Tibet is not only a barren country it is also a country for trekkers. If some places are quite well known, still others remain to be discovered. One of those is the Kharta area in southern Tibet, a beautiful, unspoiled and sparsely inhabited region.
Bochi-Bochi Trek is very happy to offer you the opportunity to rediscover the Kharta area while it is still pristine. The trek from Kharta to Kangsung, to the east of Mt. Everest, goes through the Valley of Lakes and Sakye Thang. It not only allows you to discover one of the most beautiful treks in Tibet but also to perform a pilgrimage.
One member of an Everest reconnaissance team described this area as "one of the most beautiful valleys in the world". For Buddhists this valley is known as a beyul, or "hidden land", one of the areas said to have been hidden by Padmasmbhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism (8th century), in order to offer a refuge to people in times of danger. Many features in the landscape identify the region as a sacred place: tsechu (long-life water), a holy lake and a cave known as Guru Rinpoche Cave. The entire valley is densely forested with junipers, birches and rhododendrons; rocks covered with moss and primulas make the entire environment particularly delightful. During the monsoon season, this lovely plateau is ablaze with a thick carpet of yellow wild flowers against a backdrop of snow-capped peaks. At that time of year, the lower valley around Sakye Thang reminds one of a Nepalese landscape.
We go from Kathmandu to Lhasa by direct flight (or else drive in via Kodari and visit Lhasa at the end of the trek). Some days will be spent in Lhasa visiting the main sacred places (Potala, Jokhang and the three great monasteries: Drepung, Sera and Ganden). On the way to Kharta, we stop at major towns (Shigatse, Gyantse) and the main monasteries. From Kharta we start the trek, proceeding from the Valley of Lakes to Sakye Thang, and then to Kangsung Base Camp on the eastern slope of Mt. Everest. From Kangshung we drive on to Rongphug, the northern base camp of Everest. There we visit the monastery founded in 1929 by Ngawang Tenzin Norbu. Finally we head back to Nepal via the Nepal-Tibet Friendship Bridge at Kodari (or else drive to Lhasa via the towns of Shigatse and Gyantse and fly back to Kathmandu). The trekking staff will be experienced Sherpa guides and cooks from Nepal.
