine. The largest tree here has a circumference that of eight people to surround it hand in hand with height about 50m. There are Hada bands on it, which are the dedication to the gods by the locals. 

You may be confronted by a little boy who sells white papers with Chinese characters “巨柏林” means “Giant Cypress Forest”. Ask him that you want to buy less because he always wants you buy many! 

Accommodation 

Nyingchi Guesthouse, 25 Chuanzang Road, Bayi Village. Standard room 388 RMB, deluxe room 488 RMB nightly. Tel.: 5821300. 

The Guesthouse, Shuangyong Road, Bayi Village. With four sorts of standard rooms: 188, 288, 388 and 488 RMB respectively. Tel.: 5824163.

Nyingchi (林芝) Area lies at the lower reaches of Brahmaputra (aka: Yalong Tsangpo, 雅鲁藏布江) River between 1,000 meters and 3,000 meters above sea level, the lowest altitude of Tibetan Autonomous Region and world’s most fluctuated altitude area. The area is essential part of the Sichuan-Tibetan Highway with good scenery. The route from Lhasa to Nyingchi is the most relax and comfortable in Tibetan tour, road condition here is the best and you can drive here. However, avoid rainy season tour that landslides and collapsing slopes often block the road. 

From Lhasa there is once a day bus service to the Bayi (August 1) Town or to rent a jeep with friends. The best season to visit Nyingchi is between April and June. 

Cuogao Lake (措高湖) sometimes known as Ba’song’tso Lake (巴松措), also known as the Swiss Alps in Tibet. It is one of the famous scenic spots in Nyingchi and scenery of such beauty and originality not so many have been left in the world so far. 

Ticket 50 RMB, approximate 300km from Lhasa. Traffic: long distance bus services are available in Lhasa and Bayi Town to Basongtso Lake. The kiosk under the Bayi Bridge sells ticket. 

Basongtso Lake also named as Cuogao Lake, which in Tibetan means “triple stone and triple lake”. It is the famous holy lake and land of Ningma (宁马) sect. The water is so clear and mirroring the surrounding snow mountain on it. Birds are flying just above the surface. There is an island called Zaxi (扎西岛), it is said that it is an island with hollow core, i.e., the island is floating on the water. The island is filled with scripture cloths. Cuozonggongba Temple (措宗工巴寺) means “castle on the lake” in Tibetan, is the temple of Ningma sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It has been oblated Master Lianhua’sheng for 1,500 years. 

It is said that in the 15^th day of the 4th month of Tibetan calendar (i.e. June 1) each year a long white band will be appeared from the bottom of the lake. The locals said it was a Hada (哈达, white silk) dedicated for Sa’er King (萨尔王). They had a custom of going round the lake once to celebrate the occasion. It takes two or three days to complete. 

Bayi Town 

The administrative bureau is in Bayi Town, known as “Southern Yangtze Region in Tibet”, but the scenery is quite mediocre. If starting at Lhasa in early morning you may reach Bayi at noon. You’ll have lunch in the town. The latter half you’ll go through the Sejila (色季拉) Pass, which is over 5,000m above sea level. 

Sejila (色季拉) Mountain 

Nyingchi’s forest industry is the most flourished in Tibet. Go up the mountain from a large field and orchard about 2,000m, then the vast natural forest, plateau steppe and herds of yaks and horses. You will see, if lucky enough, large black mastiffs with red bands on their necks and having chains harnessed. Climb up, the Life Forbidden Area is in front of your eyes, there is nothing but the scripture flags hanging. 

Lulang Town 

Lulang is a small village in Sejila Mountain, where wooden houses with a stream flowing behind them. A wood factory with many pieces of ancient tree branches inside and horses ramble in the forest. It’s always raining. Look at the tree trunks laid on the ground that make you feel that each of them have long history. 

The tranquil landscape of Lulang Town is just like an oil painting and fog always on the mountainside with mushrooms on the slope and green fields. The color of flowers like pure colors dyes for oil painting. Lamas sell their effective headache medicine here. 

In Lulang, one hostel barely likes a hotel. Due to the high humidity, you always feel like you’re standing in the rain. You are advised to bring your own sleeping bag, because there are so many moths there! 

The mushrooms are delicious especially in the hotel’s restaurant. Vegetables are hardly grown so the mushroom is important stuff in addition to meat. The most delicious dish is “braised meat with mushrooms”. Not knowing how long the meat has been stored so far and how much preservative is added, you won’t matter about because the dish tastes good! 

Bomi (波密) and Motuo (墨脱)

Motuo is the last county in China that expressway does not reach it. You can take bus to Bomi then to Motuo, over the mountain and pass the forest. When walking on the rope bridge, leech stings are inevitable, there is only one truck to carry you in to avoid of being stung. 

On foot to Motuo. Begins at the snowy Paixiangfanduo’xiongla (派乡翻多雄拉) Mountain, passing Hanmi (汗密), La’ge (拉格) and Beibeng (背甭). It takes 3 or 4 days to reach Motuo. This route is the main road to Motuo at present. For return, you can go up to Brahmaputra River at 108km point, then climb over the Galongla (嘎隆拉) Mountain to reach Bomi. It also takes 3 or 4 days. In case of leech stings, you can use cigarette lighter or lighted cigarette to burn it, do not stay in grassland and do not put you backpack on it. Try your best to walk in the middle of the road. 

The Grand Canyon of Brahmaputra River 

Near the peak of Nanjia’bawa (南迦巴瓦峰) in Nyingchi area, average altitude is over 3,000m above sea level with length about 496km. With a total depth of 5,380m, the canyon consists of nine natural climate zones such as permafrost plateau and tropical valley, so it contains the most complete climate zones in the world. It is known as the “Most Beautiful Canyon in China”.