China, Vietnam, Thailand tour packages inclusive a visit to:  dege
	Tour Package		Tour Code	Departure City	Price from (US$)	Trip Length (Days)
		Amazing Kham Exploration	AT 309	all	1798	19
		Chengdu, Kangding, Dawu, Garze, Dege, Paiyul,
		Hometown visit of King Gesar	AT 308	all	1527	17
		Chengdu, Kangding, Luhuo, Rongbaca, Shiqu, Xi

Dege Travel Day 2 Chengdu-Kangding

We will meet you at the airport and begin our journey for Chengdu travel to Kangding directly. Kangding, a former outpost on the trade route to Tibet, is a fairly large city tucked within a river valley. The sidewalks of Kangding are crowded with Hui, Chinese Muslims, and Tibetans who have come down from the highlands to sell wild mushrooms, vegetables, yak skins and various paraphernalia. Today's drive will take approximately 6 hours (360km).

Dege Travel Day 3 Kangding- Litang

We'll have an early start today so we can have more time to explore this picturesque remote Tibetan town. At an altitude of just over 4000m, this is one of the highest towns in the world (Lhasa is 3700m). Situated high on a grassy plateau, Litang has the feel of a rough and tumble 'Wild West' town. Khampas - dressed in yak skin coats, bedecked in colorful necklaces and hair ornaments, long daggers hanging from their belts - from the surrounding areas amble into town to stock up on food and supplies, play pool on the streets and hang out in the local teahouses. This small town is great for people watching and just strolling around. In our Chengdu travel intinerary, we will also visit the famous Chang-Qing-Chun-Ke'er-Si monastery and pay homage to the living Buddha with a personal interview. The monastery here is now home to 1400 Yellow Hat sect monks. Once a hotbed of Tibetan dissent, this monastery was destroyed in the 1950s but has since been completely rebuilt. Today's journey from Kangding to Litang will take us approximately 5 hours (306km).

Dege Travel Day 4 Litang-Daocheng -Yading

Today we will reach the highlight of this Chengdu travel intinerary, - Yading nature reserve, home of three sacred Tibetan mountains - Chenresig (Avalokitesvara, 6032m), Jambeyang (Manjusri, 5958m), and Chanadorje (Vajrapani, 5958m). Tibetan Buddhists believe that making a kora (pilgrimage) around

these mountains brings great merit, and that the three mountains represent compassion, wisdom and energy - attributes one must cultivate on the path to enlightenment. The scenery here easily rivals that of national parks of the west such as Yellowstone and Yosemite in terms of spectacular, pristine mountain scenery. The drive from Litang to Daocheng will take approximately 4 hours (180km), and the trip from Daocheng to Yading (60km) will take approximately 3 hours as much of the road to the park is dirt track. We will spend the night in tent hotel.

Dege Travel Day 5 Hiking or horseriding in Yading

From the reserve entrance we will traverse a beautiful wooded pathway leading to a valley set at the foot of the spectacular Mt. Chanadorje. We'll pass piles of mani stones by the side of the pathway and at the base of the Reserve's most stunning vistas. We'll also visit Tshonggo Gonpa (Chonggu Si in Chinese) - a small Tibetan temple, which Joseph Rock nicknamed 'Bandit Monastery.' (Joseph Rock, a botanist and explorer, conducted extensive explorations of northwest China and Tibet for Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology and National Geographic in 1924.) We will continue our hike to the foot of Mt Chenresig, where we'll ascend a small but steep hill to view a beautiful mountaintop emerald green lake. Local lore has it that this magical lake can reveal your future if you spend a few moments in quiet contemplation by its side. We'll return to the meadow at the foot of Mt. Chanadorje and spend the night in a tent hotel.

Dege Travel Day 6 Yading -Daocheng

We will spend the morning doing a shorter hike or horseride around the reserve. In the afternoon we'll drive back to Daocheng where we'll spend the night.

Dege Travel Day 7 Daocheng-Xiangcheng-Zhongdian

Today we will take a long (5 hours, 290km) but scenic drive to Zhongdian (3,300m, 10,000 ft), a small town on the Tibetan Plateau.

Dege Tour Day 8 Zhongdian

Today we will visit Ganden Sumsanlin monastery, the largest monastery in Yunnan, built in the 17th century. This impressive monastery was established under the instruction of the 5th Dalai Lama, and is home to over 700 monks. The Bita Lake is also our program in our Chengdu travel intinerary, .

Dege Tour Day 9 Zhongdian - Lijiang

Moring Drive to Lijiang and stop at Tiger Leaping Gorge, Baishuitai.

- The Tiger Leaping Gorge: one of the world's four great gorges - is located in Hutiaoxia Town in Zhongdian County,is honored as one of the deepest and most marvelous gorges on the globe.

Dege Tour Day 10 Lijiang

Full day visit the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Yak Meadow, Baisha Fresco, Yufeng Temple and Longquan Village.

-The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain:The mountain has 13 peaks of which the highest is 18000 feet above sea level. It is a treasure of wild plants and rare animals.

-The Baisha Mural:With the introduction of the Buddhism, people painted plenty of murals on the walls of temples in the Ming Dynasty.

-The Yufeng Temple:built in the Qing Dynasty and famous for camillias in the temple.

-The Longquan Village:In the village live the Naxi Minority people.

Dege Tour Day 11 Lijiang

Full day visit of Black Dragon Pond Park, Museum of Dongba Culture and the old town of Lijiang.

-The Black Dragon Pool:The park holds the Black Dragon Pool and got name because of it. The pool is listed in the Collections of Famous Pools of China because of its beauty.

-Dongba Museum:sanctuary of the culture of Naxi ancient culture

-The Lijiang ancient town:The town was built in the late song dynasty and the early Yuan dynasty and was listed by the UNESCO on the list of the world's major cultural heritages in 1997.

Dege Tour Day 12 Lijiang - Dali

Drive to Dali, the old town, the Ancient Wall Gate, Three Pagodas and a small marble factory. Visit the belt-way of Erhai Lake and the fishing Villages nearby.

-Three Pagodas:are located northwest of Dali at the foot Cangshan Mountains. With Qianxun Pagoda, completed in 876 during the Tang dynasty (618-907AD).

Dege Tour Day 13 Dali / Kunming

Full day visit of Xizhou Morning Market&the typical living house of Bai Minority, Zhoucheng Village, Xinhua Village. Take evening train to Kunming.

-Xizhou House:live Bai minority people. You will see the their typical traditions, dresses there.

-Zhoucheng:the town where Bai minority people live. It is famous for its elaborate batik crafts.

-Xinhua village, Zhoucheng village:for tie-dye workshop.

Dege Tour Day 14 Kunming

At an elevation of 1890 meters, Kunming has a milder climate than most other Chinese cities, and can be visited at any time of year. In the afternoon we'll visit Western Hill (also known as the "Sleeping Beauty Hills"), and Huating Temple. Trek to Dragon Gate at the top of the Western Hill to visit a group of grottoes, sculptures, corridors and pavilions hacked from the cliif between 1781 and 1835 by a Taoist monk and coworkers, who must have been hanging up there by their fingertips.

Dege Travel Day15 Kunming ¨C Guangzhou, Beijing or Shanghai

Transfer to the airport then flight, free in the afternoon.