Bike trip to Rouergai in August. Great place to see Tibetan plains, amazing skies and ancient monasteries.
*Note – this tour is usually 7 days but we did this tour is six days. We skipped the day off in Langmusi
8/2
We planned to leave town around 9 but one of the guys was late so we didn’t leave until past ten. There was 7 of us in total, me and another British guy, a woman from Columbia and Poland and 2 Chinese woman. We hit the road and as usual there was some construction in many place so things took longer than usual. I got so used to driving my motorcycle, which is can’t be used on the highway but at least I can get around most traffic on the smaller roads. We had lunch near Dujianyan and continued on up towards our destination. We arrived at our camping area around 7 with just enough time to pitch tents and start the bbq which wasn’t easy. I didn’t realize that charcoal doesn’t burn easily on the ground like wood does. Its better to have it elevated so it has more air. It was difficult to start and keep burning, but we still managed to get everything cooked and had a great meal with some potato salad and some veggies too. Just as we were going to bed it began to rain a bit but otherwise it was ok. For one of the girls it was a little cold so she went in the van.
8/3
The first day cycling was about 75 kms on a nice flat road with amazing views. We stopped for a late lunch in Hongyuan. We only had 17 kms left to where we stayed at yurt style hotel. One of the guys phone went dead so he ended up stopping to get it charged as it was getting dark. All the others were already at the yurt so I went back to look for him but luckily he finally made it but I reminded everyone not to take such long time getting to destinations. The yurts were pretty nice like a hotel and each had bathroom with showers and toilets. Unfortunately they didn’t have heaters in them but there was plenty of warm blankets. We had a nice hotpot kind of style dinner with plenty of meat and veggies that was nice. Great views from the rooftop of the restaurant.
8/4
The next day we headed to Tanke town where the amazing views of the 9 river bends is or also called first bend of the yellow river. We stayed in a hotel off the main road in the middle of a village that was nice and quiet. We then headed over in the van a few kms down the road to pay the admission to get into the park to get some views of the 9 river bends. It began to pour as we drove there, but luckily it stopped as we parked so we could climb up the stairs or hike up to get some great views. We then came back into town and ate at a Tibetan place near our hotel which was good.
8/5
They left in the morning to head east to pass by the beautiful Ruoergai meadows. Just after leaving town there is a decent climb for a few kms so most of them didn’t get too far before wanting a ride besides the Columbian girl Nata who got about 35 kms down the road. We all hopped in the van and went up the road to Zoige where we stopped at a Muslim restaurant for some good noodles. We then continued another 80 kms in the van to Langmusi town. We found a nice hotel and then headed downtown to get some drinks and a nice dinner. The surrounding area is amazing but the town, like most in China is a little busy with traffic congestion so it can be noisy with beeping etc.
8/6
In the morning people were free to do whatever. There are 2 monasteries and some nice hikes and views around to check out. You can also see a Tibetan sky burial on some days of the week in the early morning. Half the town is in Gansu province and the other half is in Sichuan province. We had lunch on our own and after lunch we headed back down past Zoige.
We got to the area to start biking a little later then usual and they didn’t have a ton of time to do the downhill to Songpan before it got dark. We got into Songpan and after getting our hotel had dinner next door. We then walked down to the ancient part of town which is pretty nice in the evening. We stopped in a bar with Tibetan singer that was a nice way to end our trip.
8/7
We got up in the morning and headed back around 930. There was one road that was blocked along the way so we needed a detour which took us a little out of the way but not too bad. We got back around 5 pm or so. A great trip and everyone enjoyed. I had some problems with my rear rack to hold the three bikes and having the other 3 bikes in the van is too full so I look forward to getting the roof rack soon. We also got lucky since it only rained a couple times but we weren’t biking. Earlier in the summer there was super heavy rains so I thought it might be a problem but we got lucky for sure. This and the other west Sichuan trip is probably the best.
