Golog Tibet Autonomous Prefecture (མགོ་ལོག་བོད་རིགས་རང་སྐྱོང་ཁུལ་) is located in southeastern Qinghai
province, in the Amdo region of Tibet. Over 90% of the 125,000 people who live in Golog are Tibetan. Most of the people in Golog are nomadic with many of them living in traditional style Tibetan tents. Most of Golog is well above 4000m / 13,120 feet so summers are short and winters are long and cold. Golog 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 (pictured above) to make a pilgrimage around the mountain. The trek around the mountain takes around 7 days. Amnye Machen rises 6282m / 20,605 feet and is the highest mountain in Amdo.
Another famous holy mountain in Golog is Nyenbo Yurtse. Nyenbo Yurtse is located in the remote far eastern corner of Golog prefecture and stand 5369m / 17,611 feet high. This mountain sees very few foreign travelers, but is possibly the most beautiful place in all of the northern Tibetan Plateau. A deep fresh water lake sits at the base of the mountain. Several rivers run into the lake. The area around Nyenbo Yurtse (pictured above) is excellent for hiking.
In addition to these two mountains, Golog is filled with grasslands, valleys, rivers and lakes. The Yellow River flows throughout Golog prefecture creating awesome canyons. With lots of excellent hiking, culture and wildlike, Golog makes an excellent place to visit.
A tour to through Golog takes between 9 and 11 days leaving from Xining (ཟི་ལིང་). Here is a sample itinerary for this trip.
Day 1: Drive 110kms from Xining to Kumbum monastery and then to Guide (pictured above). Kumbum is one of the most famous monasteries in the Amdo region. Guide sits along the banks of the Yellow River and is surrounded by red earth mountains which are excellent for hiking.
Day 2: Drive 250kms from Guide to the monastery town of Rabgya (pictured below). Rabgya is a large Gelukpa sect monastery along the Yellow River. The monastery has around 500 monks and sits at the bottom of a mountain.
Day 3: Drive 75kms from Rabgya to the town of Machen (Dawu in Chinese). Machen is the capital town of Golog prefecture and is the starting point in going to Amnye Machen.
Day 4: Drive 90kms from Machen to the base camp of Amnye Machen at the small town of Xueshan (pictured below). This is the starting point for the pilgrimage around the holy mountain. You can camp for a night or two here if you want.
Day 5: Drive 250kms from Xueshan to Darlag. Darlag is a small town along the Yellow River. Along the way from Xueshan to Darlag, you pass through large grasslands full of nomads and yaks.
Day 6: Drive 220kms from Darlag to Nyenbo Yurtse base camp. Along the way you will pass several monasteries including Tarthang Monastery (pictured above). Camp at base camp.
Day 7: Spend the day hiking around Nyenbo Yurtse. Camp at base camp.
Day 8: Drive 480kms from Nyenbo Yurtse to Huashixia in western Golog prefecture. You will cross over several sections of the Yellow River (pictured below) as well as several nomad camps.
Day 9: Drive 330kms from Huashixia to Qinghai Lake, the largest lake in China.
Day 10: Drive from Qinghai Lake back to Xining.
If you have any questions about Golog or any other region of Tibet, please send an email to thelandofsnows@gmail.com
What gorgeous pictures. You are very lucky to have gone on a vacation like this.
Posted by: buddha statues | December 10, 2009 at 03:27 AM
In areas like Lhasa, most of the Tibetans speak both Chinese and Tibetan, but in nomadic areas the only language that is understood completely is Tibetan.
Posted by: Losang | September 01, 2008 at 06:23 PM
Nice photos. I hope to gather enough time and money to go there in 2 years. Is it expensive? Which language is more useful to know, Tibetan or Chinese for the area?
Posted by: Marian C Ghilea | May 19, 2008 at 11:31 AM
Nice photos. I hope to gather enough time and money to go there in 2 years. Is it expensive? Which language is more useful to know, Tibetan or Chinese for the area?
Posted by: Marian C Ghilea | May 19, 2008 at 11:29 AM
I love your blog. These images are amazing and it makes me feel as I would be part of it. Keep it up and thank you for sharing them.
Posted by: Buddha Statues | May 18, 2008 at 01:07 PM