Yarlung Tsangpo River

Yarlung Tsangpo River refers to 'water flowing from the highest peak' in Tibetan language. With the highest altitude in the world, Yarlung Tsangpo River is considered as a seam of the Indian and European-Asia plate by geologists. It is one of the most beautiful rivers throughout the world. Steep mountains, thick virgin forests, fruit gardens give off an alluring fragrance and waterfalls formed by melting snow from the mountains present you with a marvelous painting; Meanwhile this scene provides you with a chance to feel in person the mightiness and charm of nature. Yarlung Tsangpo River cuts Himalaya Mountain, the highest in the world, flowing twistingly to the south of Tibet. The world famous Yarlong Tsangpo Canyon can be found in a big turn of this river. This canyon is the deepest in the world. Its mystery and steepness catches the eyesight almost of all the people on the earth. Adjectives such as high, spectacular, deep, humid, quiet, long and dangerous can help you to get a general impression of this canyon.

 High
Lofty mountains on each side of Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon are so high that they seem to have reached the sky and been guests in a white cloud palace. Glistening glaciers clothe the ridges of those peaks. Mist wreathes the whole canyon, making you feel as if you are in a legendary place.

 Spectacular
If you ever have a chance to get a bird's eye view, you will see that Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon is surrounded by countless snow peaks of east Himalayas and other green color covered mountains as it traverses all barriers to flowing into the Indian Ocean. This spectacular scenery is far beyond the words.

 Deep
The deepest section of Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon is 5,382 meters (about 5,886 yards). The average depth of this canyon is about 5,000 meters (about 5,468 yards).

 Humid
Verdant forests can be found almost everywhere in the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon because of the humidity resulting from the influence of the Indian Ocean air current. This humidity also results in the Canyon supporting most kinds of life-forms found elsewhere in the world.

 Quiet
The location of the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon makes it a place where traffic and inhabitants are scarce. Most of the sections of the Yarlung Tsangpo River have not been touched by humans. The heavy mist which blankets the canyon most of the time definitely enhances its mystery.

 Long
The total journey of along the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon is 496 kilometers (about 308 miles). It is 56 kilometers (about 35 miles) longer than the Colorado Canyon which claimed to be the longest one in the world.

 Dangerous
The upright rocks and mighty peaks make many sections of the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon too dangerous to pass. To date, no people have traveled along the entire length of the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon on foot.

 Getting there:
Start your journey by taking the 8:00 am shuttle bus from Lhasa to Nyingchi for only CNY 155. Next you will take another shuttle bus to Pai where you will disembark and walk the rest of the way to Dzayul where you will witness the mightiness of the Yarlung Tsangpo River.