Ganzi here means Ganzi Xian, the county under Garze Prefecture. The county shares the same name of the prefecture but its not the same place. Garze is a larger place that covers Ganzi. Ganzi is far and its beauty is usually not mentioned a lot in many travel books or online guide. In Ganzi there is mountain range called Gangga . In Ganzi there is also a holy mountain called Kawalori, one of the least explore big mountains in Sichuan. From Ganzi on, one can go further to visit Sertar Larung Gar Buddhist School, or westwards to Derge to Chola Mountains, or south to Yarchen Gar the biggest Nunnery in Tibet. Around Ganzi there are great places to explore.
Ganzi Landscape
The city of Ganzi is a county level town. It has an elevation of 3400m above sea level. From Chengdu it is 650km that takes around 12-15 hours to drive. Ganzi is often an underrated place to travel to due to the many famous places around Ganzi including Yading, Larung Gar and Yarchen Gar. the mountains in Ganzi are not as high or prominent as that of Chola or Yading but because its far so not many has explored this place and its beauty is still hidden and unseen, unknown to the world. From 2020 there is a new airport built that has one direct flight from Chengdu everyday for about 1 hour. The ariport is called Gesar Airport.
Travel Season: April - November;
Recommended length of visiting: 2-10 days;
Ganzi Monastery (also known as Kandze or Garzê Monastery) is a significant Tibetan Buddhist monastery located in Ganzi County, Sichuan Province, China. It sits on a hilltop north of Garzê Town, offering a view of the town below the mountains of Kawalori and Gangga.
Gangga Range is located in Shalulishan Range in Hengduanshan in northwest of Sichuan Province on Tibetan Plateau. It is in the northern part of Shalulishan Range and southeast to the Chola Mountain Range. It is home to dozens of 5000+ meters unclimbed mountains.
Yarchen Gar is the biggest Tibetan non (Tibetan female Buddhists) shrine in China. Yarchen Gar is 800km west to Chengdu and 120km southwest to Ganzi Xian. It is home to over 20,000 nuns regularly. Yarchen Gar was built in 1985 and functioned as a Buddhist school.
This part of Sichuan is not of any famous status or of any big names. It is one of the places that fit “not known, but beautiful”. Thanks to the mountains around Ganzi that the good hiking is possible.
View below the best-selected tour packages of Ganzi and its nearby places. Included are the classic circuit tour from to Derge and in-depth tour in Ganzi and Derge, the hiking tour of Kham. Find your deals!
