7 Days in Ganzi County: North Kham Slow Loop

In by the 2019 Gesar Airport (near 4,068 m) or the long road from Kangding, about 380 km. First-day rule stands — this is Ganzi County town at roughly 3,390 m, not the prefecture seat and not Daocheng-Yading — so keep it to the monastery founded in 1662.

1. ganzi ganzi monastery

The quarter and its museum retell an epic said to run past a million verse lines; evening on the flats of the Yalong, which runs about 1,571 km before meeting the Yangtze.

1. ganzi gesar king city
2. ganzi baita park
3. ganzi yalong river valley

Half a day in the county's high hills on the short pilgrim circuit; rest of the day loose, because altitude sets its own schedule.

1. ganzi nailong sacred mountain

An honest day east, about an hour and a half each way on the G317 — the roadside lake in Luhuo County first, then Daofu's painted timber houses; watch for herders' horses on the highway.

1. ganzi kasa lake
2. ganzi daofu timber houses

A slow river-plain day north of town — pick a quiet stretch of the Yalong's braided channels, watch yak camps, and let the plateau sky do the talking; evening stars here are a reason in themselves.

1. ganzi county grasslands

Baili Temple in the nearby countryside has stood for centuries as the seat of the Geda line; in town, the memorial hall records the 1936 meeting between Zhu De and the fifth Geda Lama when the Red Army passed through.

1. ganzi baili monastery
2. ganzi zhude geda memorial

Last flat-light walk by the water, breakfast, then out by the 2019 airport or the long road — Chengdu about an hour by air, Kangding about 380 km by road.

1. ganzi yalong river valley