Eastern Tibet Mountain Bike Tour - 12 Days

Once you land at the Chengdu International Airport, our representative from the Tibet side will welcome you and transport you to the designated hotel in the city center. After completing the necessary check-in procedures and getting some rest, you can go sightseeing in the city, visiting local markets and ancient sites. Over a welcome supper in the evening, you will meet the group (your fellow riders) and guides and discuss your adventurous mountain biking trip to the infamous eastern Tibet. 

(Note: If you arrive at Chengdu International Airport before the afternoon, we will depart the city for the 6 hours drive to Kangding. If you arrive late, we will travel to Kangding the next day, extending the trip by one day.)

We set out on a picturesque 6-hour trip through the Sichuan Basin and up to the old trading town of Kangding after breakfast. Everything from the environment, the climate, the cuisine, the language, the customs, and, of course, the people seems to be changing in these 6 hours. Once we reach our destination, we check in to a traditional guesthouse and rest. Later, we build our bikes and set our gears for the rides that start the next day. You can enjoy the traditional dinner and join the community dance in the town square on the first evening in Kangding. 

Get the first taste of Tibetan single-track today. 

After breakfast, we go for a picturesque acclimatization ride, straight up one hour pedaling to Zheduo Mountain outside of the town. Around midday, we begin a relatively gradual 8-kilometer ascent into a large grassland valley at 4000m. The smooth trail winds its way through an open valley between green hillsides. We come across the yak hair tents of the Tibetan nomad families and their roaming herd of yaks, shaggy high-altitude cows. 

We continue until we hit 4200 m near the Panpan Mount Pass and make a gratifying 17 km single-track descent on the other side. We pass by the Zheduo village, more nomad settlements, and a pine-forested gorge and get back to Kangding for dinner. Cycled distance: 25 km

We are ready to journey up to the Tibetan Plateau’s higher heights this morning after our second night in Kangding which worked as acclimatization. A 2-hour shuttle trip will take us to the Tagong nomadic trading town for a ride along the tops of the rolling hills that lie behind the majestic Yala Peak. The rolling hilltop path is more difficult than it appears, and some short hike-a-bike sections will be required in several areas. 

Tagong allows us to fully immerse ourselves in Tibetan culture. After the most difficult ride of the tour, we arrive in the monastery town. The surrounding sweeping views of the grasslands are a stunning sight to witness before returning to Tagong to visit Muya Monastery's calm monastic community. 
(Note: Trailhead starts at 4000m with a peak elevation of 4250m.) Cycled distance: 19 km

When we arrived in Tagong yesterday in the dark, it seemed quiet. But, you will find the town filled with pilgrims and locals walking and doing kora (circumambulation) around the monastery in the morning, some prostrating themselves every 50 meters, others turning the enormous prayer wheels that line one wall.

Soon after breakfast, enjoy a magnificent 90-minute shuttle ride to the trailhead outside Tagong, a highland nomad settlement on the west side of Yala Mountain. The views keep getting better motivating us through the thinning air. We make a 15-kilometer rise and traverse a ridge trail above Tagong with views of the Yala and Gongga (Minya Konka) in the distance. We will then go for a 12 km free-ride and single-track descent back to the valley bottom passing by a few local farms with barley fields. From there, we take a short bus ride to our lodging in Tagong, which would be a typical Tibetan homestay. Cycled distance: 27 km

After brief biking to an enchanting Buddhist village, we climb to a mixture of single-track and do grassland freeriding, including some hike-a-bike sections. After a picnic lunch, a gradual climb to Yala Pass (4350m) will take you to the highest point on this mountain bike trip, with views of Yala valley on the backside and expansive vistas of the plateau to the west. It's a 12-kilometer drop from the pass's summit to tonight's campground in the valley below. Cycled distance: 19 km

Today's ride and hike-a-bike into the alpine splendor of Mt. Yala's backside will blow out our senses. The first hour is a sharp ascent maxing out at 4200 meters before descending onto a 20-kilometer stretch of flowing alpine single-track surrounded by gigantic granite peaks. The shuttle to our lodging in Kangding is then followed by a wonderful treat of a hot spring bath. Cycled distance: 25 km

After a nice breakfast, your shuttle back to Chengdu city will be waiting for you.

(Important Note: You can depart this beautiful site of Tibet on the 8th day or further extend the riding days through the Yulongxi Valley. The extended itinerary is designed as below.)

Kangding is an old trading town, perched on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Qinghai plateau, remains a hub of commerce and communication between Han Chinese and Tibetans, and is the ideal spot for a day of relaxation.

Breakfast will be followed by an optional excursion to a grassland above the town. You can simply relax at a downtown cafe and soak up the city's ambiance. Later in the day, a tour through the marketplaces will reveal why this town has long been a vital historical commercial center for Tibetans and the Chinese. We spend our night at the same accommodation. 

After breakfast, ride immediately from the guesthouse to the 4500m pass above the settlement, which is 12 kilometers away. The first half of the climb follows a bizarre river valley up to a waterfall before connecting the mountain road to the pass's top, where you may enter Yulongxi's nomad valley. On a clear day, the entire Gongga range can be seen from here, making it an ideal picnic destination. After lunch, bike 4 kilometers down to the valley level on a hairpin-laced road before continuing on a 16-kilometer undulating ride through a grass-carpeted valley past grazing yaks and shocked herders. This evening's destination is a local semi-nomadic family's warm home. Cycled distance: 32 km

The rolling valley ride continues for another 8 kilometers this morning before heading east toward Minya Konka (Mt. Gongga) and our final ascent of the trip. The 11-kilometer climb features a panoramic view of Yulongxi Valley below before being rewarded with Eastern Tibet's most spectacular view. The main massif of Minya Konka is located right opposite the top of Zemei Pass at 4550m, providing one of the best views of any Himalayan peak. We then descend 13 kilometers to Zemei village at 3250m. This secluded and romantic village buried away in the highlands of Eastern Tibet is barely described as charming. Cycled distance: 32 km

Today's ride is one of the best single-track segments anywhere on the planet. As we descend 30 kilometers from the alpine heights to the canyon valleys above Shimian, the panorama changes frequently. This is the ideal approach to round out your Tibetan wilderness trip. We load our bikes and ourselves onto our jeep at the end of the trail and move to Chengdu.  Rest, relax and roam around the city. Unwind the tiredness after taking a hot spring bath before dinner. Enjoy the last day with great food and drinks. 

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Chengdu International Airport for your flight back to your destination.