Day 5 of the Ali Loop: Traverse the Himalayas and take in all the stunning scenery!
Day 23: Yadong County → Gamba County → Dingjie County → Dingri County. Stay in Dingri County town. Crossing five types of landscapes along the way, it's truly a visual feast!
🎈Starting from lush, forested Yadong, passing through snow-capped Gamba, then to the "wetland pearl" of the plateau, Dingjie, and finally arriving in Dingri County, home to the Mount Everest Base Camp.
🎈Forests, grasslands, snow-capped mountains, lakes, rivers, wetlands, and deserts—in just one short day, experiencing such a variety of landscapes, it really is a thousand sights in a single day! 😍
🏘Gamba County:
Located at the northern foot of the central Himalayas, with an average altitude of over 4,700 meters, it is a high-altitude border county. The Tibetan name means "village near the snow mountains."
🎈On the road from Pali Grassland to Gamba, the breathtaking sight of the world's peaks comes into view: Mount Everest (1st in the world), Kangchenjunga (3rd), Lhotse (4th), and Makalu (5th)—four giant peaks over 8,000 meters lined up in a row!
🎈These giant peaks stand on the skyline, stretching continuously with dozens of surrounding snow-capped mountains over 7,000 meters, like frozen silver waves. It is truly breathtaking!
💗Gamba travel tips:
1️⃣ Drink the "holy water" in Gamba. The Gangqudeng Nima Glacier is hailed by *Chinese National Geography* as the "end of the world." At an altitude of about 5,400 meters, it is the source of the "Tibet holy water" mineral spring.
2️⃣ Gamba lamb, a national geographical indication product, is a must-try delicacy with tender meat and no gamey flavor.
3️⃣ Jiru Village in Gamba County is known as the "first village on the China-India border," located just 1.7 km from the border.
💖PS: Although I really can't tell which peak is which, the feeling of being surrounded by snow-capped mountains is absolutely an unforgettable experience of a lifetime!
🏘Dingjie County:
Located in the lake basin area at the northern foot of the Himalayas, it is one of the border counties. The Tibetan name means "grown from the bottom of the water." Legend has it that Dingjie was originally a body of water, and later a piece of land suddenly grew out of it.
🎈Dingjie County has about 293 square kilometers of wetlands and is a habitat for rare birds like the black-necked crane, earning it the title of "wetland pearl."
🎈Chentang Valley, one of the five valleys of the Himalayas, is a core area of the Mount Everest National Nature Reserve and one of the main settlements for the Sherpa people in China. Due to its rugged terrain and isolated transportation, it was once known as "China's last landlocked island."
💗Dingjie travel tips:
1️⃣ The 100,000 Sand Dunes of Dingjie are distributed along the G219 National Highway. With Mount Everest visible in the background, they form a spectacular scene where desert and snow-capped mountains share the same frame.
2️⃣ Chentang Valley has an average altitude of about 2,000 meters, featuring primeval forests, alpine waterfalls, and the Pengqu River Valley, earning it the nickname "Little Jiangnan of Mount Everest." The "Chentang Sherpa Song and Dance" has been listed as a national intangible cultural heritage.
3️⃣ Zongcuo Lake is at an altitude of about 4,700 meters. On sunny days, the Amadimi Snow Mountain is perfectly reflected on the lake's surface. Currently, the last 5 km of the road are unpaved; an SUV is recommended.