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Drive from Yajiang to Litang (Tips, Photos & Map)

Saturday, September 25th, 2021

The low elevation of Yajiang (雅江) did give us a good sleep last night. Early this morning, 10 October, we continue our self-drive west along the National Highway G318 from Yajiang (雅江) to Litang ( 理塘), where we are going to head south to get to our final destination today – Daocheng (稻城).

Yajiang to Litang Road Trip

The 138 km drive from Yajiang to Litang reminds us of the overland from Kangding to Xinduqiao, where we had to ascend the high Zheduo Pass at 4290 meters; for the road trip from Xinduqiao to Yajiang, we also had to climb over the high pass of Gaoersi Pass at 4412 meters.

Now today here from Yajiang to Litang, we have to go over Kazila Pass (卡子拉山口) at the elevation of 4718 meters, the highest pass on our trip so far.

It is again snowing due to the high elevation as we are driving up higher and higher from the low elevation of Yajiang to the high mountains on route, which all surpass 4000 meters.

The golden and yellow meadows and autumn leaves, and green pine trees are covered with white snow. We drive meticulously along the switchback mountain roads and take a break if necessary at the service stops run by the local Tibetans.

The switchback roads from Yajiang to Litang

We take a break at the service stop on the way up to Kazila Pass.

Service Stop on the way from Yajiang to Litang — We take a break at the service stop on the way up to Kazila Pass.

Kazila Pass 4718m

At 10:30 am, we get onto the high Kazila Pass at the elevation of 4718 meters. People are snapping pictures of the huge rock sign indicating the name of the pass in Chinese – 卡子拉山口.

Climbing over the pass, we begin to go down and the highway condition is much better than we expect, wide and flat.

On the way down to Litang Town, we also find a motorcyclist couple driving along the National Highway before us.

Motorcyclists driving along the National Highway G318

Going over the high Kazila Pass, we soon find the weather is getting better. Snow stops and the mountains passing by turn multi-coloured with beautiful valleys – grazing yaks, limpid streams and yellow meadows.

Litang beautful valleys — The mountains passing by turn multi-coloured with beautful valleys.

Litang Town

Litang Town (理塘) at the elevation of 4014 meters is the seat of Litang County, 400 meters higher than Lhasa, one of the highest town in the world.

“Litang” in Tibet literally means “Copper Mirror-like plateau” as it is located on the flat plateau with surrounding mountains.

A cyclist is biking towards Litang Town.

Litang Town is situated on the flat plateau surrounded with mountains. It is under the administration of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, on the west Sichuan Province.

At Litang, we get off the National Highway G318 and turn south and drive along S217 to get to Daocheng.

Litang Town is an important base either for travelers going from Chengdu to Lhasa or to Daocheng. It is an old, but booming town with the coming of more and more travelers on their way to Daocheng or Lhasa.

Hotels and restaurants are seen dotted here and there in the town. At 12:15 am, we stop for lunch in Litang before we start for Daocheng along the provincial highway known as S217, which later turns out to be a super highway with beautiful landscapes.

Any questions on the way from Yajiang to Litang, just drop a line.

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Drive from Yajiang to Litang
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Hassle-free Chengdu & Sichuan Guided Tours

If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Chengdu and Sichuan guided tours:

Chengdu tour
Chengdu Car Rental with Driver
Create My Chengdu Trip
Jiuzhaigou Tour
Sichuan Tour

Xinduqiao to Yajiang Road Trip

We choose to continue driving for extra 72km from Xinduqiao Town (Xinduqiaozhen on google map) to Yajiang partly due to the Yajiang’s relatively low altitude of 2500 meters against Xinduqiao’s altitude of 3450 meters; partly due to the fact today’s extra 72km drive will reduce the intensity of our tomorrow’s driving trip.

Xinduqiaozhen to Yajiang Road Trip ( Tomorrow to Litang)

Yajiang’s low altitude gains its reputation of being a nice stop between Kangding (or Xinduqiao ) and Litang (理塘) for G318 travelers including self-drive travelers, bicyclists, or hikers.

Yajiang is a modern town within the traditional Kham Region of the eastern Tibet, now under the administation of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Its splendid history brings people back to its prime days as the important stopover and ferry point for the ancient Tea and House Route.

Driving over Gaoersi Mountain Pass at 4412 m

Now we are on the way from Xinduqiao to Yajiang. The driving map tells we have to get over a high pass known as Gaoersi Mountain Pass at 4412 meters sea level (高尔寺山海拔4412). Overcast and it is getting darker on the road up to the Gaoersi Mountain Pass. It starts snowing on the higher mountain road due to the changeable weather and cool temperatures at high altitudes.

Driving over the Gaoersi Mountain Pass 4412m

What makes things worse is the unrestored and unrenovated mountain road before and after the Gaoersi Mountain Pass and the terrible road turns out to be as long as 24 km! Actually you cannot call it “Highway” since it is very bumpy, muddy, messy and some sections of the horrible road don’t have any guard rails to provent vehicles from straying into the deep gorges.

Gaoersi Mountain Pass Highway — The highway is bumpy, muddy, messy and dangerous!

At 4:30 pm, we reach the Gaoersi Mountain Pass and see a signboard standing on the top with the words “Gaoersi Mountain Pass 4412 meters Altitude” in Chinese. We stop and stay there just for a few minutes, taking a photo of the signboard as a rememory and pay repect to the simple Gaoer Temple nearby with our eyes.

Driving over Gaoersi Mountain Pass, we find it is snowing heavily, making it even more difficult to drive along the muddy and bumpy road. We have to carefully steer clear of passing-by trucks, cars and even motorcyclists.

Eventually the highway condition is getting much better, and back to the normal level of a standard highway, wide and with guard rails. The road descends fast from the over 4000-meter-altitude Gaoersi Pass to a little over 2500-meter Yajiang.

Highway Xinduqiao to Yajiang — Descend fast from Goersi to Yanjiang

Arriving at Yajiang County

At 6:00pm, we arrive at the downtown of Yajiang County. It is a modern town set in the deep valley of Yalong River (雅砻江) which gives rise to the name of Yajiang. It is a 1,323 km long river, a tributary of the Yangtze River. Its source is on the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau in southeast Qinghai.

The town looks very much compact with crowded buildings cascading from the two sides of the river valley. It is a drab and dusty city but with some modern tall buildings standing here and there. There are also a few old side streets that betray an old town. Crowded buildings flank Yalong River cutting the town into two parts.

Crowded buildings flank Yalong River cutting the town into two parts.

It doesn’t take much efforts to secure two rooms at a nice hotel in Yajiang. But we do suggest you’d better reserve your hotel in Yajiang during the tourist peak season.

Any questions on the drive from Xinduqiao to Yajiang, just drop a line.

Add-On

Hassle-free Chengdu & Sichuan Guided Tours

If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Chengdu and Sichuan guided tours:

Chengdu tour
Chengdu Car Rental with Driver
Create My Chengdu Trip
Jiuzhaigou Tour
Sichuan Tour

Archive for the ‘Yajiang’ Category

Drive from Yajiang to Litang (Tips, Photos & Map)

Yajiang to Litang Road Trip

Kazila Pass 4718m

Litang Town

Add-On

Hassle-free Chengdu & Sichuan Guided Tours

Further Readings

Drive from Xinduqiao to Yajiang (Tips, Photos & Map)

Xinduqiao to Yajiang Road Trip

Driving over Gaoersi Mountain Pass at 4412 m

Arriving at Yajiang County

Add-On

Hassle-free Chengdu & Sichuan Guided Tours

Further Readings

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