photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Type your message and click Add Comment
It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest.
Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help private comment
Philip Game | profile | all galleries >> China, including Tibet and Hong Kong (15 galleries) >> Traversing Tibet (4 galleries) >> Eastern Tibet, 2018 tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Eastern Tibet, 2018

In Eastern Tibet, relatively little visited by foreigners, the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau falls away towards the valleys of three of Asia's great - and roughly parallel - rivers, most notably the Brahmaputra, known to Tibetans as Yarlung Tsangpo.

The Tea Horse Road is an historic caravan trade route from Yunnan in southwest China, westwards through the mountains of eastern Tibet. Chinese traders offered brick tea; Tibetans brought mountain ponies. In modern times this route had been closed to foreigners, but recent reports have indicated that the prohibition had been lifted. Accordingly, Passport Travel of Melbourne assembled an exploratory tour group with the aim of entering Tibet by this route in October 2018.

Our departure by road from Shangri-La, Yunnan, was thwarted at the last minute by the unexpected refusal of the last of a series of permits. However, the dramatic aerial views of snow-capped Himalayan ranges and glaciers from the flight westbound to Lhasa, went some way towards easing this disappointment. Subsequently a road trip out from Lhasa enabled us to cover much of the same ground. Read more.

These images were taken with Nikon D300 using RAW format, and are available for licensing.






Heading northwest from Lijiang... bound for Lhasa
Heading northwest from Lijiang... bound for Lhasa
Possibly the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra)
Possibly the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra)
Incredible mountain panoramas...
Incredible mountain panoramas...
Two mighty glaciers merge
Two mighty glaciers merge
A huddle of snow-clad peaks
A huddle of snow-clad peaks
Another Himalayan glacier...
Another Himalayan glacier...
Which peak?
Which peak?
On the road again, heading east out of Lhasa: a rest halt at the 5000-metre Mila Pass
On the road again, heading east out of Lhasa: a rest halt at the 5000-metre Mila Pass
Larger-than-life yak sculptures celebrate the 5000-metre Mila Pass
Larger-than-life yak sculptures celebrate the 5000-metre Mila Pass
Stone fortress towers of Xiuba
Stone fortress towers of Xiuba
Stone fortress towers of Xiuba
Stone fortress towers of Xiuba
Village homestead at Xiuba
Village homestead at Xiuba
Autumnal forest colours along National Road 318
Autumnal forest colours along National Road 318
Buddhist prayer wheels at Xiuba
Buddhist prayer wheels at Xiuba
Hotel staff prepare dumplings
Hotel staff prepare dumplings
Another high pass around 4,700 m
Another high pass around 4,700 m
Lu Lang Forest at 4,730m above sea level
Lu Lang Forest at 4,730m above sea level
Those roadside yaks, again...
Those roadside yaks, again...
Following the Yarlung Tsangpo (the Brahmaputra) upstream
Following the Yarlung Tsangpo (the Brahmaputra) upstream
Prayer wheels in a riverbed
Prayer wheels in a riverbed
Barren peaks
Barren peaks
Construction work is never far from sight
Construction work is never far from sight
Newly-built dams and roads
Newly-built dams and roads
Solar energy harnessed in its simplest form
Solar energy harnessed in its simplest form
A revered meditation retreat inside a cave
A revered meditation retreat inside a cave
Women's work: mixing concrete! Tibet
Women's work: mixing concrete! Tibet
Spinning the wheel of fortune...
Spinning the wheel of fortune...
It looks like a line dance... actually, these parishioners are tamping down a newly-laid temple floor in Tsetang
It looks like a line dance... actually, these parishioners are tamping down a newly-laid temple floor in Tsetang
Work party at a refurbished temple, Tsetang
Work party at a refurbished temple, Tsetang
Main hall of Samye Monastery - unfortunately, photography inside was prohibited
Main hall of Samye Monastery - unfortunately, photography inside was prohibited
Sand dunes alongside the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra)
Sand dunes alongside the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra)
Samye in the Brahmaputra valley, the oldest monastery in Tibet
Samye in the Brahmaputra valley, the oldest monastery in Tibet