Day 9 (1/2) - Namtso Lake

Namtso Lake(纳木错) is the highest salt lake in the world at the elevation of 4,718m. As one of the holy lakes in Tibet, Namtso Lake is a popular stop for visitors of Tibet. It is about 70 miles NW of Lhasa and 4.5 hours driving. At about 1000m higher than Lhasa, Namtso presents even more challenge for visitors.

Our day was suppose to start early with the long drive, but we took our time to enjoy a breakfast at a 24 hour Chinese restaurant on Beijing West(?) Road called Yu Bao Zi (玉包子). As the name suggested, it serves meat bun among other Chinese breakfast like porridge and soy milk. It was decent relatively speaking.

Qingzang Railroad (青藏铁路)

For the first hour or so, the road to Namtso Lake followed the famous Qingzang Railroad. At the time of our travel, the railroad ticket was very popular. Judging from the view, the scenery along the route warrants the popularity. I believe it was single track, although it was not clear from the photo.

The condition of the road was surprisingly good for the most part. However, there were a few spots that seemed to be a suspect for land slide - we encountered one actually. Because of the rain, the road was completely covered by debris. We had to wait for awhile before enough space was cleared out to allow for one way traffic.

As with previous days, the morning started with drizzle and became sunny later in the day. On the way home, there was hail, so we saw it all.

There were five check points like this between Lhasa and Namtso Lake. We had to have a permit with us in order to travel on this road and were required to check in with the police at each stop. The permit had time constrain, that was another reason for us to get out on time.

The other purpose of the check was to ensure the cars do not exceed the average speed between each check point. So if you saw cars waiting on the shoulder, it was probably because the driver wanted to make sure the legal average speed was met.

We finally saw a Yak!

Think I was excited? But it wanted no part of me.

I would not mess with this one

An interesting building along the road


He looked excited to go to the restroom....NOT!


Gotta watch out for the yaks crossing the road - each could cost up to RMB3000!

After over 3 hours of driving, we arrived at the gate of Namtso Lake. As usual, us the tourist had to purchase RMB70 ticket. The neat thing about this ticket was that it was a post card too. Be sure to mail the post card with Tibet post mark.

At this point, I was still feeling okay altitude sickness wise. But things would go downhill quickly from here. We started to climb more rapidly it appeared, all the way up to 5190m before coming back down to the measured 4700m of Namtso Lake.

Though in summer, snow was plenty here just before we reached the peak on the route at 5120m. It was quite a bit colder than in Lhasa.


5190m!!! Highest point we reached on this trip, and I have the picture to prove it!


This picture cost 10 RMB with the sheep in the background. I did not know and the way the owner demanded the money left a bad taste.

At La Ken La, the highest point along the route, it was definitely cold, so be sure to bring enough clothes. There was a GREAT photo point of Namtso Lake just past the highest point, unfortunately I was starting to feel nauseated, so I have nothing to show for.

It only took about 30 minutes driving or so from La Ken La to the parking lot of Namtso Lake. The weather changed quickly from cloudy and cold at the peak to a balmy sunny weather by the lake. However, I was suffering from altitude sickness badly - my head felt like exploding. Walking from the parking lot to the lake was such a challenge that I hardly had any energy to enjoy and take pictures.

There were many locals offering picture taking with goat and yak and yak riding. The price ranged from 5 to 10RMB in general. Feeling pretty sick and with the bad experience at La Ken La, I did not want to take any paid picture. However, this little girl with the goat was so cute that we could not resist. It was too bad that I did not get the light right - I blame that on altitude sickness and not my amateurish photo skill....

We were harassed by a person aggressively offering yak riding for 15 minutes while walking towards the lake. It was only 10RMB, but the we could not stand the tactics.

Namtso Lake was absolutely clear


You won't need your swimsuit here


Monument with the Namtso Lake introduction


Caves for meditation

Levi's mom and I must have spent less than 15 minutes by the lake as we both were suffering greatly. I took really small steps on the way back to the car, feeling like I could have drop on the spot. After I got back to the car, I tried the oxygen tank we brought just for this - but it did not alleviate my symptom. Maybe I needed to take the oxygen earlier and/or longer.

We left around 3:30PM, having only spent less than 2 hours there with two of us feeling ill. Since Tibet was on Beijing time, it was more like 1:30PM. We could have spent more time here I suppose. But by then, majority of the group had started heading home.

Taken on the way back to Lhasa along the road

At the time when I took this picture, I thought it might have been a vulture - it does not appear to be the case. We had chat with our guide on the topic of sky burial - traditional Tibetan way to process the body of the deceased family member. It involves given the body to carnivorous birds. We don't think we could stomach watching such proceeding - but the ceremony is not typically open to non-local according to our guide.

While waiting enough time so not exceeding the average speed limit, we met some nomadic Tibetans. We knew they were nomadic because of the tent they came from - dark brown tent made from yak skins. There were white tents too - but those were not typically used by nomads.

The nomads did not speak mandarin, I would venture to guess that most of them don't. We requested to take a few pictures through our guide - no problem. The little girl was curious and wanted to try the Chinese medicine we had laying round in the car. We did not give her of course. They seem to be quite friendly.

Picture perfect background - taken at a stop before a check point on the way back to Lhasha

I started feeling better on the way back to Lhasa. Prior to the trip, we worried more about Levi's parents, it turned out I myself suffered quite a bit. Even with the altitude sickness, Namtso Lake trip was one of the high light of my entire trip.

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