Tibetans, like the world’s other steppe people or the nomads, are very fond of horses. Although time is changing people, many Tibetans still follow the traditional way of life as nomads, and we want to share their life with you.
Nowadays basically, almost every part of China is accessible. What we do is to really focus on those hard-to-reach areas, to bring you a taste of something special.
Be an adventurous traveler whether to enjoy a short or long break, to a destination where mass tourism has not reached yet
This trip involves 1 or 2 days of horse trekking with one night of camping。 A professional guide will give you detailed tips and tricks about riding and trekking. Whether you’re a novice or an experienced rider, we will select the horses according to your experience.
-
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. ATRAILS committed to improving the conditions of communities we encounter on our journeys whilst safeguarding and protecting nature and wildlife
Gansu, Sichuan
Day 1
Arrive Lanzhou
Arrival in Lanzhou. Your local guide and driver will meet at the exit gate. Drive to Labrang via Linxia Hui Autonomies Region. Check-in your pre-booked hotel. Take a short rest at your hotel rooms. And meet at the hotel lobby at 7:00 pm and join the welcome dinner at a Tibetan restaurant.
Food
-/-/D
Accommodation
3-star hotel
Day 2
Labrang monastery
Your guide will meet you at the hotel lobby at 8.30 am. Our first site is Labrang monastery, which is the mother monastery of 108 other smaller monasteries in Gansu, Qinghai, and Sichuan provinces. It is a comprehensive university in Tibetan Buddhism, with complete branches of studies and full lineages in Gelugpa tradition. It is about a 2-hour visit led by your guide and the monk guide from the monastery. Afterward, we will take a kora (a walk) around the monastery with the local pilgrims. After lunch, we will take a short trip to Sangkog grassland just outside of the town where you can walk on the flowery grassland. Dinner will be arranged at a restaurant on the grassland. After enjoying your dinner, we will drive back to the hotel.
Food
B/L/D
Accommodation
3-star hotel
Day 3
Thangka painting workshop
Breakfast buffet at the hotel and meet at the hotel lobby at 8.30 am. Walk to the Snow Mountain Art Center. Meet Ms. Tenzin Dolma, founder of the center, and her students. The morning sessions will include an introduction of her works, basics in Thangkha painting, Thangkha painting as a traditional form of arts, and its new trends. After a short break, the session on the hands-on painting begins. Lunch at Nordan cafe with Tenzin. In the afternoon, the workshop continues till 17.30. Group photo with the art center students. We will take 20mints walk to Dongri Mountain which stands right in front of Labrang monastery, we will hold a short talk on Buddhist meditation follow by practicing 30 minutes of meditation. Meet for dinner at 19.30.
Food
B/L/D
Accommodation
3-star hotel
Day 4
Labrang - Amchok - Tagtsang Lhamu
Breakfast buffet at the hotel. Meet your guide and driver at 8.00 am with all your luggage. We will drive to Amchok, with splendid views of mountains and grassland. Our first stop is to visit Shamtse Yak's hair handcraft. It is one of the few companies in the region making handwoven scarfs, shawls, and clothes using the highland Yak wool, which provides income for the local elder women. Meeting with Dolma Kyab, owner of the company and he will give you a short introduction of his works in starting a small business for social benefits. Lunch in this small town and we will drive another 2 hours to Tsgtsang Lhamu, through rich nomadic grasslands with yak and sheep herds. We will stop 2-3 times to stretch our legs and for photographs. Arrive in Tagtsang Lhamu around 17.00. We will stay at Trachung Tsang Eco-lodge. Great location with mountain views. They also have a great cafe with a large collection of books in Tibetan, Chinese and foreign languages.
Food
B/L/D
Accommodation
Eco-lodge
Day 5
Tagtsang Lhamu - Nego valley short trek - Meeting Mr. Huasang
We will have breakfast at 7.30 am at the cafe. At 8.30 am, we will walk down to Kerti monastery. The town Tagtsang Lhamu is divided by a river and belongs to two provinces. We will spend about half an hour at the monastery, then we will do a short 1-2 hr walk in the Nego valley. Narrow, beautiful, covered by trees, a brook through, and caves, this is a holy site for hermits. We will come back to the town for lunch. At 2:00 pm, we will meet with Huasang and his team who have been working for years to preserve the local nomadic land from desertification, revive the traditional culture, document the environmental changes, and many more.
Food
B/L/D
Accommodation
hostel
Day 6
Tagtsang Lhamu - Kachuka nomadic pasture – camping
After breakfast, we will leave to Kachuka where the nomads still live in the black yak hair tents on their summer pastureland. Along the road, we will be able to see some of the works that Huasang and his team did, together with the local communities. Arrive at the campsite before lunch, We will prepare a simple picnic lunch. In the afternoon, you will have plenty of time discovering the area and visiting the nomadic tents. We will divide the group into small groups and help the nomads fetching their yaks from the mountains. After all the yaks are gathered, our host ladies will teach us how to milk the drils (female yak). Dinner will be ready by 7:00 pm. we will have dinner at our camp with a great sunset on the grassland.
Food
B/L/D
Accommodation
Camping
Day 7
Kachuka - Tagtsang Lhamu
The nomads start to gather their yaks early for morning milking and herding. After breakfast, we will set off to ride for a short horse trekking. Our guide and local nomad friends will help you to ride and where to go. You may also ask the guide or nomads to go next with you in case you are not very familiar with riding horses. The horses selected for the trip will be gentle and the nomad's friends will escort the whole time. Lunch will be ready at the camp at 12.00 pm. At 1:00 pm, we will start to drive back to Tagtsang Lhamu. Arrive at our hostel around 2:30 pm. The afternoon is free time for relaxation. You may take showers, read or having short hiking nearby, or walking to the town. Meet me at 7:30 pm for dinner.
Food
B/L/D
Accommodation
3-star hotel
Day 8
Tagtsang Lhamu - Xiahe airport – Beijing
After breakfast, we will say good-bye and drive toward Xiahe airport. it is a 2-hour driving. Flyback out.
Food
B/-/-
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.
ATRAILS committed to improving the conditions of communities we encounter on our journeys whilst safeguarding and protecting nature and wildlife
Various
Local 3-star hotel and Eco lodge
Local 3-star hotels and Eco lodge have been identified as backbone for your travel, in addition to outdoor camping
Camping
Camping
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.
ATRAILS committed to improving the conditions of communities we encounter on our journeys whilst safeguarding and protecting nature and wildlife
Create the experience of your dream with our travel experts
Make your own trailIncluded
- Private car/van with driver (including pick up/ drop off)
- English speaking local tour guide
- Accommodations with daily breakfast (shared room)
- Camping equipment (no sleeping bags)
- Meals during trekking and travel
- Homestay fee
Not Included
- Ticket(s) for international and domestic flights
- Tips for services of local guides and drivers
- Entry fees and festival visiting fee
- Porterage at the airports and at hotels (in and out)
- Visa fee for China (if guests enter China twice, then a double-entry visa is required)
- Excess luggage surcharge
- Any personal expenses.
Payment and Cancellations
- Full payment is due 4 weeks prior to arrival. We reserve the right to release all services in case of payment default.
- Intermediate bank charges and fees are the responsibility of clients.
- CANCELLATION POLICY:Between 30 and 21 days prior to arrival : 20% of total amount/Between 20 and 7 days prior to arrival : 50% of total amount/Less than 7 days: 100% of total amount.
Important notes
Few important details to frame the experience:
- Airport taxes and fuel surcharges: in case of increase decided by the Chinese government, we reserve the right to revise the supplement with immediate effect.
- Flight and train details if mentioned above are for indicative purposes only.
- The order of the visits is subject to modifications due to local conditions
- No reservations have been effected at the time of quotation
- 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
Horse treks in the Kham
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.