UPPER YANGTZE

Day 1: United States
Fly from United States to Beijing (on your own).

Day 2: Beijing
You will arrive in Beijing in the early evening and check into a hotel. Here you will be met by an Earth River representative.

Day 3: Beijing/Xining (or Lanzhou)
This morning we will transfer to the airport for the flight to Xining, where we will arrive in the late afternoon. Xining is a wonderful city composed of dozens of different minorities on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. We spend the night in a hotel.

Day 4, 5 & 6: Xining/Tibetan Plateau/Yangtze River
Boarding a comfortable bus, we begin the drive to the river put-in. During the next three days we will drive past Tibetan villages and through vast grassy plains. We will see Tibetan herdsmen, their yaks and yurts dotting the green landscape. Carrying their homes on their yaks, these nomadic people endure by following the green grass from season to season. On the afternoon of the third day we will arrive at the put-in, rig the boats, and camp.

Day 7-15: Upper Yangtze River
Dramatically changing from day to day and bend to bend, the "River of Golden Sand," as the Upper Yangtze is called by Tibetans, will take us past wind swept dunes, beautiful sandy beaches, and ancient Tibetan villages tucked into rolling green hills beneath snow capped mountains. We drift past smooth boulders carved with ancient Tibetan prayers, and view colorful, wind-tattered silk prayer flags draped on yak-skin ropes. Then, suddenly leaving all signs of man behind, we will enter narrow gorges, passing roaring tributaries and running wonderful class 3 and 4 rapids. This is Tibet as few people have ever seen it, where the indigenous culture and wildlife (white deer, etc.) have had little influence from the outside world. There will be ample time to hike up to remote villages (some carved right out of canyon walls) with working monasteries, and visit with the people. We will also visit incredible stone ruins that, in some cases, have not been visited since they were abandoned hundreds of years before.

Day 16: Tibetan Plateau
Early this morning we take out, meet the bus, and drive a short distance (1/2 hour) to Dunka Monastery. Nestled on a hill a thousand feet above the town of Yushu, the Dunka Monastery is one fot eh few remaining active Buddhist temples (accessible by road) in Tibet. Passing through the massive sculpted doors, we are rewarded with fantastically painted walls, ceilings, eaves, arches, beams, pillars, drums, and altars. Each stroke is a subtle brilliance. We will have breakfast as guests of the Lama for the Entire Quinhai province. (There are five such Lamas in Tibet.) Late in the morning we begin the drive back to Xining. We will spend the evening in a primitive guest house along the way.

Days 17: Plateau/Xining
Late this afternoon we arrive in Xining. The rest of the afternoon is free. We spend the night in a comfortable hotel.

Day 18: Xining/Beijing
Today we transfer to the airport for the flight to Beijing (ticket purchased separately). Upon arriving in Beijing we check into a hotel. The rest of the day is free to explore. This evening we have a farewell dinner.

Day 19: Beijing/United States
This morning you transfer to the airport for the flight to the United States. You arrive in the U.S. on the same day.