I'm usually a vocal critic of 4WDs especially when they're driven around Sydney by posh soccer mums who can't drive but a Toyota Landcruiser on the unsealed roads in the Tibetan mountains driven by a Tibetan who knows how to handle the vehicle is a wonderful beast of burden - I now understand why the country folk in Australia love them so much now.
We - the usual Hugo, Phil and myself + 2 new group members Sarah and Holly - hired a Landcruiser and a driver to do a 6 day trip to Mt Everest Base Camp and back with detours to some of Tibets more rural areas. Our first leg today took us first to Yamdrok-Tso, a huge lake south of Lhasa ~ 4000m above sea level that was still in the process of melting. We were lucky as most of it had melted already giving us the postcard turquoise waters you usually see in Tibetan postcards for us to take pictures of.
The drive out of Lhasa involved a zig-zagging winding mountain road to take us over a 5000m pass to see Yamdrok-Tso from above, there was a backdrop of snow-capped 7000m peaks behind the lake and the sky was blue for this part to make it for a literally breathtaking experience. I'm was a little bit more acclimatised to Lhasa's altitude but any sort of exertion at 5000m set my heart pounding and my head spinning.
Yamdrok-Tso in all its glory:
A team photo in the same spot.
A decorated Yak at Yamdrok Tso
After having our fill of Yamdrok it was another 4 hours to Gyantse with 1/2 an hour for lunch at a small Tibetan village along the way. Our drive took us through the most barren of landscapes - there were huge rocky mountains surrounding you as you drove through the valley over an unsealed rock/dirt track. We even saw some glaciers as we drove right past the base of Mt Nojin Kangtsang (I think that's what it's called) - I really loved the drive and scenery along the way as you can only reach such remote places using a 4WD unless you hike for a week on foot.
A glacial valley with an extremely remote settlement.
We reached Gyantse in the late afternoon and had a stroll around the beautiful old Tibetan town before dinner. Gyantse is purportedly one of the most Tibetan towns in Lhasa and when we climbed a hill to get a better view of the town all we could see was an expanse of colourful prayer flags on all the rooftops stretching out into the sunset.
We reached Gyantse in the late afternoon and had a stroll around the beautiful old Tibetan town before dinner. Gyantse is purportedly one of the most Tibetan towns in Lhasa and when we climbed a hill to get a better view of the town all we could see was an expanse of colourful prayer flags on all the rooftops stretching out into the sunset.
My attempt at black and white photography in Gyantse...
A old Tibetan street - notice the prayer flags on top of every house.
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