... day without a base, but more importantly I would not enjoy the spectacular road across the Tian Shan mountains. The only choice was hitchhiking for the 250 km long stretch.
Before anything, I visited ...
... mountains to India. Sadly, practically nothing remains of the old town, too.
With my two travel companions we got an excellent hotel room at the same conditions as last night, i.e. three people on two ...
... at the lake. The journey crossed a wonderful valley with impressive mountains. It was their bare rock as much as the vivid red colours that were extraordinary. For a long time the bottom of the valley ...
... Zhangye to Jiayuguan this morning, I could see the Qilian and the Beishan mountains on either side of the plain. Vast as it was, it did not look like a corridor at all. The flat plain bristled with electric ...
... to the necessity of being cased once again in the Chinese tourist machine, only mitigated by a faint hope of doing some spontaneous open air activity in the nearby Qilian mountains.
I took the bus to ...
... the weather was sunny, therefore perfect for a visit to the Danxia mountains. Before alighting from the bus I met two tourists who I took for Chinese, but were in fact from Korea. We got a hotel room together ...
... mountains. On the other hand, the vast Communist era railway station was described as “tiny”, whereas the “huge” Kazanlâk market consisted of a few stalls along one dreary street – and it was supposed ...
The wind has swept the sky to a state of absolute clearness and from the hilltop I can admire an enchanting view of the town of Plovdiv that stretches deep as far as the horizon. Snow-capped mountains ...
... from the telly, but the quietness is otherwise enveloping, as is the darkness.
Lalibela lies among remote mountains a long way off from the major roads that link the main towns. The drive from Mekele ...
... mountains that are impressive not much for their shape, but the dark stone they are made of. Some have distinctly conical shapes. At Enticcio, where a mosque minaret sticks out of the second row of houses, ...
Masafent turns up very punctually just after 7 am. It’s the last trekking day, and he’s probably eager to leave as soon as possible. We set off after breakfast, a little before 8, although the muleteer ...
There is a slender slice of rock jutting out into the openness of the valley which makes an impressive vantage point. From the bench placed at its end flouting all health and safety rules, I watched the ...
... rock faces that fall into an unfathomable darkness of lower forests and hills. The moon is illuminating yellow tufts of grass; the rest is dim and hardly distinguishable, apart from the imposing mountains ...
... watching the cabins come and go from a most panoramic terrace overlooking the endless succession of valleys and rugged mountains. The colours are a telltale sign of the arid season and a haze shrouds the ...
My last stop in the Sichuan mountains is going to be Siguniang Shan. The four peaks, referred to as the “fours girls”, are not mentioned in my guide book, but I heard about them from other sources. I am ...
... in the aisle. The ride is a long one, starting with a last farewell view to the beautiful valley and its gorgeous mountains from a high ridge.
A couple of hours later, we halt at a spot that is completely ...
... which a wonderful lake of supernatural beauty studded into a limitless expanse of absolutely bare mountains. I gaped in amazement, but it was so unearthly and desolate that it projected me into a spiral ...
... it clears up, the rocky mountains behind Ganzi appear in the distance, superb with a sprinkle of snow. The Zuodashan is among all especially majestic with its imposing walls of rosy and grey rock. I have ...
... going back to Ganzi.
The morning sun radiates over the mountains and the monastery is awash in bright light. The monks are attending to their morning duties, buying things from the only shop and getting ...
... up to the high slopes. It’s a wonderful place, all surrounded by woods and high mountains.
Until yesterday the monastery was full of visitors who came for a festival, but luckily only the monks are left ...