lucakunlife: Across the Yunnan-Sichuan border, along Tibetan people

Shangri La was a really great place to get used about high altitude and to do some trekking and bicycle in the 2 main valleys, I liked even if it was crowd of tourist because of the 1 week chinese holiday in beginning of October.

So, after 1 week training on the 3200 mt plateau of Shangri La I was finally ready to start my trip through the high montains on the Tibetan border!

The first destination after 11 hours of bumping bus it was Daocheng, a 3600 mt town as large as my home's street in Italy, quite freezing in the night where I start to see the first Tibetan people in my trip.

After 2 days rest & discovery in Daocheng, I then went to natural reserve of Yading, maybe my main reason of travelling in this area. Yading is a mountain sanctuary and major pilgrimage site comprising three 6000m+ peaks blessed from 5th Dalai Lama, I was very curious to hike around these holy mountains unknown to tourism until the end of 90's. Even if it was a bit expansive, I was both very happy to be there and to celebrate my best hike attempt, from 3700 mt to 4600 mt and back completely alone and without help, 11 hours of hard work but really proud of it! And the landsacpe definitely worth that money!

Then my next destination was Litang and I experienced for the first time the hitchhiking, from Yading to Daocheng and then to Litang, 6 hours in total and very good luck to get 2 different free rides in a row.

Now I am in Litang big bazar city at 4000 mt, with real Tibetan people and a big mess all around, I definitely love it, even if today I saw the worst and ugliest cerimony in my life, the world famous Tibetan sky burial... in few words a dead body is placed on the top of a hill, then there is a man (with a lot of hairs on the stomach I suppose, like people say in Italy) who cut the body in order to allow the birds to eat it, and then the fight between the hundreds of voltures begin to take part of the dead man lunch. A very disgusting experience, but this is the Tibetan way to bury dead people.