Amdo is home to over 1.5 million Tibetans. With rolling grasslands, roaming nomads, and very influential monasteries, Amdo Tibet lies at the heart of Tibet’s art and scholarship scene.
Amdo Tibet is located in the northeast corner of the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai, northern Sichuan and southwest Gansu provinces. Amdo is home to over 1.5 million Tibetans. Many families in Amdo are farmers who take advantage of the fertile soil in the area. Western Amdo is mostly nomadic with nomads herding yaks and sheep over large, mostly barren areas of land. With many prominent monasteries and sacred mountains this is one of the three traditional provinces of Tibet, the other two being Ü-Tsang (Lhasa) and Kham. Amdo Tibet in Qinghai Province is the source of the Yellow River.
Amdo is a traditionally nomadic part of Tibet with huge, high altitude grasslands. To see a few of the more interesting monasteries in the north of of Amdo check out these links and tours:
Luxury Romantic Getaway: Exploring Gansu
Gansu Province holds many mysteries of Buddhism and incredible untouched mountain scenery. Get away from it all with your loved one and get out of the noise and crowds as you settle down and enjoy the history of the [...]
Trekking in Gansu: Lanzhou-Labrang-Langmusi-Zagana
Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province is often known as the beginning of the Silk Road. But Gansu is so much more than camels and desert trading towns. This is the best of trekking and hiking in Gansu and [...]
June 24-28, 2020
An Introduction to Camping and Hiking
This trip has it all. We pack in a huge amount of diversity in just 5 days. Camping under the stars on top of a 3,500 meter sandstone cliff. Hiking through a miniature Grand Canyon to the top of [...]
February 16-26
Join us for Tibet's most festive and celebrated festival, Tibetan New Year! Don't miss this once in a lifetime chance to see dances, monks, and unique rituals up close. TIBETAN NEW YEAR AND GREAT PRAYER FESTIVAL TOUR. February 16-26, 2024 10 nights/ 11 days tour
Tibetan New Year: The Great Monlam Prayer Festival
Join us for Tibet's most festive and celebrated festival, Tibetan New Year!
Don't miss this once in a lifetime chance to see dances, monks, and unique rituals up close.
TIBETAN NEW YEAR AND GREAT PRAYER FESTIVAL TOUR.
February 16 - 26, 2024
10 [...]
All year round
The Silk Road, Zhangye to Dunhuang
For centuries Gansu was a vital trade corridor between China and Central Asia. From Lanzhou a 1200-kilometer section of the Silk Road stretches through barren desert in the shadow of the Qilian Mountains to modern day Xinjiang [...]
Spring, Summer, Fall
Biking Around Qinghai Lake
If you are looking for an epic adventure on the roof of the world in Tibet, you have found it in this 6 night / 7 day adventure where we cycle 360km around Qinghai Lake! Cycle for 4.5 days [...]
Spring, Summer, Fall
Xining to Chengdu Overland Tour
In this tour you will drive 1200 km overland through some of the most classic scenes of Amdo Tibet as you journey from the Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province, to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. This tour [...]
Spring, Summer, Fall
The Land of Yaks
One of our Tibetan guides has famously said, "If we have the yak, we have enough" This statement represents the incredible importance of the yak in Tibetan culture, using this animal to produce everything from clothing to fuel to [...]
Anytime of year
Half Day Cooking Class
Come learn to make Tibetan dumplings with us from real Tibetan nomads! This is a recipe used across Tibet, Bhutan, India, and Nepal and you will enjoy not just making the food but eating the fruits of your labor!
Any time of the year
Qinghai Lake Adventure
Qinghai Lake for the last several years has offered only very touristy sites that are full of Chinese tour buses. The lake itself is 120km long and offers a gorgeous view across huge spans of bright, turquoise waves. However, [...]
Available all year
Wild Rebkong
If you are looking to get out of the city and sleep in the peace and quiet of the Tibetan countryside - this is the tour for you. Venture to Qinghai's largest monastery, Rebkong Longwu monastery and then sleep [...]
June 9-15, 2019
Victoria Shanghai Academy Hong Kong with the Hutong
Strap on your boots and and get ready for adventure!
Our week-long trip will begin and finish in Gansu’s provincial capital Lanzhou. A cross between wilderness and cultural exploration, our journey will take us to secluded temples, remote gorge and [...]
Available all year
Qinghai Lake and Kanbula National Park
Qinghai Province has only 5.5 million people yet it's size, at 722, 300 square kilometers, is bigger than Myanmar, France, or Afghanistan as individual nations. There is a lot of room here and a lot of open space for [...]
Anytime of year
Qinghai Lake and Serdzong Monastery
Qinghai Lake or 青海湖 , as the largest salt lake in China and with an altitude of 3,200 meters above sea level, and one of the 4 holiest lakes in Tibet is the definitive icon of Qinghai Province. The [...]
Available from May to October
Glamping in the Plateau
Traveling to rugged areas does not have to mean shivering in the cold next to a frozen yak or sleeping in dirty 2 star hotels. Now you can travel in luxury while experiencing the depth of one of the [...]
Anytime of year
Two Unique Monasteries
Only have one day to explore Xining? Here is a great way to see 2 amazing Buddhist monasteries that are both very close to the capital of Qinghai Province. These monasteries hold so many brilliant colors and so [...]
Open dates
Gansu’s Silk Road Hexi Corridor + Amdo Tibet
For centuries Gansu was a vital trade corridor between China and Central Asia. From Lanzhou a 1200-kilometer section of the Silk Road stretches through barren desert in the shadow of the Qilian Mountains to modern day [...]
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Team Building Weekend at Kanbula National Park
Don't just settle for going out to Karaoke or another fancy dinner at hot pot with your boss. Change your entire work environment for the better with a fun, satisfying, transformative experience. Really bond with your team and start [...]
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Yuzhu Feng Expedition
Have you ever read Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" and thought, "Man I would love to climb Everest some day!" And then you realized that you have no real high altitude experience and you certainly don't have [...]
August 9-18 / September 13-20 / October 11-20 / November 1-10
The Headwaters of the Yellow River
Adventure awaits as we explore the glacier of one of Tibet’s holiest mountains, Amnye Machen, and the headwaters of the Yellow River, China’s second longest river.
Team building Weekend Event
You can’t grow if you are always sitting in your safe, familiar comfort zone. Push you and your team beyond the norm and reach greater heights as you ascend a 3,500 meter mountain pass and discover what really lies [...]
Niko
Niko is a 6 day wilderness and experiential learning-based curriculum. We will explore HuZhu BeiShan National Park, one of China’s most beautiful parks filled with pristine rivers, waterfalls, verdant forests, and awesome 4,200 meter high rocky spires.
Laji Mountain one day team building
After 15 years of group facilitation experience, Ben Cubbage, is passionate about leadership development and optimizing performance through better communication and teamwork.
Sharzong Ritod Monastery Day Trip
Walk up winding stairs into a hidden monastery perched high on a cliff face to encounter a small but beautiful temple built right into the rock. All this is only about 1.5 hours drive from Xining.
YouNing Monastery Day trip
This is one of the most fantastic day trips you can make from Xining. If you have limited time and want to combine an incredible hike in craggy mountains with visiting a remote Buddhist hermitage tucked away in steep [...]
Qinghai Lake Day Trip
Visit the shining turquoise waters of China’s largest saltwater lake. This lake is so huge that it really feels more like staring across a limitless expanse of ocean than just looking at mere lake. Whether you visit in the [...]
Thangka Paintings and Yak Yoghurt
Come sample a staple of the Tibetan diet: a cup of creamy freshly made yak yoghurt. Then explore Qinghai’s largest monastery, Longwu Monastery, famous for it’s intricate Thangka paintings. With over 800 monks you’ll be sure to find something [...]
Kanbula and Labrang
Kanbula National Park is one of Qinghai’s greatest natural treasures. Seated near the banks of the Yellow River, Kanbula offers incredible free standing finger-like sandstone formations. Then travel to Labrang town to wander through Labrang monastery and be amazed [...]
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DDQ Wild! Qinghai, Western China
Destiny Discovery Quest WILD!
Camp by an alpine lake, and climb through boreal forest to discover rugged granite mountains
Best time of year: late April - mid October
This is a 6 day backpacking and camping trip that uses the wilderness as [...]
Amdo Soul
Amdo is the traditional Tibetan region found on the northeast area of the Tibetan Plateau located in modern day Qinghai, southwest Gansu and northern Sichuan provinces. Amdo is home to over 25% of the total Tibetan population of China [...]
Xunhua to Rebkong Backpacking
You don’t really understand a culture until you have walked through it. Strap on a backpack and walk for 3 nights/ 4 days across wide grasslands, alpine meadows, coniferous forests, red rock bluffs, and over a 3,500 meter saddle [...]
The Spirit of the Glacier: Trekking Amnye Machen
This is our most rugged, adventurous trip for those looking to trek to 4,800 meters to stand on top of a glacier on Qinghai’s tallest mountain, Amnye Machen. We will make a loop to and from Xining with Amnye [...]
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Sutras and Saddles
A sutra is a part of Buddhism’s canonical scriptures, many of which are regarded as records of the oral teachings of the original Gautama Buddha. Hear the lulling chant of nuns reciting sacred sutras as you explore the halls [...]
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Red Rocks and Monasteries
This trip has it all. We pack in a huge amount of diversity in just 5 days.
Hiking on top of a 3,500 meter sandstone cliff. Driving through the Grand Canyon of Kanbula National Park with an incredible view on [...]
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Prayers in the Plateau
Strap on your boots and and get ready for adventure!
Our week-long trip will begin in Qinghai’s provincial capital, Xining, and finish in Gansu’s provincial capital Lanzhou. A cross between wilderness and cultural exploration, our journey will take us to [...]
Pilgrim’s Pride
See the most venerated monasteries of Qinghai and Gansu Province. The monasteries of Rebkong and Labrang are deeply spiritual centers that are visited by 1,000’s of pilgrims who walk, ride, and prostrate sometimes over months for the blessing and [...]
Wild Golok: The tribe of the Yellow River
The Golok Tibetan people live in some of the wildest and most magnificent lands in all the Tibetan Plateau. Is this in depth overland tour we start in Chengdu and finish in Xining and see the mighty Nyenbo Yurtse [...]
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Nyenbo Yurtse
Trek past fields of Edelweiss and yaks grazing near turquoise glacial lakes and discover the dramatic shark tooth peaks of Nyenbo Yurtse. This the home to Tibetan nomads who live at the base of a mountain that hovers at [...]
Mountain Reverie
Go wild in the mountains of Tibet! This 10 day backpacking adventure gets you far away from the hustle and bustle of the city to a place of calm and refreshment. The route takes you up through nomadic herding [...]
