5 days on the Tibet-Sichuan Hwy

We wrapped up our south west China experience with what turned out to be a gruelling 5 day trip along the Tibet-Sichuan highway. Early each morning we would board a local bus and head into the snow-capped mountains bordering the Tibetan plateau, spending between 8-15 hours getting to know our fellow passengers before rolling into a small town to spend the night, filling up on hearty Tibetan food and taking in the sights. We unofficially ended up travelling with a group of foreigners who had all decided to do the route at the same time and, with what turned out to be a really terrifying experience when we were stuck in the snow at 4,500m, it was sure great to have some company that spoke English.

The start of our snowy overland adventure- Zhongdian

The green rolling hills surrounding the village of Xiangcheng

The beautifully decorated entrance to one of the Xiangcheng houses

The Tibetan houses make for a very different scene to the China we had experienced so far

Our hand painted bedroom in Xiangcheng- a steal at $8 a night!

Between Xiangcheng and Litang we first struck the snowy white wonderland up there at 4000m- the road is often only wide enough for one vehicle so when there are two, one, if not two, inevitably get stuck

Tibetan Gompa in Litang

The magnificent gold and burgundy monastry in Litang

Prayer tiles outside the monastry

An 8 hour trip between Litang and Kangding turned into 14 when we got stuck multiple times- disfuntional chains being put on and off our bus, the bus skidding across the road sideways, one time towards a shear drop into white nothingness... ahh, we lived to tell the tale!