"Shangri-La" means "sun and moon in the heart" in Tibetan. Four days and three nights, searching between the ancient city, meadows, and temples, searching for the land closest to paradise.
Dukezong Ancient City is home to the world's largest prayer wheel. Turning the golden canister requires everyone's combined effort, and with the buzzing sound, prayers drift with the wind toward the snowy mountains. The hoofprints on the stone-paved road are traces of the two-thousand-year-old Tea Horse Road.
Songzanlin Monastery is known as the "Little Potala Palace," with golden roofs and red walls built against the mountain, and the chanting of monks echoing over Ramyangcuo Lake. It is most solemn when the morning mist has not lifted.
Pudacuo National Park belongs to Duhu Lake and Bita Sea, where meadows bloom in spring and summer, and forests are dyed in autumn and winter. Wooden boardwalks wind through the primeval forest, and if you're lucky, you might encounter musk deer, deer, and black-necked cranes.
In summer and autumn, Napa Lake is a seasonal lake, with the water receding into grasslands, herds of cattle and sheep, and Tibetan youths on horseback scattered throughout. Driving along the lakeside road, the wind carries the scent of grass and butter.
The beauty of Shangri-La lies in its restraint and vastness. When you sit on the meadow until sunset, with snow-capped mountains dyed gold and prayer flags fluttering, you will believe that the "sun and moon" are indeed hidden in some corner of the world.
Route fragment
4 days and 3 nights
- Day 1 Dukezong Ancient Town, prayer wheel
- Day 2 Songzanlin Monastery
- Day 3 Pudacuo
- Day 4 Napa Lake, return trip