Bhutan Tours, Kham travels, Amdo travels

by martnpro

Article by Xioahong Dorje

Bhutan Tours

The main recreational pursuit that attracts travelers to Bhutan is trekking. Northern Bhutan and even some subtropical parts of the south offer great scope for trekking since forests and high-altitude pastures make up most of the country, and some of these remote areas are even now only accessible on foot or horseback. There are no roads and villages are few and far between. Trekking conditions are very different from those in Nepal, where the travel agencies have had many years' experience at organizing treks and where the routes have often been over-trekked. With Bhutan's small, scattered population you might trek for hours, and sometimes days, without seeing a single house, and only passing the odd person with pack animals along the track.

Somewhat like trekking in Tibet, Bhutan still offers the prospect of an original, fresh experience off the beaten track-- some of the trails are old disused trade routes dating from the period when the Tibet-Bhutan border could easily be crossed, or before the construction of the lateral highway. The trails are more precipitous than in Nepal, and physically exacting because you will constantly be climbing or descending steep inclines. Most treks start around 2,400 meters and generally ascend to 4,000 meters quite rapidly. There is very little open space for camping, and you will frequently have to trek seven-nine hours per day to reach a suitable clearing. The trails are not always well mapped or well-defined, so it is easy to lose one's way. High-altitude rescue is non-existent. It is therefore essential to trek with a reliable local guide provided by Trans Himalaya and the Bhutan Travel Service.

Kham Tours

Eastern Tibet (Kham) is the most densely populated region of the plateau - its inhabitants are distinguished from other Tibetans not only by their robust physical appearance, colourful dress and braided coiffure, but by distinctive dialects and social customs. The terrain is characterized by extremely rugged and glaci! ated sno w mountains, ranging from northwest to southeast, broken by rich grassland pastures and deep forested gorges formed by the Salween, Mekong, Yangtze, and their numerous tributaries. The region's forty-seven counties are divided for political and historical reasons between four provinces, twenty-five of them in the Chamdo, Nakchu, and Nyangtri prefectures of the Tibet Autonomous Region, three in the Dechen Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan, seventeen in the Kandze and Mili autonomous areas of Sichuan, and six in the Jyekundo Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai.

Kham Culture

The monasteries of Kham, far removed from the political cauldron of Lhasa, are fast rebuilding and extending their influence as far as the neo-Buddhist communities of mainland China. Among them, the Nyingmapa are strongest in Derge, Pelyul and Nyarong, the Kagyupa in Nangchen, Derge and Derong, the Sakyapa in Derge and Jyekundo, and the Gelukpa in Chamdo, Litang, Batang and the south. The pre-Buddhist Bon tradition still has a significant presence in the Khyungpo region of the upper Salween.basin.

Kham is a region where the pageantry of Buddhist and secular festivals is renowned. Sacred masked dances performed in the context of the drubchen ceremony are frequently held, exemplified by those at Katok commemorating the birth of Padmasambhava. Horse festivals, including officially sponsored events at Jyekundo and Litang are occasions for song, dance and sporting contests, at which boisterous Khampa crowds proudly display their local costume and traditions.

It is no exaggeration to say that each county has its unique focal points for pilgrimage - foremost among them being Kyadrak Senge Dzong in Dzachuka, Gawalung in Po-me, Mt Kawa Karpo in Dechen, Nabun Dzong in Nangchen, Yegyel Namka Dzong in Riwoche, Chakdu Khawa Lungring in Nyarong, Mt Zhara Lhatse in Minyak, Rudam Gangi Rawa at Dzogchen, Pema Shelphuk in Mesho, Tsandra Rinchen Drak at Pelpung, Katok Dorjeden near Pelyul, and Khampo Nenang near Litang.

Amdo Tours!

T he frontier land of Amdo (North-east Tibet) is a relatively low-lying region of spacious rolling pastures, where successive waves of ethnic migration have left their mark. Amdowa Tibetans, Mongols and Tu, Moslems (Hui, Salar, and Kazakh), and Han Chinese all have their own enclaves and spheres of influence. Amdo extends from the Kunlun Mountains in the west to the fabled Lake Kokonor, through the meandering upper reaches of the Yellow River and its tributaries, east to the upper reaches of the Min and Jialing rivers, and south, through Golok, to the upper reaches of the Gyarong (Sertal, Dzamtang, Ngawa, Chuchen and Rongtrak). The sixty counties of Amdo and Gyarong are currently divided between the provinces of Qinghai (37), Sichuan (15) and Gansu (8).

Amdo Culture

The rich grazing pastures of Amdo sustain a high nomadic population in the Banak and Golok areas, where the sacred Mt Amnye Machen is the focal point for pilgrimage. Further north are the cultural centres of Repkong, home to a distinctly vibrant tradition of Tibetan painting and clay sculpture, the hermitages of Achung Namdzong, contained with the Khamra National Park, and the monastic cities of Labrang and Kumbum Jampaling, To the south of Golok and west of Mt Nyenpo Yurtse, Amdo's second sacred range, are the major Nyingmapa monasteries of Tartang, Dodrubchen, Nyenlung and Larung Gar, and the Jonangpa enclaves of Dzamtang and Ngawa. The pre-Buddhist Bon tradition is strongest in Ngawa, in Gyarong - particularly in Chuchen and Rongtrak counties, nearby the sacred Bon mountain of Gyelmo Murdo, and further south in the national parks of Dzita Degu and Sertso, which until recently claimed the only five star hotels on the Tibetan plateau.

About the Author

Trans Himalaya, was founded in 1989 by Dr Gyurme Dorje, a London-based Tibetologist, and it was the first travel company to offer comprehensive itineraries in the Bhutan Tours, Tibet Tours, Self-Drive Through Tibet, Luxury China Tours including all three traditional provinces: Utsang, Kham and Amado. We also offer special itineraries in Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia, China, India and SE Asia.

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Zen Dogen the Zen Master 1

Dōgen Zenji (道元禅師; also Dōgen Kigen 道元希玄, or Eihei Dōgen 永平道元, or Koso Joyo Daishi) (19 January 1200 -- 22 September 1253) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher born in Kyōto, and the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan after travelling to China and training under the Chinese Caodong lineage there. Dōgen is known for his extensive writing including the Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma or Shōbōgenzō, a collection of ninety-five fascicles concerning Buddhist practice and enlightenment.

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