[2025 Gar County ] Travel Guide for Ali'anye Park (Updated Jun)

🌟 🌄 Ali · Tibet ❓ Why Ali? Ali, Tibet’s Tibet, the roof of the world’s roof! This is the gateway to the Qiangtang no-man’s land, featuring: ✅ Mount Kailash — recognized by Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism as the "Center of the Universe" ✅ Lake Manasarovar — one of Tibet’s three sacred lakes, whose waters can cleanse the soul ✅ Zanda Earth Forest — a millennium geological wonder resembling an alien landscape ✅ Dark Night Park — China’s best stargazing spot, where the Milky Way is within reach “No Ali, no Tibet” — only by coming here can you truly reach the soul of Tibet! 🗺️ Top 5 Must-Visit Places in Ali 1️⃣ Mount Kailash Kora (altitude 6,656m) The ultimate challenge for believers: a 52 km trek completed in 2-3 days, passing prayer flags, mani stone piles, and devotees prostrating. - 📍Tips: Non-believers are advised to take the outer route; the inner route requires a local guide; border permits must be obtained in advance during peak season (May-October). 2️⃣ Lake Manasarovar + Lake Rakshastal (Ghost Lake) - Sacred Lake Manasarovar is as blue and clear as a mirror, while Ghost Lake Rakshastal is dark and mysterious; the two lakes are adjacent but completely different. - 🚗 Around the lake: self-drive or charter a car, shoot the “Sacred Lake sunset golden mountain” in the evening. 3️⃣ Zanda Earth Forest + Guge Kingdom Ruins - Earth forest landscape like the surface of Mars, glowing golden at sunrise; the ruins of the Guge Kingdom hide an unsolved mystery of a sudden disappearance overnight. - 🎫 Tickets: Guge Kingdom 65 RMB, remember to bring a telephoto lens! 4️⃣ Pangong Lake — the “Swan Lake” on the China-India border - Half salty, half fresh water; take a boat to Bird Island to see black-necked cranes. 5️⃣ Dark Night Park (Ali Astronomical Observatory) - Altitude 5,100m, the Milky Way is clearly visible to the naked eye, star trails can be photographed in summer. 🚗 Classic Route Plan 🔥 Ali Grand Loop (13-15 days) D1-3 Lhasa → Yamdrok Lake → Shigatse (get border permit) → Everest Base Camp D4-7 Saga → Lake Manasarovar → Mount Kailash Kora → Tarchen D8-10 Zanda Earth Forest → Guge Kingdom → Shiquanhe D11-13 Pangong Lake → Qiangtang Grassland → Return to Lhasa ⏳ Short Essential Route (7 days): Lhasa → Yamdrok Lake → Everest → Lake Manasarovar → Mount Kailash → Zanda → Return ⚠️ High Altitude Survival Guide Altitude sickness prevention: take Rhodiola two weeks in advance, acclimate in Lhasa for 2 days before departure, carry glucose and oxygen bottles. Border permit: apply in your registered residence or Lhasa, fill in “Ali Prefecture, Shigatse.” Accommodation: Tarchen and Zanda have better conditions; stay in tents at Zhile Monastery during the kora. Transportation: recommend 4-person off-road vehicle charter (about 1500-2000 RMB/day); self-driving requires an experienced driver plus spare fuel tanks. 📸 Photography Tips Mount Kailash: shoot the golden mountain sunrise at Zhile Monastery early morning. Lake Manasarovar: wear bright clothes by the lakeside prayer flags and mani piles for striking contrast shots. Zanda Earth Forest: two hours before sunset, the earth forest turns crimson. Starry sky: use a wide-angle lens + tripod, set ISO above 1600. 🍵 Flavors of Ali Must-try: yak jerky, butter tea, tsampa, sweet tea (Shiquanhe’s “Shaanxi Noodle House” is a lifesaving supply station). Bring your own: chocolate, instant noodles, vitamins, as supplies are scarce in remote areas. 🎒 Pre-trip Checklist ▢ Border permit ▢ Outdoor jacket (big temperature difference day and night) ▢ Sunscreen + sunglasses ▢ Trekking poles (for kora) ▢ Sleeping bag (for hygiene-conscious) ▢ Power bank (no electricity in some areas) 💬 Travelers say “In Ali, you forget your phone signal but remember the name of every snow mountain.” “The cup of butter tea handed by a Tibetan mother during the kora is more healing than any chicken soup.” ✨ Ali is not just a trip, it’s a journey of awakening where hardship and awe coexist. 📌

When prayer flags flutter over Mount Kailash, even the air carries the scent of faith. In Tibet, your eyes ascend to paradise while your body descends to purgatory. 🏔️ Golden Sunrise at Potala Palace: The 50-yuan banknote viewpoint from Chakpori Hill (bring oxygen for the stairs). 🌊 Yamdrok Lake's "Blue Poison": Waters so blue you'll suspect max-level Photoshop (bargain lamb photos down to 5 yuan). 🚂 Qinghai-Tibet Railway Scenic Route: Every frame from Golmud onward belongs on National Geographic's cover. Pilgrim-Level Hardcore Experiences: 🛐 Prostrating at Jokhang Temple: Join pilgrims' kora (clockwise!), watch sunlight gild Buddha's 12-year-old life-size statue. 🎏 Debating Monks at Tashilhunpo: Red-robed lamas clap through philosophical duels (incomprehensible yet awe-inspiring). 🌌 Stargazing at Dark Sky Park: Chase the Milky Way at 5,100m – too many meteors for all your wishes. Highland Gastronomy: 🍵 Sweet Tea Sociology: 0.7-yuan cuppas at Guangming Gangqiong, eavesdropping on local gossip. 🍖 Warrior's Breakfast: Raw yak meat paste with tsampa (dare to try salty butter tea). 🍲 Lifesaving Lulang Stone Pot Chicken: Matsutake and Himalayan codonopsis stew – high-altitude Michelin. Tibetan Magical Realism: ☀️ T-shirts at noon, electric blankets by night. 💊 Rhodiola is placebo – chocolate actually saves lives. 📱 Searching for signal at Namtso Lake = modern-day prayer. Survival Guide: ⚠️ Move at 0.5x speed (even shoelace-tying leaves you gasping). ⚠️ Border pass > ID card (no travel west of Shigatse without it). ⚠️ Toilets exist in quantum superposition (dry toilets haunt memories). Tibet: Cure for First-World Problems! Hipster: "I seek poetry and distant horizons." (After arrival) Hipster: "Mom... oxygen..." (Visual Overload: Potala reflections/prayer flag tunnels/Mt. Everest's Milky Way/tibetan mastiffs photobombing monks)

We spent a night in Shiquanhe Town, but neither of us had fully recovered, so we were both very careful and didn't have the energy to take a good look at the town. We had a very nice beef hot pot for lunch, and Sun Dunzhu said, "You look fine, you have such a good appetite!" After we were full, we found a coffee shop and got four lattes for the two of us, and we were off! We were going to see the ruins of the Guge Kingdom! We passed by Ali Dark Sky Park (see photo 2), which is said to be the best place in the Northern Hemisphere to see the stars. I totally believe it, because the night before last, I was already amazed by the starry sky at Bangong Lake. We drove a little further in and passed a spherical building (see photo 3), with a sign at the entrance that said "Research Area, No Entry Without Permission," but it didn't look like there was anyone there, haha, it looked like a research base in the wilderness. We drove a little further in, but I persuaded Ken to turn back, because we couldn't see the stars during the day! We actually crossed at least two passes over 5,300 meters, but there were no road signs, so I kept checking the real-time altimeter app on my phone (see photos 5 and 6). After crossing these passes, we entered Zanda County, where the altitude dropped to about 4,300 meters. There were constant road signs with "marmot" images, which made me itch, because I hadn't seen any fat marmots on this trip! The signs were actually to remind people of the five things to avoid to prevent the plague: don't feed, don't kiss, don't tease, don't hunt, and don't skin. After driving a little further, I felt something was wrong, because the mountains here were so special! I guess this scenery is the "forest." The forest, like towers and pillars, looks like the ruins of an ancient castle, or like a thousand Buddhas worshiping, like sitting Buddhas, in all kinds of shapes and lifelike. We wandered through the forest for a long time, and the phone signal was often lost, which felt mysterious. I can't wait to see the ruins of the Guge Kingdom tomorrow! Tonight we are staying at a Tibetan hotel in Zanda County.

🌍 Known as the best stargazing spot in the Northern Hemisphere - Ali Observatory! At an altitude of 5233 meters! Located on a mountain top, a 20-minute drive from Shiquanhe Town in the Ali region. 🔭 It is said that a gravitational wave observation point at an altitude of 6000 meters is being built! With the naked eye and photos to prove it deserves this title! I was also very lucky to visit and learn a lot of knowledge, and saw some rare equipment - it's super expensive! 📮 Location: Ali Dark Night Park, Ali Region, Tibet 🚗 Transportation: Self-driving ⚠️ Tips: 1. When visiting the Ali region, this meaningful place is not to be missed~ 2. The stargazing base is also a dark night park, where some popular science activities and knowledge dissemination are conducted. From the base to the observation station on the mountain top, there is a 10-minute winding mountain road. Come at night to photograph the Milky Way, star trails, nebulae, etc. It gets completely dark after 10 PM. 3. It is a treasure place for astronomy enthusiasts and photography masters! 4. Tested with Huawei P30, setting the parameters correctly can capture the Milky Way~ 5. If you encounter staff, you might be lucky enough to be invited to the office to watch a promotional video. 6. Do not camp on the mountain top; high altitude + strong winds can easily cause altitude sickness. It's better to go down to the dark night park area. 👉 Tired of crowded places and want to see something different? Join us and look forward to your attention!

For a photographer, the charm of Ali Star is unstoppable. The most beautiful starry sky to see Ali, at the elevation of 5,100 meters in the Ali astronomical observation to meet the beauty of the suffocating starry sky, forget the chilly wind, forget the biting cold, hate can not be transformed into the wind, go to the other side of the Xinghai. In the dark night sky of Ali, avoiding the light pollution of human habitation, enjoy the vastness and embarrassment of the starry night. 5100 meters above sea level The Ali Observatory is the highest altitude observatory in the world and the best observatory in Asia. With the advancement of human science and technology, the distance between humans and the mysterious Galaxy will be closer and closer. Known as the heavenly secret, Ali's owner is blessed with natural conditions, such as atmospheric transparency, clear sky rate, and night sky quality. He is known as the "last piece of pure land that human civilization depends on." The magic of photography makes up for the insufficiency of the naked eye, and the starry sky is displayed on the image, which is more shocking than what the naked eye sees. In order to let more tourists appreciate the starry sky of Ali, the Ali government has built a dark night park and an astronomical square on the outer edge of the reserve. The park is located about 25 kilometers south of Shiquanhe Town, with an altitude of 4,200 meters, including the starry sky experience zone, telescope observation zone and passenger service zone. It takes about half an hour to drive from Shiquanhe Town. Thanks to superior natural conditions, the Ali area has been favored by astronomers in recent years.