8 Days Tibet Hidden Gems Photography Tour to Larung Gar & Yarchen Gar

Summary

Day 1 Chengdu-Kangding-Xinduqiao: Xinduqiao
Day 2 Xinduqiao-Tagong-Luhuo-Ganzi: Gongga Snow Mountain, Tagong Monastery
Day 3 Ganzi-Yarchen Gar: Yarchen Gar
Day 4 Yarchen Gar-Larung Gar: Larung Gar
Day 5 Larung Gar: Larung Gar
Day 6 Larung Gar-Guanyinqiao: Guanyinqiao
Day 7 Guanyinqiao-Chengdu: Free on your own, back to Chengdu
Day 8 Chengdu Departure

Day 1 Chengdu-Kangding-Xinduqiao

Pick-up can be arranged at your Chengdu hotel, Chengdu train station, or Chengdu airport, where our guide meets you with a welcome sign.

Xinduqiao

You then drive about 5 hours from Chengdu to Xinduqiao, a small and peaceful Tibetan town in Kangding County, western Sichuan. It lies on the Sichuan-Tibet Highway (National Road 318) about 81 km west of Kangding and is a popular place for photography, especially at sunset. Tagong and Danba lie to the north, Mount Gongga to the south, and the road toward Shangri-La continues to the west.

After the drive, your guide takes you to your hotel in Xinduqiao town.

Day 2 Xinduqiao–Tagong–Luhuo–Ganzi

Mount Gongga

After breakfast, continue the route toward Mount Gongga. The range spreads across Kangding, Luding, Shimian, and Jiulong, four counties in western Sichuan, and covers about 60 km from south to north and 30 km from east to west. Its highest peak reaches 7,556 meters, making Gongga the tallest mountain in Sichuan, sometimes called the king of the Sichuan mountains.

Tagong Grassland

Next, visit Tagong, about 113 km northwest of Kangding on the Sichuan-Tibet Highway and often called the lesser Lhasa. The open Tagong Grassland covers around 712 square kilometers and is one of the best-known pastures in Garze. From June to August the grass is green and flocks of sheep and cattle graze across it, an easy place to take photographs.

Tagong Monastery

Close by stands Tagong Monastery, one of the three most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in Garze, Sichuan. It belongs to the Sakya school and has been a place of worship for more than 1,000 years, centered on a statue of the Buddha Shakyamuni and a collection of old texts and relics. A forest of small pagodas surrounds the main halls.

After the visit, your guide drives you to your hotel in Ganzi.

Day 3 Ganzi-Yarchen Gar

Yarchen Gar

After breakfast, transfer to Yarchen Gar, about 400 km from Chengdu. The settlement began in 1985 and grew after 2001, when many nuns and monks moved here from Larung Gar. Officials count around 10,000 residents, while those living here say the real number is closer to 20,000. Some nuns stay in their small meditation huts for long, quiet retreats, and you can spend the day seeing how life runs here.

On the surrounding hills you can pick out rows of small white huts, and a path that rises toward a large golden statue of Guru Rinpoche. From the high point the whole valley opens below, and your guide takes you to a good place for photographs.

After the visit, your guide drives you back to your hotel.

Day 4 Yarchen Gar-Larung Gar

Larung Gar

You have free time in the morning for photography around the area. Later, your guide drives you to Larung Gar, sometimes called the Larung Valley, at a suitable time. Most of its monks and nuns come here to study, just as many at Yarchen Gar came to meditate. Set on a hillside at around 4,000 meters in the Kham Tibetan region, it was first founded by Dudjom Lingpa in 1880 and rebuilt about a century later by Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, and it is a good place to learn about Tibetan culture and daily life.

You can spend a full day here among the thousands of small red dwellings spread over the hills around the main prayer halls. It is easy to fill a whole day with the sights, sounds, and daily activity of this busy Buddhist settlement.

After the visit, your guide drives you back to your hotel.

Day 5 Larung Gar

Sunrise over Larung Gar

Get up early and go with your guide to watch the sunrise over Larung Gar. Climbing to the top of the valley gives a wide, clear view across the settlement and the hills around it.

Sky Burial Ceremony

In the afternoon, you can attend the local sky burial, an important Tibetan Buddhist funeral rite. The remains of the deceased are given to vultures, an act meant to express the Buddhist values of compassion and giving. A trained monk prepares the site, and the vultures descend while monks recite mantras. The ceremony is not suitable for everyone. Visitors are not allowed to view the remains or to take photographs, and please follow the instructions given by your guide.

After the day, your guide drives you back to your hotel.

Day 6 Larung Gar-Guanyinqiao

Guanyinqiao

After breakfast, your guide drives you back toward Chengdu. Along the way, stop at the Guanyinqiao area in Jinchuan County, Aba Prefecture. A national 4A scenic area, it brings together five kinds of scenery in more than 36 main spots: Tibetan temples, alpine meadows, alpine lakes, alpine valleys, and colorful mountain forest. The area divides into three parts, a religious cultural zone, an alpine meadow zone, and an alpine valley zone, and the religious cultural zone draws the most visitors.

After the visit, your guide takes you back to your hotel.

Day 7 Guanyinqiao–Chengdu

Jinchuan Valley

After breakfast, you have free time to explore Jinchuan County. It is known as the hometown of the snow pear and is often called the back garden of Aba. In March the white pear blossoms cover the slopes, and the trees spread along the terraced hillsides of the Jinchuan Valley for about 100 km, dotted with colorful Tibetan-style houses. With an average altitude of only about 2,000 meters, the county has a mild and damp climate.

After the visit, your guide transfers you back to Chengdu and drops you at your hotel.

Day 8 Chengdu Departure

Departing Chengdu

The morning is free to explore Chengdu on your own until your guide transfers you to Chengdu train station or Chengdu airport for your onward journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a permit for Larung Gar and Yarchen Gar?

No Tibet Travel Permit is needed, since the whole trip stays within western Sichuan. Access to the monastery areas can change at short notice, so your guide checks local rules in advance and adjusts the plan if a site is closed to visitors.

What is the best time to go?

Late summer to autumn, from July to October, is popular for the green grasslands, clear light, and golden forests. If you want the snow pear blossoms, the valleys around Jinchuan and Xinduqiao are at their best in March.

Is this a high-altitude trip?

In part, yes. Larung Gar sits at around 4,000 meters, so the first days build up slowly and you rest well on arrival. The Jinchuan valley on the way back is much lower, at about 2,000 meters, which feels easier.

What will I photograph along the way?

The heart of the trip is the red and white hillside dwellings, prayer halls, and daily study at Larung Gar and Yarchen Gar, with the sunsets at Xinduqiao and the grasslands around Tagong. Out of respect at the sky burial, visitors are not allowed to take photographs.

What is included in this 8-day tour?

Private guides and vehicles, the hotel nights on the tour, and transfers at your Chengdu hotel, the train station, or the airport on arrival and departure.

Do I have to be a photographer to join?

No. The route was built around the light and the scenery, but it suits cultural travelers as well. The monastery settlements, grasslands, and mountain views are worth seeing even without a camera.

Price Per Person in US Dollars

Price Includes 1. All transfer and city transportation 2. Air-conditioned car or van 3. Hotels specified in the itinerary, all based     on two persons sharingone standard room; 4. Meals specified in the itinerary: Western     breakfast in hotels Chinese lunch and     dinner in local restaurants 5. Sightseeing: All arrangements mentioned     in the itinerary will be covered All first     admission/entrance fees in the itinerary 6. Tour guide: Conducted by a professional     tour guide

Price Excludes 1. International air-tickets 2. Airport departure tax. 3. International or domestic air tickets which     are not listed in the itinerary. 4. Insurance coverage of personal loss, illness     or damages incurred during your trip 5. Tips to the tour guide and driver 6. Meals not specified in the itinerary. 7. Personal expenses: phone bills, laundry,     optional tours, postage, excess baggage     charge, entertainment fees out of the     itinerary. 8. Single Room Supplement.