Western Sichuan · On-road · Rental or own bike
Fifteen days that take in both halves of Kham - the monastery north around Dege and Yarchen Gar, and the mountain south at Litang and Yading, where three holy peaks stand over the last valleys before Yunnan.
The ride
Kham has two characters. North of Garze the monasteries take over - Dege and its printing house, Pelyul on its hillside, and Yarchen Gar, where twenty thousand nuns live on a river island. South of Litang it becomes mountain country, thinning out towards Yunnan until the three holy peaks of Yading rise at the end of the road.
This loop rides both. It opens gently with pandas at Wolong and the Four Sisters mountain, climbs through Danba and Tagong into the Khampa north, then turns south through Xinlong to the hidden Tsoka monastery on its jade-coloured lake, and on to Litang at 4,014 m - the highest town on the route and birthplace of the Seventh Dalai Lama.
A full day is given to walking in Yading, then a long ride home over Zheduo Pass at 4,298 m via Xinduqiao and Kangding. Private tour with a Tibetan guide and a support 4×4; no Tibet permit needed.
Five passes crest above 4,000 m. We never gain the whole height in a day - the route is built so your body acclimatises as you climb.
The route, day by day
The fine print, in plain words
See it to believe it
Photography by Liu Bin · Greatway field archive
Dates & enquiry
Private departures on your dates, roughly April to October. Tell us when you're free and how many are riding - a booking consultant will get back to you within 24 hours.
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