Dêqên

Home to Kawagebo, the foremost of Tibet's eight sacred mountains. Watch the Golden Sunlit Peak from Feilai Temple and Wunongding, hike to the Yubeng Sacred Waterfall and Ice Lake, visit Mingyong Glacier, and pass the Jinsha River Bend and Baima Snow Mountain along the way.

Deqin County lies in the northwest corner of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan, wedged between the Jinsha and Lancang (Mekong) rivers and bordering Markam in Tibet and Derong in Sichuan. The county seat sits at about 3,400 m. Across the Lancang gorge to the west of town rises Meili Snow Mountain, whose main peak, Kawagebo (6,740 m), is the foremost of Tibet's eight sacred mountains and has never been summited. The area falls into three main parts: first, the Feilai Temple–Wunongding area about 10 km south of town, where you can stay at a viewpoint hotel and watch the Golden Sunlit Peak; second, Yubeng Village, Mingyong Glacier, Xidang Hot Springs and Ninong Grand Canyon on the west bank of the Lancang, the region for hiking and getting close to the glaciers; third, the G214 highway from Shangri-La into Deqin, which passes the Jinsha River Bend (Moon Bend), Dongzhulin Monastery near Benzilan and the 4,292 m Baima Snow Mountain Pass. To the south, on the banks of the Lancang, stands the century-old Cizhong Church. Seasons: October to April has the most clear days and the best odds of seeing the Golden Sunlit Peak; rhododendrons bloom in May–June; July–August is the rainy season, with heavy cloud and a high risk of landslides on the Yubeng trail. Getting there: Shangri-La to Deqin is about 180 km, roughly 4–5 hours by car or shuttle bus; you can also fly to Diqing Shangri-La Airport and continue by road. Suggested time: 1–2 nights at Feilai Temple for sunrise, 3–4 days for the Yubeng hike, and 5–6 days in total including sights along the way. Notes: the county seat and the pass are at high altitude, so avoid strenuous activity on arrival; Yubeng and Mingyong are sacred sites for Tibetans, so keep your voice down, do not climb on mani stone piles, and walk the kora clockwise; check for landslide updates when traveling in the rainy season; climbing Kawagebo is prohibited.

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