The Golok Tibetan people live in some of the wildest and most magnificent lands in all the Tibetan Plateau. In this in-depth overland tour we start and finish in Xining, the gateway to the Tibetan Plateau. On this tour you will stand at the bottom of the glaciers of Amnye Machen, experience the richness of authentic Tibetan culture, and view China’s largest salt lake at 3,200 meters. We will also see the bright turquoise waters of Kyaring Lake and Nyoring Lakes, thought to be the source of the Yellow River, the cradle of Chinese civilization and the seventh longest river in the world.
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Destination
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Trip duration
8 days, 7 nights
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Min/Max travelers
Min.10; Max.16
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Transport
Private Van
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Accommodation
Well-selected 4 star hotels
The Yellow River, with a total length of over 5400kms /3400 miles, starts in a remote and desolate open plateau that offers lots of chances to view unique wildlife like Tibetan antelope, Tibetan Wild Ass, Black necked cranes, and the rare and elusive Tibetan fox. From it’s source to its winding banks along the Tibetan Plateau, the entire Yellow River area is stunning. It offers everything from high snow-capped mountains to grasslands filled with yaks to farmlands. The Tibetan culture in this area is some of the best preserved in all of Tibet.
On this spectacular journey, every turn is full of surprises as we trek mountains, explore monasteries, and discover cultural highlights while we make our way to and from the glacier’s edge. This trip is for those who want to experience the food, traditions, and culture in Tibet’s remote villages. On top of that you will be lead by an exceptional chaperon, Jeremiah Jenne. Rarely you will find most informative and fun Cicero on the China roads.
Read his Bio in our Testimonial section.
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Most of the Golok people are nomadic with many of them living in traditional style Tibetan tents woven from coarse yak hair. A good portion of Golog is well above 4000m / 13,120 feet, but we will acclimate slowly to this altitude following the Yellow River to its source from China’s largest salt lake, Qinghai Lake. Golok is famous across the Tibetan Plateau as being the home of Amnye Machen, one of the 4 main holy mountains of Tibet. Each year, thousands of pilgrims make their way to Amnye Machen, Qinghai’s tallest mountain at 6282m / 20,605 feet.
Qinghai, China
Day 1
PICK UP AT XINING AIRPORT, TRANSFER TO HOTEL
Arrive Xining airport (XNN) at 2,500 meters by afternoon Settle into hotel Opening Tibetan Dinner in Xining
Food
-/-/D
Accommodation
4 STAR HOTEL
Day 2
Xining - Qinghai Lake
Drive 2 hours to Qinghai Lake at 3,200 meters Qinghai Lake, the largest lake in China, is a saltwater sanctuary for bird migration, acting as a stopover for many unique species that fly across Asia. The high altitude grasslands near the lake are home to Tibetan nomads who make their living by herding yaks and sheep. Spend the afternoon relaxing and picnicking by the bright turquoise shores of the Lake. Sleep in a guesthouse near the Lake where we can view the sunset over Qinghai Lake.
Food
B/L/D
Accommodation
GUESTHOUSE
Day 3
Qinghai Lake - Serdzong Monastery
In the morning drive 3 hours to the high grassland town of Xinghai at 3,300 meters. Local lunch with fresh yak yoghurt in Xinghai town. Afternoon exploring Serdzong Monastery Half-day hike behind monastery to 3,800 meters in the craggy cliffs of the monastery Serdzong, home to over 350 monks, is a remote Buddhist monastery set on the side of a rugged mountain and provides excellent photography and hiking opportunities.
Food
B/L/D
Accommodation
4 STAR HOTEL
Day 4
Serdzong Monastery - Madao
We will drive 215km through nomadic grasslands to the highest nomad town in Qinghai Province, the small town of Madao at 4350m/14,300 feet. This town is named in Tibetan for its proximity to the headwaters of the Yellow River and offers an incredible depth of folklore and legends. Among the most important of these is that of traditional horse racing festivals including the horse racing grounds where the once poor, humble boy named Gesar won his fame and his bride through his exploits as an expert horseman and ultimately became king of the Ling Kingdom.
Food
B/L/D
Accommodation
4 STAR HOTEL
Day 5
Headwaters of the Yellow River
Explore regions around Madao: Kyaring Lake and Nyoring Lake. From Madao we will drive 1.5 hours over the windswept high altitude plains to view some rare and indigenous wildlife that can be seen few other places in the world: Tibetan Antelope, Wild Ass, and the flat-faced Tibetan Fox. Arriving at 4,500 meters, we will explore and photograph the stunning clear blue lakes that are considered as the main sources of the Yellow River, Kyaring Lake and Nyoring Lake. Here we will also delve into the fascinating histories of these two lakes and their spiritual connection to the Kya Lao family and consequently to Tibetan King Gesar’s wife, Dromo
Food
B/L/D
Accommodation
4 STAR HOTEL
Day 6
Mighty Amnye Machen
Today we follow the path of pilgrims and nomads as they make the circumambulation around one of Tibet’s holiest mountains. We will drive from the dusty truck stop town of Huashixia to Machen and on the way we will pass the glaciers of Amnye Machen, the heart of the Golok tribe. Based on our gradual acclimatization over the last few days, we will drive to the base of the Amnye Machen glacier to catch our first view the glorious peak at its height at 6282 meter/20,610 feet. Despite being the highest mountain in Amdo and being incredibly beautiful, Amnye Machen sees surprisingly few foreigners. Since most of this area is between 4200 and 4600 meters, the weather can be quite cool and even cold year round. Light snow flurries are common throughout summer while spring and fall can bring cold, clear weather perfect for photographing the peaks and the mysterious blue glow of the glacier’s light. After a satisfying day at the foot of the mountain, we will drop down to Machen at 3,753 meters/ 12,253 feet. Machen, with around 10,000 people, is the largest town in Golog and as such is the capital of Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Stay in Machen for the night.
Food
B/L/D
Accommodation
4 STAR HOTEL
Day 7
Machen - Zeku
Departing Machen town in the morning, we will drive along the gurgling banks of a winding river through red rock canyons along one of the most beautiful roads in Qinghai Province. Along the way, you will visit the ancient halls of Ragya Monastery built into the deep, rich red clay of the Kayka cliff face. As the canyon opens up, we continue through expansive grasslands to Zeku, a town famous for its high altitude pasture and nomadic hospitality. At an elevation of 3,700 meters, the region around Zeku is almost entirely nomadic pastureland; outside of town, few permanent dwellings are to be seen in the vast expanses that make this a herder’s Shangri-la!
Food
B/L/D
Day 8
Zeku - Xining
This is our last day immersed in the wonders of one of the last truly nomadic cultures in the world. Take in the sights of a high pass as prayers flags flap in the breezes of the rolling hills. Take in the scents of burnt offerings of juniper and barley offered to local deities at nearby altars. Time to say our goodbyes as we leave with a lifetime full memories and hearts aching for more of this beatiful adventures
Food
B/-/-
Accommodation
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Travel is an emotional experience, cherishing new corners and venture into unknown landscapes.
Respecting this and giving back to society has taken an important role in our endeavours in leaving only footprints and taking only memories.
To Know More
various
Well-selected 4 star hotels and local guesthouses
Across the region, we selected lodging solutions in 4* Hotels and local guesthouses, for a warm and genuine hospitality . (Do not worry, the tent is not for you)
Travel is an emotional experience, cherishing new corners and venture into unknown landscapes.
Respecting this and giving back to society has taken an important role in our endeavours in leaving only footprints and taking only memories.
To Know More
Create the experience of your dream with our travel experts
Make your own trailIncluded
- PhD Jeremiah Jenne as chaperon
- Environmental and Local Expert Benjamin Cubbage
- Extremely Knowledgable, English speaking, local Tibetan guide
- 7 nights’ accommodation in sharing twin rooms with breakfast as indicated in the program
- Lunch and dinners as described in program, (Meal Symbols: B=Breakfast; L=Lunch; D=Dinner)
- Transfers, tours by A/C vehicle and entrance fees as indicated
Not Included
- Ticket(s) for international and domestic flights
- Meals as not indicated in program
- Single supplement
- Tips for services of local guides and drivers
- Expenditures of a personal nature, such as drinks, souvenirs and laundry etc.
- Travel Insurance. we require all travelers to provided their own travel insurance for the duration of the journey. We recommend www.worldnomads.com
- Any required Covid Test (based on the current requirements)
Payment and Cancellations
- Deposit: 25% of total pacakage to confirm the booking.
- Full payment is due 4 weeks before departure. We reserve the right to release all services in case of payment overdue
- Cancellation policy:
Between 30 and 20 days prior to arrival : 25% of total amount
• Between 20 and 10 days prior to arrival : 50% of total amount
• Less than 10 days : 100% of total amount
Is this trip guaranteed to run?
- This special departure needs a minimum of 10 travelers to be confirmed
Important notes
Few important details to frame the experience:
- Please note that the itinerary and the order of the visits as described above is subject to change depending on local conditions
- Itinerary is subject to change depending on the confirmed flights, road conditions, and rooms availability. We reserve the right to replace above hotels by other hotels of similar or superior category
- Prices are subject to change in case of VAT or other tax increases
- As of 2020 Asian Trails has introduced a voluntary carbon offsetting initiative for our travellers to compensate for unavoidable emissions during their tours with us. Emissions during multi-day package tours (not including international flights to our destinations) are pegged at a cost of $1.50 per traveller per day. This amount is based on average daily emissions of travellers across our eight destinations. Contributions from clients to our carbon offsetting initiative will go into a destination-specific fund to support climate protection projects certified to Gold Standard in that country. Certification to Gold Standard assures that the projects supported through our carbon offsetting initiative not only reduce harmful emissions but also positively contribute to sustainable development. Our contributions to projects in a country will be relative to the CO2 emitted by our travelers in that destination. To know more about this project: https://marketplace.goldstandard.org/collections/projects/products/more-efficient-cooking-and-heating-china
Prepare for one lifetime experience.
You are booking
Headwaters of the Yellow River
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Destination
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Trip duration
8 days, 7 nights
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Min/Max travelers
Min.10; Max.16
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Transport
Private Van
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Accommodation
Well-selected 4 star hotels
About your trip
RESERVATIONS
All tours and services can be booked directly with our office in China
A TRAILS CHINA / DAOCHENG
Beijing Office
Suite 810, SunFlower Tower
#37 Maizidian Street Chaoyang District, Chaoyang District
Beijing 100022, P.R. China
Tel: (86-10) 6515 9259
Fax: (86-10) 6515 9293
Email: info@atrails.cn
CONFIRMATIONS
All reservations are confirmed by return with the up-dated booking status within 2 working days. Due to occasional delays in communication with more remote destinations, it may take a few days longer to get confirmation.
RATES AND AVAILABILITY
All rates are quoted in RMB and are subject to change without prior notice. Inclusions and exclusions in the tour packages are indicated at the end of each itinerary. Commonly our package tour rates include accommodation, transfers, certain meals, and other tour related services. Domestic or international airfares are included where mentioned. Our tour itineraries do not include visa fees and expenses of a personal nature. The validity of our rates is November 01, 2018, until October 31, 2019, unless otherwise specified.
SERVICES
Local English speaking guides are accompanying tours and transfers in each destination. German, French, Italian, Spanish and Russian and Chinese speaking guides are available on request in major cities and subject to confirmation.
DELIVERY FEES
A delivery fee will be charged according to the distance traveled, if any train tickets are required to be delivered to clients’ hotel.
PAYMENT
Full pre-payment by bank transfer is required 30 days before the commencement of services.
Our bank account details are:
Bank Name: Bank of China Beijing JianGuoMen Wai Sub-Branch
开 户 行：中国银行北京建国门外支行
Account Name：ATC TRAVEL SERVICES (BEIJING) LTD.
账 户 名：北京道成国际旅行社有限公司
Account No.：3259 6908 9747
账 号：3259 6908 9747
Swiftcode : BKCH CN BJ 110
For itineraries operated outside China
Account Name：BEIJING GLORY INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL SERVICE CO, LTD.
账 户 名：北京千乘假期国际旅行社有限公司
Account No.：3211 6010 0100 1577 67
账号：3211 6010 0100 1577 67
Bank Name: Industrial Bank Co., Ltd Sanyuanqiao Sub-Branch
开 户 行：兴业银行三元桥支行
CHILD POLICY
For children aged between 2 and 11 years following rates will apply:
- Child in shared adults’ room with extra bed will pay 80% of the total package price
A maximum of two children per party is granted such a discount. Besides this general policy, specific conditions may apply case by case.
CANCELLATIONS
For cancellation of confirmed reservations, following general cancellation charges apply :
- Between 30 and 15 days prior to arrival : 20% of the total amount
- Between 15 and 7 days prior to arrival : 50% of the total amount
- Less than 7 days prior to arrival : 100% of the total amount.
Special conditions apply for cruises, beach resorts as well as for some of the boutique and landmark hotels. Expeditions and specific products may have different conditions.
Domestic and international air tickets are non-refundable once issued. You are obliged to pay full airfare (inclusive of any tax and fuel surcharge) of any cancelled tickets based on the contract rate.
PROGRAM CHANGES
We reserve the right to re-arrange the order of any tour program, to cancel or substitute elements of any tour itinerary without notice, when local conditions require such changes. All itineraries depending on domestic flight confirmations are subject to changes.
Any increase in taxes or fuel surcharges imposed by the authorities will be advised as soon as we are informed of them, and they will be added to the invoice.
Flight and train details mentioned in our itineraries are for indicative purposes only.
CONFIDENTIALITY
This agreement, its contents and all related documentation sent over to the customer/tour operator are strictly confidential and must not be disclosed to any third parties.
COMPLAINTS AND IRREGULARITIES
We consider complaints as valuable feedback to improve service delivery levels. We request that service delivery failures or customer concerns, be reported during the customer’s stay, to one of our representatives. It is the aim of the company to solve any irregularity on the spot. The company reserves the right to refuse to take action on perceived irregularities submitted to the company 14 days after the customer returns back home.
FORCE MAJEURE
During the term of this agreement, neither party shall be in default of its obligations to the extent that its performance is delayed or prevented by causes beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to, acts of God, natural disasters, bankruptcy of a vendor, strikes and other labor disturbances, acts of war, or civil disturbances, or other equivalent or comparable events.
INDEMNITY
The client agrees to indemnify and to save A Trails – Daocheng from harm and against all damage or injury (including death) to property or person(s) resulting from intentional or negligent acts or omissions from their respective officers, employees, agents, contractor or subcontractor in connection with the performance of this agreement.
LEGAL NOTE
This agreement is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of China (and/or applicable in relation to the country it is legally represented) for the time being in force and the parties agree to submit any dispute arising between the parties under this agreement to arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the respectable Arbitration Institute, Office of the Judiciary applicable at the time of submission of the dispute to arbitration and the conduct of the arbitration thereof shall be under the auspices of the specific Arbitration Institute accordingly.
IMAGES
Images displayed on the website have a promotional intent only and are not necessarily reflecting the actual destinations and service conditions. These may belong to ATrails staff, customers, photographers we are collaborating with or retrieved from websites such as Pexel, Pixabay, Unsplash or Originoo. While trying to be the most accurate as possible, is agreed that those images do not necessarily depict the actual services promoted.
LIABILITY
We act as an intermediary between the concerned airlines, hotels, all transport operators and local tourist offices providing the services. The Company is therefore not responsible for any loss, injury or damage sustained by the tourists, including those occurring outside the touring programs. Additional expenses incurred due to delay, accidents, natural and disaster, political actions and unrest must be borne by the tourists. Programs and prices, services and conditions are based on those valid at the time of printing and are therefore subject to change without advance notice before or during the tour. Acknowledgment and confirmation of the above-mentioned conditions is active, once clients participate in one of the provided services via us. The itinerary of the excursion, package and/or tour cannot be altered or changed without prior permission from us. We cannot be held liable if you amend the excursion and its content in your brochures or give wrong descriptions to clients that are travelling.
IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING AUTONOMOUS REGIONS IN CHINA
The Company is not responsible for any last-minute closure of specific regions or tourism sites caused by decisions taken by local or national authorities to restrict access hereto. We will provide alternative itineraries where necessary and reduce cancellation fees to a minimum, however, such imposed closures are beyond our control and constitute a case of force majeure.
The areas concerned include but are not restricted to : The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Tibet Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, minority regions in Qinghai and Gansu provinces.
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
Travel breaks down borders and brings people together: The nearly 900 million people who travel every year make the sector one of the biggest in the world, a major employer and a key element in the global economy. But this has its downside, too: increasing pollutant emissions from the tourist traffic, loss of coastlines and other landscapes through excessive building development and sexual exploitation of children are just some of the negative consequences of the growth in global tourist travel. In order to minimize the negative impacts and enhance the positive ones, our Corporate Responsibility Strategy focuses on four prime issues:
- We increase efforts to ensure that children and adolescents in tourist areas are protected against sexual exploitation, one of the worst forms of abuse of young people today.
- We promote fair working conditions and sensibly service provider partners to social and environmental concerns.
- The supply and saving of clean water is a further key issue.
- We develop our own projects to meet the growing threat posed by climate change. Indeed, helping counter the adverse effects of global warming is one of the biggest challenges faced by the world tourist.