Nam-tso Lake, Tibet:
on the way to Nam-tso Lake
Because longer excursions outside of Lhasa were too expensive for independent travellers and students such as us, we could only afford a day trip to Nam-tso Lake with a minibus and a couple of other tourists. In any case, this short journey offered us the possibility to see more of the vast Tibetan landscape and was definitely worth it! Mountains and valleys inhabited by nomads and their cattle passed by the car window. We stopped at Laken Pass where a couple of Tibetans with their yaks waited for tourists to take photographs for some small change. At an altitude of more than 5000 m, walking uphill became a breathtaking activity! Nam-tso Lake itself is a popular spot near Lhasa, where visitors can ride on yaks at the shore and take their photographs in front of the mighty Nyenchen Tanglha with a height of more than 7000 m looming on the opposite side of the lake. A small tent village even offers hot meals and the possibility to stay overnight and experience a night in the open Tibetan countryside. With a surface area of around 1900 km², Nam-tso is the second largest salt lake of China. Originally, the area has been used for spiritual retreats: at the end of the winter, pilgrims walked across the ice to small uninhabited islands where they would spend the summer without access to the outside world. Another destination for pilgrims is the Tashi Dor monastery at the shore of the lake.
After spending almost a week in fascinating Lhasa, a plane took us across the Himalaya to Kunming (for a map see here). You can read in the following post what we experienced there!
Matt Travels 
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Wow what a seriously incredible adventure! I can’t wait for Yunnan. Do you have any pictures of the tent villages?
thank you!! 🙂 I am happy that you like the post!! The tent village was more or less for tourists and not very interesting… the tents look like that where they sell oxygen… have you been to China? Please be patient with Yunnan, but you can check out the previous posts for this trip in the meantime!! 🙂
I’ve never been to China but, as you can maybe tell, it’s top on my list. I will be patient!! Watching this space 🙂
Great set again; thanks!
no no!! I have to thank you!! 😉
Tibet looks interesting…Out here in India we do have a choice..with similar terrain, Laddakh, although Tibet sits at much higher altitude. Great post by the way!
thanks a lot!! 🙂 would love to visit the Indian Himalaya, too!
its an amazing place…quite dramatic landscape – the color of rocks and mountains change in the day…devoid of trees!
This looks so awesome. I really would love to see that part of China. Love love to be in the highlands, now after living in Bolovia for so long. Tibet have been on my list for a long time. Hope I get to visit these parts one day.. 🙂
yes, if you have the opportunity, then Tibet is a land of wonders… it really felt wonderful, although I have seen only such a small part of it…
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