Red Rocks And Monasteries

Day 1
• Morning or early afternoon - Transfer to Hotel (about a 1 hour drive from Xining airport)
• 3:00pm - Arrive at Hotel and check in. Settle into hotel and rest
• 4:30 pm - Meet in the lobby of the hotel/guesthouse and go out for dinner
• 5:00pm - Eat dinner and introduce the schedule for the week
• 8:00pm - Return to Hotel to sleep and rest

Day 2
• 8:30am - Eat breakfast at or near hostel or hotel.
• 9:30am - Drive 1.5 hours to LaJI Shan Mountain - a 14,000 foot (4,267 meters) craggy peak with surrounding red rock bluffs and cliffs.
• 11:30am- Hike to base camp and eat packed lunch
• 12:30pm-Set up tents and camp
• 2:00pm - From the base camp, day hike to tall mountain past red rock formations for a great view of the valley. We will not be summiting the mountain itself but a nearby peak.
• 5:00pm- Cook dinner
• 6:00pm - Eat dinner
• 7:00pm - Clean dinner
• 7:30pm - Watch the stars and talk about history and stories of the area as well as the nomadic culture around us and it’s dependence on the yak.
• 9:30pm - Sleep in tents overlooking beautiful red rock formations.

Day 3
• 8:00am - Start breakfast
• 8:30am - Eat breakfast
• 9:00am - Break camp and pack up and hike down
• 10:30am - Drive 1.5 hours to Kanbula National Park and the gorgeous red rock formations in the park (it is like a mini-Grand Canyon)
• 1:00pm - Go see Namzong Nunnery inside the park
• 3:00pm - Do short day hikes to viewpoints and pagodas and see a small Tibetan farmer village
• 4:30pm - In the afternoon, drive to Homestay
• 6:30pm - Arrive in Homestay in Rebkong, eat with our homestay hosts
• 8:00pm - Debrief day
• 9:00pm - Sleep in Tibetan Homestay with an excellent view of the National Park

Day 4
• 8:30am - Eat breakfast in homestay
• 9:30am - In the morning, explore the labyrinthine alleys of the monastery to find out what life as a monk is really like. Then hike above the Rebkong Longwu Monastery for an excellent view of the town.
• 12:30pm - Eat lunch in town including some freshly made yak yoghurt
• 1:30pm - Drive 3 hours back to Xining Sofitel
• 4:30 pm - Arrive in Xining for dinner. Clean up at hotel
• 6:00pm - Final closing dinner. Final debriefs

Day 5
• Fly or train out of Xining