We are re-organizing our trip information for the Upper Yangtze expedition. Below you will find a brief itinerary for this 19 day trip to the top of the world. For more information please call our office.
UPPER YANGTZE RIVER
Brief itinerary
DAY 1: UNITED STATES
Fly from the U.S. to Beijing (not included in trip price).
DAY 2: BEIJING
Arrive in Beijing in the early evening and check into the hotel.
DAY 3: BEIJING/ XINING (OR LANZHOU)
Early this afternoon we transfer to the airport for the flight to Xining. We arrive in Xining in the late afternoon. Xining is a wonderful city on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau composed of dozens of different minorities. We spend the night in a hotel.
DAYS 4, 5, & 6: XINING/ TIBETAN PLATEAU/ YANGTZE RIVER
Boarding a comfortable bus, we begin the drive to the river put-in. During the next three days we will drive past Tibetan villages and through vast grassy plains, passing Tibetan herdsmen; their yaks and yurts dotting the green landscape. We reach the river on the morning of day 6 where we rig the boats and camp.
DAYS 7- 15: UPPER YANGTZE RIVER
Dramatically changing from day to day and bend to bend, the “River of Golden Sand” as the Upper Yangtze is called by the Tibetans will take us past wind-swept dunes, beaches, and ancient Tibetan towns and villages tucked into rolling green hills beneath snow capped mountains. This is Tibet as few people have seen it, where the indigenous culture and wildlife have had little influence from the outside world. There will be ample time to hike up to remote villages (some carved out of canyon walls) with working monasteries and visit with the people. This is an inaccessible, remote part of Tibet where the people retain a transcendent spiritual quality that permeates every aspect of their lives.
DAY 16: TIBETAN PLATEAU
Early this morning we meet the bus and drive to the Dunka Monastery. Nestled on a hill a thousand feet above the town of Yushu, the Dunka Monastery, where we will have breakfast as guests of the Lama of Qinghai province (there are five such Lamas in Tibet). Late in the morning we begin the drive back to Xining.
DAY 17: PLATEAU/ XINING
Late in the afternoon we arrive in Xining. The rest of the afternoon is free. We spend the night in a hotel.
DAY 18: XINING/ BEIJING
Today we transfer to the airport for the return flight to Beijing. Upon arrival we check into a hotel. The rest of the day is free to explore Beijing on your own. We meet up again in the evening for a farewell dinner and spend the night in a hotel.
DAY 19: BEIJING/ NORTH AMERICA
This morning we transfer to the airport for our flights home and arrive back in the USA on the same day, due to time zone change.
