Qinghai–Tibet Highway (G109)

National Highway 109 from Xining via Golmud, Kunlun Pass, Hoh Xil and Tanggula Pass to Lhasa, the main year-round route into Tibet with the gentlest gradients.

The Qinghai–Tibet Highway refers to the Xining-to-Lhasa section of National Highway 109, about 1,940 kilometers long. It was completed in 1954 and runs roughly parallel to the Qinghai–Tibet Railway. Of all the routes into Tibet, it has the gentlest gradients and the best supply network. From Xining, the road crosses Riyue Shan, follows the southern shore of Qinghai Lake, passes Chaka and Dulan, and reaches Golmud. From there, the true plateau section begins. The road passes Nachitai and Xidatan, crosses Kunlun Pass (4,767 m) and runs through the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve. It continues via Buddong Spring, the Sonam Dargye Protection Station, the Chumar River, Wudaoliang and Fenghuo Shan to Tuotuo River. It then crosses Tanggula Pass (about 5,231 m, the highest point on the route) and enters Amdo and Nagqu in Tibet. Finally, it passes Damxung and Yangbajing to Lhasa.

The highlights are the landscape and wildlife: the snow peaks of the Kunlun Mountains, the source of the Yangtze at Tuotuo River, and Tibetan antelope and wild asses on the Hoh Xil wasteland, which are often seen from the road in summer. A detour from Damxung leads to Namtso Lake.

Allow 5–7 days. For hundreds of kilometers beyond Golmud, the road is above 4,500 meters. Wudaoliang and Tuotuo River have basic accommodation and altitude sickness is common, so it is best to rest in Golmud and then drive straight through to Amdo or Nagqu. The permafrost road surface is very uneven and carries heavy traffic, so overtake carefully. Stopping off the road into the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve is forbidden, as is feeding wild animals.

Qinghai–Tibet Highway (G109)

Along the route