Mystic Gongga

It all started with a photo from my Chinese photographer friend Wayne. He captured a beautiful frame of Gongga Mountain located in Sichuan Province of China. Locally called Minya Konka, it is the highest mountain of Sichuan Province and is also known as “The King of Sichuan Mountains”. Situated in the Daxue Shan mountain range, between Dadu River and Yalong River, part of the Hengduan mountainous region, Mount Gongga (7000 m or 23,000 ft) is the easternmost peak in the world and the third highest peak outside the Himalaya/Karakoram, after Tirich Mir and Kongur Tagh

The Gongga township surrounding the Gongga Mountains have some dramatic landscapes. My initial plan was to visit in month of June during Dragon Boat Festival but due to the pandemic situation, it had to be cancelled and rescheduled around the National holidays from September 26 to Oct 6 2020. I was joined with my AnotherMile team and another photographer friend. There was an extensive planning involved for the trip as most of the places we wanted to visit were quite remote and we needed local driver who had good knowledge about the whole region and could guide us well. Accordingly, we contacted a few drivers through our friends and finally settled with one, after much discussions and negotiations. However, we realized later that it was a mistake to hire a local guy as a driver. Although the initial budget offered by the local drivers will be less than any reputed travel agents, there will be lots of hidden charges that may eventually add up to be more expensive. Also, since language is a barrier and the locals do not speak any English, there is always a gap in communication which could make things more challenging. There is not much information available online about these remote areas, hence, it is advisable to go with reputed tour companies of China for a better and comfortable experience. Our Plan was as follows

September 26th – Reach Chengdu by flight from Shenzhen and drive to Xindu Qiao

September 27th – Go around Xindu Qiao and then visit Black Stone city for sunset. After that, drive to Zimeiyakou and stay overnight at Shangmuju Village.

September 28th – Morning visit Zimeiyakou and camp there for the sunset and next morning sunrise.

September 29th – Travel to Yulong Village, take a temporary room to freshen up and then trek to Lengga Cuo. Lengga Cuo was the most important location of this tour. It coffers beautiful views of snowcapped peaks of Gongga and its reflection on a serene lake. We had two days in our itinerary there, to accommodate for a bad weather day, just in case.

Oct 1 – Travel to Lisuohai. Camp there are at night for sunset and sunrise.

Oct 2 - Travel to Moon and Lotus Lake. Camp there at night.

Oct 3 – Travel to Cuoka Hu and stay overnight at hotel.

Oct 4 – Camp at Cuoka Hu and view the sunset and sunrise.

Oct 5 – Start for Chengdu from Couka Hu. Stay overnight at Chengdu.

Oct 6 – Back to Shenzhen.

We planned the itinerary keeping in mind the National Holiday in China from Oct 1 to Oct 8 which normally draws a lot of tourists across the country. Our plan was to to visit the Gongga Mountain region early to avoid unwanted holiday rush.

Though uncertainty of Covid 19 was looming, finally it seemed it was possible to travel as per plan. So, equipped with our Covid 19 report, Go Pro, DJI drones and Nikon DSLRs we were ready to conquer the mighty Gongga mountains and get lost in its mesmerizing beauty. Finally, Sept 26, 2020 arrived. We boarded an early morning flight to Chengdu and reached mid-morning.

Landing at Chengdu International Airport

Our driver came to the airport to receive us. From the airport, we first headed to a warehouse to rent camping essentials including cooking utensils, folding chairs and gas burner. We also stocked up on some portable oxygen cylinders and medicines for high altitude sickness.

Safety is always important. If you are a beginner for trips that include high altitude travels and camping, it is important to travel well-equipped with all necessary items. Your travel bag must include layered clothing for fluctuating temperatures in the high mountains, high altitude sickness medicines, sufficient dry food or pre-cooked meal packets, energy bars, ready-mix for tea, coffee, hot chocolate as per your choice, disposables, portable oxygen cylinder , SPO2 measuring equipment, torch, gloves, trekking sticks, water-purifying tablets etc. It is important to keep in mind that whatever your passion may be, photography, trekking or adventure, health and personal safety is most important. Finally, always do the travel insurance for such trips.

So, after stocking on all the camping essentials, we relished a sumptuous lunch comprising of traditional Chengdu spicy food before starting off for our much-awaited adventure.

Sept 27th, 2020

Things do not always go as planned and we received our first bad news the very next morning. Our driver told us that all roads to Gongga mountains was in very poor conditions and closed for repairing for the up-coming holidays. That meant we could not travel to Gongga till October 1st and hence our entire itinerary had to be reversed. So, we made a quick decision and decided to go to Cuoka Hu first. Our first lesson, always have a flexible plan for such trips.

Since, we were in Xindu Qiao, we decided to explore the adjoining areas first. Early morning, we went up a nearby hill to have the entire view of the of Xinduqiao township. Although there was fog, it offered us some snaps of the township and ariel shots with my Mavic Air. Autumn is the most beautiful and colourful time to visit Xinduqiao. Although the fall colours are at their peak in end-October, we did find some hints of colours. We stayed in the Tianshin hotel near the Xindu Bridge.

The weather became cooler as we went up the mountains, but the sky was overcast. The scenic beauty of Mount Emei didn’t disappoint us aSince the distance from Xinu Qiao to Couka Hu was around 230 Kms, we decided to visit Black Rock city later and started for Couka Hu by noon expecting to reach by evening. However, there was a huge traffic congestion on the way and our said it was impossible to tell when the road will be clear. So, he decided to a different route through the villages. Although the road conditions were not very good it offered us some views of remote and beautiful Tibetan villages which we never dreamt of seeing. We reached Cuoka Hu at night and stayed in a small hotel at the foothills of the lake.

Sept 28th, 2020

We were very excited the next morning. Finally, our tour beginning on a proper note. At around 5:30 am we started for Cuoka Hu. It was pitch dark and suspense of winding mountain roads was thrilling.

Cuoka Hu is a beautiful lake located at around 4200 m altitude, surrounded by Buddhist Monastery. At the background lies the massive ranges of Gongga. The place was so remote, and serene that I got lost in its beauty and forgot about taking pictures. After sometime, I regained my senses and took several wide angle and telephoto range shots along with drone shots. Here are some of the compositions I took that morning.

Beautiful Buddhist Monastery around Cuoka Hu

The Buddhist Monastery under floating clouds

We set our camp in the afternoon. You need to pay 50 RMB per person as an entry fee and 100 RMB per tent. We were ready with our cameras for sunset and next day sunrise along with the night sky in its full glory. It was not a clear sky though, but I was happy with what I got.

Sept 29th, 2020

Today we went back to Xindu Qiao. It was again a long drive and on the way, we crossed a beautiful valley. It was vast rugged and sometime covered with velvety green trees.

We directly went to the Black Rock City directly. I have no idea why they call it a city because it was an out-of -world place and just a small and rugged hill comprising of black rocks of varying sizes. The top of the hill, which is a very short hike from the base car-parking, offers a panoramic view of the snowcapped peaks of the Gongga mountains. The sun sets on the opposite side and snowy peaks of the Gongga takes on beautiful colours during that time creating a mesmerizing beauty. Light pinkish cloud with glowing peaks was really a beauty to remember lifetime.

Sept 30th, 2020

Today, we left for the moon lake and lotus lake. We arrived at the Moon Lake in the afternoon which is at a lower height. The sun was shining brightly and there was absolutely no wind. The still water of Moon lake was reflecting vast Gongga range. There were lots of horses around and the horses crossing the lake created a beautiful content for my drone video. Locals said it was better to visit lotus lake before the sunset. So, although we planned to camp at Moon lake, we went up to Lotus lake first which was situated at an altitude of almost 1000 m higher than the Moon lake. Reaching the Lotus lake itself was quite challenging though. The first part of the journey has to be in a motor cycle which will take you to a certain height. Then you need to trek for 40 minutes. The motor cycle ride itself took 30 to 40 mins. There was no defined road and that just added to the thrill of the ride. Each motor cycle took 130 RMB.

Lotus lake was undoubtedly the most amazing place I have ever visited. The reflection of the Gongga mountains on the absolutely still water of the crystal-clear lake was breathtaking. The lake is also the source of a major river of that region.

On our way back to the Moon lake, we crossed a hot-spring. The temptation of soaking our sore bodies in the hot water was quite irresistible but since we had to reach Moon lake and set up our camp, we satisfied ourselves with only hot momos. After food we started the torturous motor-cycle ride back to the Moon lake. The camp itself was an out-of -world experience and we spent the next morning around Moon lake clicking photos and taking some drone shots.

Oct 1 2020

This was the day we were moving in closest to the mighty Gongga mountains. The views of the snowy peaks from the different places in the past three days were enough to make our adrenalin flow and we could not wait any longer. We were permitted to enter the Gongga township with our Covid 19 test reports. Our driver-cum-guide told us to stay at Shangmuju village and use it as the base for the next few days for our trips to Zimeiyakou, Lengga Cuo and Lisuohai for which we would need horses and motorbikes. At that point, it sounded like a very sensible advice, although we found out later that he was just trying to spend the nights at the hotel and avoid the camps. We ended up paying extra money for the motorbike rides, although the cars were allowed to go up to most of the places. A proper registered guide from a travel company would provide much better service and suggestions, and hence it is advisable not to go with the local people.

Anyways we decided to go to Ziemeiyakou that day. For Ziemeiyakou the roads were in pretty bad shape. We took motor cycles to go to the top. Words will fall short to describe the beauty at the top. It was a rough terrain and in front it lies massive snow-capped mountains of Gongga. The fogs were playing hide and seek with the mountains creating a white blanket all around. The natural light, fog and bright sun created a mesmerising beauty and offered many breathtaking compositions.

During the sunset, the golden light engulfed the peaks giving a golden glow. It is important to be very fast with your shooting as the golden moment lasts for a very short duration. It became dark and completely engulfed in dense fog very quickly. It is also important to be very organized with your gadgets as you need to pack-up quickly. I got some good DSLR shots and nice time-lapse videos there.

Oct 2 2020

Today was another exciting day. We were going for Lengga Cuo. To reach Lengga Cuo you need to go to base by car and then either take horses or trek to go up the mountains. Since we had lots of equipment including the camping kit, we decided to take a horse to carry our luggage to the top. However, the horse owner also offered horses for us to ride which made it easier for us.

Lengga Cuo is another out of world beauty. Within the rugged mountain lies the pristine lake where reflections of Gongga can be seen. We quickly found a place near the lake for setting up the camp. Intially, I took some drone shots followed by landscapes during the golden light of setting sun.

For photographers, even a gentle breeze can create small ripples on the water surface that will disturb the reflection of the mountains and this happened with me. In that case, you need to move closer to the mountains and focus on the landscapes offered by the glowing golden peaks and the fog during the sunset. If you are lucky, you can get a clear sky to capture the starry night but for me the clouds covered the sky. However, the next morning we got a glorious sunrise. After a satisfying photo session with the mountains and the rising sun, we decided to come down to the base. It is important to trek down using the horses only for the luggage. It also offers you a view of the beautiful valley.

Perfect place for sunset shots if lake water ripples…

Oct 3 , 4. 5 2020

We came back to our hotel at Shangmuju village. The extensive trekking and camping for the last few days had already had its effect on our bodies which were not accustomed to such experiences. After a discussion with local people we realized that Lisuohai did not have much to offer after what we had seen in Lengga Cuo. So, we decided to take rest that day and return to Chengdu the day after. We preponed our flight by a day and returned to Shenzhen on Oct 5.

It was a wonderful trip with lots of uncertainties and challenges but the untouched beauty of the places we visited and overall experience of overnight camps made it all worthwhile. Gongga mountains is a must visit place not only for photographers but for all nature-lovers and adventure-seekers.

Please visit our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l1k-Gqf7ps to enjoy a virtual trip to the Gongga mountains.