昌都市

Why this place

Qamdo (Chamdo) is in eastern Tibet, the Kham region, where Tibetan culture blends toward Sichuan and Yunnan. Its Galden Jampaling monastery is one of the largest in Tibet, and the landscape is high valley country with glaciers and forests.

What to see

• Galden Jampaling Monastery in Qamdo, one of the great monasteries of eastern Tibet
• The Salween, Mekong and Yangtze headwaters, which all run through this prefecture
• The Ranwu Lake and the Nyingchi–Qamdo highway scenery

What to eat

• Kham Tibetan food: yak, barley and butter tea
• Sichuan-influenced cooking, since this is on the border with Sichuan

Best time

May–October