Trekking In The Himalaya Of China

We crossed the mighty Mekong on the way up to a trail upon the slopes of 6,700 meter Kawa Karpo. Our first hike took us up to Min Yong Glacier where we gained close access via a creative route built of scaffolding and boardwalk. A good days walk brought us up and back to the village below where we hired transportation that delivered us an hour later to a bunkhouse turned primitive hostel with no toilets and a nearby puddle of a hot spring.

We dined on fried noodles and weak beer while pigs and Yaks milled about. Later in the evening a band of Tibetan pilgrims arrived and invited us to join them for Yak butter tea before turning in between dirty blankets to keep us warm in the cold damp air.

In the morning we were greeted by clear skies and a steep long climb while dodging streamers of prayer flags and pack horses hauling supplies wirh adventurous Chinese tourists out for the May Day holiday week. I filled my camera with photos that could not possibly reproduce the beauty. In a moment of inattention a horse knocked me off the trail. I popped back up with a lightly scraped arm and we hiked on to Yubeng valley to make it our home for the next 3 nights.

The following day we hiked up to an avalanche strewn basin below 6,000 meter peaks with clinging ice falls. Traversing snow to the right side of a valley blocked by steep cliffs brought us to an overhanging waterfall sacred to Tibetans. I was the first to arrive and was shortly followed by a small group who fell prostrate before the waterfall in prayer. They then passed through the water three times as a cleansing ritual.

The following day revealed more stellar weather as I leisurely roamed around the valley pausing by a river for 2 hours and hiking up to a remote temple ascending to the sound of one man chanting.

Three nights in the villages of Yubeng passed with the snap of finger. We hired a local guide for a different route out. He led us down a long thin valley with a violent flowing river powered by strong spring runoff as he rolled prayer beads between his fingers and mubled a prayer. As the valley opened we followed a relatively thin trail cut along an exposed steep cliff until we rounded out to a broader valley back to the mighty muddy Mekong at Nimong village.

From there it was a long trip back to Shangri-la but this time the blazing sun turned the muddy road of a week ago into a dust festival. Thus ended a wonderful week in the China Himalaya.