Perched on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, the 300-year-old Songzanlin Monastery is one of the most significant Lamaist monasteries outside Tibet. Home to approximately 600 monks, it towers over the outskirts of the frontier town of Shangri-La.<\/p>\n
Recently, a new airport has opened, making this previously remote and stunning Tibetan region \u2014 also called \u2018Shangri-La\u2019 after James Hilton\u2019s legendary mountain paradise \u2014 far more accessible.<\/p>\n
Exploring Around Shangri-La<\/strong> Explore Shangri-La\u2019s ancient Songzanlin Monastery, yak herders at Deqen, and a thrilling overland trek across the Tibetan plateau to Litang and Mount Gonga.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[67],"class_list":["post-14131","places-to-go","type-places-to-go","status-publish","hentry","category-china"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.absoluteasiatours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/places-to-go\/14131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.absoluteasiatours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/places-to-go"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.absoluteasiatours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/places-to-go"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.absoluteasiatours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.absoluteasiatours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Further north in Deqen, yak-herding nomads tend their herds amid breathtaking limestone terraces and slow-moving glaciers. For the adventurous, an overland journey from here to Chengdu in Sichuan Province traverses the high Tibetan steppe, reaching altitudes above 4,500 meters. This challenging route passes through Litang, famous for its vibrant Tibetan horse festival held every August, and the majestic Mount Gonga.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"