Four-day self-driving tour in Shangri-La to enjoy the beautiful scenery

Number of days：3 days
Time: May
Average cost: 3100 yuan
With whom: and friends
Updated: 2022.05.29

Shangri-La, the sun and moon in my heart. Just this sentence is enough to drive people to see the beautiful scenery. In May of this year, I happened to have some time, so I went to Shangri-La with my bestie.

Encountering the beautiful scenery of Shangri-La

As soon as I landed in Shangri-La, I felt its difference from the city. The mountains, blue sky and white clouds here form a very beautiful natural landscape. For me, a self-driving tour in Shangri-La is not just a sightseeing tour. Here, the most beautiful scenery is always on the road.

ehi is right in the airport parking lot, making it very convenient to pick up the car. After completing the pick-up procedures, we started our trip.

Driving from Songzanlin Monastery to Balagzong Scenic Area, I saw the towering peaks, the clouds that almost covered the entire mountaintops, and the slowly flowing river. All of this speaks to the four words: "time is long."

Look at the mountains here—they're all incredibly high and steep. While I think the environment here is wonderful, living here year-round still makes me feel intimidated. Anyway, I've always been afraid of tall things.

Looking up, it feels like I have to crane my neck to see the top of the mountain.

A horse and horse post road runs right above the tunnel. I originally thought it was built by ancient people for travel. Actually, it was built in the 1960s. The then leader spent three years, along with all the villagers, to build this mountain road. You should know that it was the only way for the villagers to connect to the outside world at the time.

Now, the roads in this mountainous area are already very good. Locals say that back then, a trip from the village to Shangri-La took five days. Today, this road allows everyone in the village to easily return to the county town. However, there are very few people left in Bala Village these days. Whenever possible, people have already left. Almost everyone who returns to the village now is just passing through. Look at this mountain road. It winds its way along the mountainside. I happened to see a bus passing by; it looked much smaller in the face of these towering mountains. When I came here, I specifically checked in at Bandan Lhamo Holy Mountain and Dolma Lhakhang. Bandaram Mountain looks steep and precipitous. Locals believe that faith in Bandaram can protect humanity from disasters and ensure prosperity.

Zhuoma Lakang is a Guanyin Temple, with eight strikingly white pagodas visible in front.

In fact, in places like Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet, and Xinjiang, you'll find the names of ethnic minorities everywhere, each with its own distinct religious beliefs. Even if you don't understand them, respect others' beliefs.

After that, we saw the echo wall. In fact, from a distance, it looks like there are eight sacred mountains surrounding Bala Village. The Echo Wall is one of them. People believe these eight sacred mountains resemble lotus flowers. However, compared to other peaks, this one has very little greenery. This shows how obvious this cliff is, even plant life is a problem.

Yell at this mountain from afar, and you'll hear a continuous echo. Layer upon layer, it's quite mesmerizing. Since there weren't many people around, we actually shouted right there. There is also a super beautiful observation deck here. From the observation deck, I looked down at the foot of the mountain. A river flowed gently by, and at the foot of the mountain stood a few small houses. This is what they call harmony between man and nature. However, I guess there's not much going on inside these small houses.

The cliffs here are completely different from those I've seen elsewhere. They have a rich texture. My best friend said it resembled psoriasis. While the metaphor isn't very aesthetic, it's true. Of course, for the mountain, it's a beautiful view.

While taking photos here, we also encountered Tibetan Buddhist masters. After discussing it with them, they agreed to take a photo with us. The most interesting thing about the Whispering Wall is that there is a zipline. Sit on it and slide directly across to the parking lot opposite. We saw a man in his seventies ziplining across the water. It was truly thrilling. So, we tried it ourselves. At first, we were nervous, but once we were there, we were completely thrilled.

After returning to the parking lot, we continued to admire the scenery, this time visiting Bage Village. After seeing the mountains and temples, it was finally time to see the small village.

This village also has a legend, which you can learn more about online. Looking at the small village here, the houses are quite dense. However, due to the terrain, the houses here are also uneven.

When I was a kid, I watched the TV series "Little Flower," and the scenery here felt very similar to the mountain villages I saw in those TV shows.

In the past, the villagers here mainly grew corn, barley, buckwheat, and the like. But now, they've started to transform. Now, everywhere you look, you can see beautiful roses.

Also, there are many apple trees on the mountains here, many of which are wild. The local villagers feed these apples to their pigs, and the pork seems to be much more fragrant. We went to visit the Tibetans' homes. We saw an old group photo, and the people in it were really good-looking. Each one had a pointed chin and a beautiful smile. Now, these people have grown up, even aged. I believe their lives are still filled with smiles.

Leaving Bage Village, we also visited the Shambhala Pagoda. The altitude here is even higher; remember, Bala Village is already 2,900 meters above sea level. Here, I felt a distinct sense of altitude sickness. We were very lucky to see the pagoda here. Locals say that it is rare to see pagodas in normal times. It is usually hidden in the mountain mist. This time, I was able to see the pagoda so clearly, which was very satisfying.

After sharing this photo, I found out that a friend had been here twice before and didn't see the pagoda each time. So it seems that this time was really lucky.

Walking here, you can see many prayer flags. These prayer flags fluttering in the wind represent the faith of everyone.