Tibet & China biking holiday
| country: | China, Tibet |
| trip type: | Adventurous mountain biking holidays |
| departures: | 2010: 11 Sep, 17 Sep |
| price: | From NZ $4190 (16 days) excluding flights. Includes transport, all meals (excluding 2 lunches & 2 dinners), group entrance fees, group leaders and bilingual local guide, accommodation, and activities per detailed itinerary (on request). Bike hire available |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |

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introduction to Tibet & China biking holiday
A 16 day cultural and scenic journey by bike in South West China and the Tibetan Plateau.
Our 16 day bike trip is a loop, starting and finishing in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province and one of the major cultural centres of China. At 500m elevation Chengdu is located in the Sichuan basin, sometimes referred to as the “Heavenly Kingdom”, surrounded by soaring mountains to the northwest and the Sichuan Basin to the east.
We begin our biking in the lowland rice fields and farmlands of Sichuan Basin and gently climb toward Tibetan Plateau. The mountainous area is lined with snow covered peaks, stunning river valleys and later widens out into the open Tibetan grasslands.
We visit a panda breeding sanctuary and Buddhist monasteries, meet with Tibetan nomadic yak herders, explore small Tibetan towns and ancient Chinese villages, dine in local restaurants and take the challenge of biking in an area seldom visited by western travelers. We bike on mostly paved roads where at times bikes and small tractors out-number cars and climb over four high mountain passes with the highest being 4298m.
Stunning scenery, colourful culture, world re-known cuisine and history all combine to create one of the most diverse, interesting and memorable biking destinations on the planet.
Our 16 day bike trip is a loop, starting and finishing in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province and one of the major cultural centres of China. At 500m elevation Chengdu is located in the Sichuan basin, sometimes referred to as the “Heavenly Kingdom”, surrounded by soaring mountains to the northwest and the Sichuan Basin to the east.
We begin our biking in the lowland rice fields and farmlands of Sichuan Basin and gently climb toward Tibetan Plateau. The mountainous area is lined with snow covered peaks, stunning river valleys and later widens out into the open Tibetan grasslands.
We visit a panda breeding sanctuary and Buddhist monasteries, meet with Tibetan nomadic yak herders, explore small Tibetan towns and ancient Chinese villages, dine in local restaurants and take the challenge of biking in an area seldom visited by western travelers. We bike on mostly paved roads where at times bikes and small tractors out-number cars and climb over four high mountain passes with the highest being 4298m.
Stunning scenery, colourful culture, world re-known cuisine and history all combine to create one of the most diverse, interesting and memorable biking destinations on the planet.
trip profile
- We travel in a loop through Sichuan Province and Tibetan Plateau – Chengdu to Chengdu.
- 13 days biking - 80% is on paved roads and 20% on unpaved and dirt roads.
- From 10km to 120km per day. Total distance up to 800km.
- Maximum altitude 4298m above sea-level.
- 100% vehicle supported. Our trusty support vehicle carries all your luggage, helps you up those hills (if you like) and always has lunch, snacks and water at hand.
- Group size minimum 6, maximum 12 plus Escape leaders and local crew.
- Accommodation is twin share in local hotels and guest houses. (Single supplement is also available).
- Food includes 3 meals per day from dinner on Day-1 to breakfast Day-16. This excludes 2 lunches and 2 evening meals which are at your own expense to give you more opportunity to explore and experience local cuisine.
- Trip leader and a local bilingual guide/interpreter.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive in Chengdu, free day |
| Day 2: | Chengdu City Day. Get into the vibe of China with a city tour of Chengdu by bike. Giant Panda Breeding Research Centre. |
| Day 3: | 63km ride through local grain growing area. |
| Day 4: | 75km ride through farmland and steamy bamboo forest and over our first pass at 1250m. |
| Day 5: | Tibetan area. We enter the Tibetan area and begin our climbing. Only 17kms biking. |
| Day 6: | Our first major Mountain pass at 4200m rewarded with a 36km sweeping downhill. Approx 70kms biking. |
| Day 7: | We follow a river valley downstream through farmland and orchards. Approx 120kms biking. |
| Day 8: | Free day / local walks. |
| Day 9: | A short morning climb and then relax and enjoy the village and spend the night in a Tibetan stone house. |
| Day 10: | Gentle valley climb. Approx 49kms biking. |
| Day 11: | Biking on up the river valley we cross over a 3900m pass and drop down into the wide open Tibetan Grasslands. Approx 55kms biking. |
| Day 12: | Tibetan Plateau. We bike across the rolling grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau. Approx 30kms biking. |
| Day 13: | Our most challenging day and highest pass through the rolling grasslands dotted with Nomad tents and grazing yaks. In the afternoon a 37km downhill run. Approx 92kms biking. |
| Day 14: | Leaving the Tibetan area, a morning ride takes us back down one of the river valleys that feed the Yangtze River. Approx 52kms biking. |
| Day 15: | Our last ride of the trip brings us back down to the rolling farmland of the Sichuan Basin. Afternoon transfer to Chengdu. Approx 45kms biking. |
| Day 16: | Fly out. |
how this holiday makes a difference
It is important to us that when we travel to different parts of our amazing planet that our exchange is always a mutual one and that we make a positive contribution to people and places that we visit along the way. These days ‘responsible travel' and ‘sustainability' are hot topics. Responsible travel is not about donating large sums of money to charity (at least not without thoroughly researching the long-term intentions or effects of the charity). We believe responsible travel is about taking time to think about how our actions can benefit or how they impact the people, communities, economies, environments and eco-systems we visit, and then use this to make a difference (or sometimes more appropriately - how we can NOT make a difference). We are constantly considering our actions and how we and the people who travel with us can improve our impact on the places we visit. Here are just some of the ways that we ‘make a difference’:
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Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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It is important to us that when we travel to different parts of our amazing planet that our exchange is always a mutual one and that we make a positive contribution to people and places that we visit along the way.