This trip was going to be to Yading in western Sichuan, but ended up being to somewhere else entirely. We were treated like royalty in Kandze and stumbled upon a festival at Dzogchen when we arrived to trek to the 3 sacred lakes Parma, Sharma, Karma. As usual language was a barrier, but to witness the piety of the people attending Dzogchen was very moving.
The area of western Sichuan is completely overlooked as a tourist destination. Each time we visit we see only 2-5 foreigners in a month. Lucky us!
View over Kangding from (the now closed) Zhilam HostelLike a number of towns in Sichuan, A river runs through itOn the way from Kangding to KandzeGoing in or coming out? I can’t remember, but I know I enjoyed itThis is what it used to be like. Half unmade, and full of potholes. On one trip we hired a 4WD and on the second day the handle above the passenger seat came off because of all the hanging onto it we didThe famous caterpillar fungus. Makes you very strong man!There are dozens of monasteries and nunneries in the valley. The few that Lonely Planet mentions are fine, but unremarkableThis fairly ordinary sized monastery now (2020) has some enormous buildings, as do many others in the current building spreeComing into ManigangoAlong the road to DzogchenFrom the highway, Dzogchen monastery is just behind that hillVisiting for the festivalEveryone dressed up to the ninesWith Lama Tony and holy manAnd suddenly, all the people were gone, and it was like a ghost town. It had been so joyful and now felt emptyTime to get trekking. “The book” said you could do it as a day hike, but we thought we’d stay at the lakesGeographical embarrasment begins…We ended up overstimating the scale of the country and walked too far. Walked into this small village and were pounced on by these lovely empty nestersAfter they’d filled us full of yoghurt and sugar they took us out the back and pointed us up a steep valley“Its just up there”As it turned out, “just up there” was a long way upThe view compensatedAnd here’s where I first heard about HDR photography. This might be the first of manyFirst lake. Turned out to be more beautiful than anticipatedAfter a long time scrambling up boulders (mistake), we reached the second lake. Unearthly spot, complete with meditation caveWe don’t want to, but its time to go down againHermitage. Not inhabited when we were thereWe made the mistake of traversing through the prayer flags. Tough goingSublimeRidiculousWe were hot and tired, and it took ages to find a rideBack in favourite Ganzi cafeBest qualityDog boxes for the poor herders that are having their land fenced upThe apres-adventure shot – washed, relaxed, banana pancakes on the way…Its hard to believe there’s a market for this stuff in a place that really knows how to cook
