Derge is historically the heartland of Kham Tibet and a very remote place even for other parts of Tibet. Mt. Chola Range and the neighboring Gangga (Gonkala) Mountains provide excellent mountain views with highland lakes, hidden monasteries, quiet valleys, and stunning snow-capped mountains. Mt. Chola is also called Que’er Mountain and the whole massif is what active hikers come here for to explore for its natural beauty. We write the following information on trekking Chola Mountains (as well as Derge) based on our experience and updated knowledge and hopefully it will be helpful.
Chola mountains and gangga mountains, as well as the Dzogchen mountains are the main mountains in this part of Sichuan. Many of the peaks in this massif are above 5500m and have snow on top all year round. The highest mountains are the twin peaks of Chola, namely Rongmai Ezha and Duopu Ezha, both are at around 6100m above sea level. These 2 peaks are giant mountains and can be seen from different locations including the north, the south and the west. The many other lower peaks including the Dzogchen peaks, Gangga peaks, Kawalori mountains are all splendid and perfect places for trekking and hiking. We have been exploring the Gangga and kawalori since 2014, and then the Chola and Dzogchen mountains since 2022 and yet there are still so many un-touched places to be explored.
Dopu Valley
Chola mountains are home to some of the most amazing and secluded lakes in Sichuan. The famous ones include Xinluhai Lakes (locally known as Yilhun Latso Lakes) and Tsotong Lakes (Cuotong Ciuhu). Xinluhai is located right next to the highway G317 and a good stop to have a leisure visit or hiking up the south bank of the lake towards the mountains or even towards the glaciers. Cuotong Lakes is a place that has been recently developed by building a road up and a good detour from G317 for nature lovers. One can walk around the lakes to appreciate its full beauty. There are also less known lakes such as Danzentso lakes and Antso Lake by Dzogchen. Danzentso are of two lakes with one lower and one higher. The higher one is hard to access while the lower one is perfect to walk around while also having the spectacle of the big mountains by the south side. Antso itself is an isolated lake situated in a quiet valley with pleasant walking and hiking options and of course with excellent mountain views.
The above lakes are easily accessible by cars while many lakes are hidden and can only be accessed by foot. These include the several lakes in Dzogchen mountains and the many lakes in south and central Chola mountains.
Antso Lake
One of the main reasons to visit Derge and Chola Mountains is to see the amazing monasteries and nunneries. The notable and famous monasteries include Paloung, Katok, Dzogchen, Derge Parkhang, Dzongsar, Payul. Some of the monasteries are good to do some walking around nearby such as Palpung and Dzogchen. There are also less famous monasteries or nunneries such as Gagu Nunnery, Dozha Monastery, Menzha Monastery, Shenwo Monastery, Yurlong Lagya Monastery, etc.
Gagu Nunnery
As part of the handicrafts pearl of Kham, Derge boasts for its long history of making handicrafts amongst the more obvious tradition of heading yaks. Maisu (or Dzongsar) is located in the central south of Chola mountains with far access by road and a very quiet ambiance of living. The higher land of Chola mountains will see more rough living of nomads. Some places are still hard to be accessed by road.
Derge and Chola mountains are also home to some of the unique wildlife such as snow leopard, mountain cat, lynx, Himalayan blue sheep, Tibetan fox, beard vulture, wolf, Tibetan Blue bears, White-lipped deers, Tibetan Gazelle, etc.
Chola mountains and Derge are located in the far west of Sichuan on the Tibetan Plateau bordering TAR. It is one of the furthest places to get to in Sichuan from Chengdu by driving. It usually takes more than 2 days to get there on road covering a distance of around 900km. The nearest airport is at Ganzi Gesar airport, around 150km by 3h drive to get to. The next nearest airport is from Yushul at around 300km in one day’s drive.
To drive from Chengdu is a long way and will need to plan for at least a week’s time otherwise you’ll spend most time on the drive and not doing a lot of hiking/visiting. To fly in is the best choice if you have limited time. Both Ganzi town and Derge Town are at 3300m with a moderate high altitude that normally okay to deal with.
The best hiking season is from April to November. The green and blooming season is from June to September. The autumn fall season with colorful forests and higher chance of clear weather is October to November. Winter is cold at below -5C or -10C at higher places but with usually good visibility. If you are okay with cold conditions, winter is a good time to travel. The usual good season for hiking and trekking is from June to October with relatively warmer conditions and better access to the mountains.
Most people who are looking to travel or doing hiking trips to Derge or Chola Mountains are people who want to explore and want to stay away from the crowds and away from the usually more busy/touristy places in Sichuan. We suggest travelers to fly in instead of drive in if possible or if you are good at acclimating to save the 2-day driving time to get to near this place.
You may consider to plan different ways of hiking in Chola mountains and Derge. For example, if you have limited time, you may consider to do short walks by the beautiful places while not committing yourself to any longer walks due to limited time or due to season/physical conditions. You may also consider a lodge-based hiking tour to keep the balance of driving and hiking while not missing out anything. This way of travel can get you around quickly in car with minimum but necessary driving each day with the current good roads available. Or for even more active travelers, you may consider to multi-day trek in Chola mountains with either self-supported backpacking style or porter-assisted style. The classic trekking route of Chola takes around 5-7 days for the trekking part from north of the mountains to the central part then to the south and ends by Dzongsar. One challenge with multi-day trek is the roads are now built far into some of the valleys that the walking will sometimes be inevitably on road and sometimes may even be on paved roads thus such sections of trekking are recommended to be avoided. For people who are good at maps and planning, self-supported backpacking may be a good choice because it’s good to go even higher (where pack horses can not go in a porter-assisted trek)and to avoid the roads.
At the moment Sichuan Travel Guide offers only lodge-based treks in Chola and Derge. We don’t offer the multi-day porter-assisted trek anymore due to the modern constructions that have cut the classic trekking route into pieces.
Mt Chola Hiking used to be one of the top 10 hikings in China. As of today because it's far and some sections of the hike has been replaced by roads so anyone who is looking to do the Chola Mountain hiking is better to use an updated hiking route unless you don't mind walking on roads. Mt. Chola Hiking goes to the south of Chola Mountains to see the views few have seen before including Dopu Valley and its many mountains around, Palpung Monastery and Dzongsar Monastery, the hidden Monastery of Tibet.
Classic Hiking Plan
Newer Hiking Plan
Most places are accessible in Chola and Derge regions. There is no restrictions on foreigners or any rules saying foreigners can not travel here. The trekking places are often in the mountains and some are located in the nature reserves. Normally no one will stop you for entering any nature reserves as long as you are just traveling. There maybe seasonal restrictions on some of the valleys in Chola mountains and Derge in winter time (December to the next April) that some valleys may not allow any access for travelers due to the worry over wild fire. Climbing is not allowed unless you have a climbing permit.
The general hiking places in Chola mountains and Derge is at around between 3500m and 5000m. Acclimating is highly recommended before you start your trek in the mountains. If you arrive in from Ganzi Gesar Airport then recommend to your first night in Ganzi town or Derge town, or in Dzongsar by the village no higher than 3500m. If you arrive Yushul then you should already be acclimated. Flying in takes shorter time but recommend to take medicine for quick acclimating. You are also recommended to avoid sleeping at over 4000m for the first two nights if possible because from the mountains the evacuation to any major hospital is usually hours away.
By Dzongsar and near Xinluhai there are local nomads you can hire for porter service if you need pack horses to carry your gears and food. Many porter people who used to work for foreigner hikers are now not working in the business now. The overall number of hikers doing the classic porter-assisted trek is very small now that is not enough to support a reliable and constant running business for locals so no one takes this as a permanent job and thus making finding a pack horse difficult especially by the north of Chola where the nomads move more often in different seasons whereas in Dzongsar you’ll have higher chance to hire horses but most people don’t run this business anymore since covid. An average cost of a pack horse is estimated to be around 300yuan to 600yuan a day and it’s usually not charged as your hiking days, but double of that because horses need to go back to where it’s from and that costs money too. It will be challenging for independent trekkers to find local porter if you don’t speak the language well enough to have a contract with local horse people.
There is no rule banning camping anywhere in Chola or Derge but in different seasons the access to some valleys may be limited especially in winter time when the won’t allow trekkers to go in because camping will involve using fire in the wild, but the checking is usually poor that in most cases no one will stop you. Chola mountains have good water resources for cooking and drinking when you do camping.
There are not decent gear shops in Ganzi, Derge. When you fly in, you are recommended to fly in with everything prepared other than buying things locally except for food. There is a small shop in Ganzi that sells gas canisters but not always available. There are outdoor clothing shops, backpack shops, or any other gear shops in Ganzi town nor Derge town. You’ll need to prepare everything before you arrive Chola mountains and Derge. There are gear shops in Yushul (if you arrive from there) and many gear shops in Chengdu.
The big stopover towns in Chola mountains are Derge town(3300m) and Ganzi Town(3300m). The smaller (possible) stopover places are Manigange(3800m), Maisu(=Dzongsar, 3500m). Nights by below 3500m are recommended if you choose to fly in for safer acclimating to the high altitude. Hotels and restaurants are easy to find in Derge and Ganzi and some are good and even fancy. In Manigange and Maisu there are still hotels, lodges available but restaurants are very limited. All places you can buy simple snacks, vegetables, fruit, drinking water only that in Manigange and Maisu these are very limited.
A.Wild Animal
The only wild animal hikers should be worry about is Tibetan Blue Bears. Their number is highly underestimated and traces of blue bears are becoming more and more frequent in all seasons in Chola and closer to human settlements. You are recommended to take good care of your food and food waste while trekking. Avoid trekking alone if possible. Bring a spray if possible.
B.Local People
The local Tibetan people are in general friendly people and happy to see travelers from other places but it’s not always the case. Some hikers have unpleasant experiences while trekking in Chola mountains on hiring the pack horses, that deal should be made clear and specific when you do with local people. The village people in Chola Maisu are very friendly people. The monks and nuns you meet here are also friendly but please be aware that some nunneries may not be happy to see male travelers getting to close to their temples or meditation places.
C.Authority-related
Authority doesn’t like hikers going to Chola mountains. It is worse when you are foreigner. There are no rules banning trekking in Chola mountains but because of the authority does not want any accident (trekking being a risky activity that may result into accident) happen under their place so if you are seen by authority doing camping here you may be told to leave and give up your trekking and camping. Normal touring are fine because it does not give authority the impression of high risks. The authority include the government people (usually un-uniformed) and the police. Most police may tell you not to visit the monasteries if they know you are going to the monasteries but you may play/respond to this the way you think is the right because there are no rules saying you can not visit monasteries. Offending the authority is not a wise thing to do when you are a foreigner here.
