20 Day Tibet tour for Saga Dawa, Kailash Kora, Guge Kingdom
Tour review
I had never been on a group tour before this one. After a great deal of research, I joined the twenty day Kailash Kora, Guge Kingdom, and Saga Dawa tour from Tibetan Guide. Yonten was my contact there; he capably answered my questions and helped me get my papers in order. The tour had all the elements I wanted: the Saga Dawa celebration, the kora, the Guge Kingdom extension, and a reasonable pace, so that the places were not seen in a rush. I was impressed at the effectiveness of the main office. All of my papers were ready before I took the train to Lhasa from Xining.
One of the guides for our trip, Dawa, met me at the train station along with several other members of the tour who had taken the train. I highly recommend the train at least one way to Lhasa. The train trip from Xining is just over twenty hours long. The scenery along the way is fantastic to see at the speed and viewpoint of a train rather than a plane. The mix of lake, desert, mountain and agricultural land really makes you feel the distance to Lhasa from Xining or Chengdu.
The other guide, Phurbu, joined the whole group the first night. Our group was too large for one guide. Dawa and Phurbu are incredibly capable leaders, knowledgeable about Tibetan history and religion in ways that I did not expect. They arranged meals, lodging, travel, and drinking water as well, and made it seem effortless. I have travelled solo in China, and do not know Mandarin. I have some idea about how much work is involved in taking care of the needs of one person, but these two provided for 17 tourists, plus the drivers and the vehicles. We stopped at local restaurants for lunch and dinner. The choices were sometimes thin in far western Tibet, but they were always adequate.
Every day we experienced at least one site important in Tibetan history or religion. They were capably introduced by the guides, who then answered individual questions as we walked through the sites. We visited many of the popular places; they are popular for a reason. Everest base camp, just up the road from Ronbuk Monastery, is a very beautiful place. So are the Potala Palace and the Jokhang Temple. Watching the monks debate at Sera Monastery was fascinating; I spent 12 years as a debate coach, and loved the debating methods of the monks.
The kora around Mount Kailash was a high point of this trip. Two and a half days of high altitude hiking on a loop around the holy mountain starts and ends in Darchen. The path is crowded with many kinds of pilgrims. Meals and accommodations are available at several places along the route. The Saga Dawa festival is an amazing celebration of the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and passing from this world. The post holding the prayer flags is refreshed for the year with a series of ceremonies around the tree and a continuous circulation of pilgrims around the grounds. Even in blowing snow, the atmosphere is joyful.
We got to get well off the beaten path as well. The Guge ruins, the caves at Dunkhar and Piyang with the fantastic murals, and Phuntsokling with its art and friendly monks on the banks of the Yarlung Tsangpo, are far from any city. They help tell the story of Tibetan history. Tholing monastery in Zanda is not to be missed. Be sure to explore the back part of the monastery, which is quiet and contemplative.
We returned to Lhasa for a night, then scattered all over the world to return home. The group was diverse, from all over the world. It was a group of well educated and well travelled people. Everyone got along, and everyone contributed to the discussions at mealtimes. This tour more than met expectations. Thanks to the advance planning of Yonten and the staff, the continuous effort of the guides and drivers during the tour, and the care to get everyone away safe and happy, I would highly recommend it, and will use Tibetan Guide again when I return to Tibet.