那曲市

Why this place

Nagqu is the Changtang, the northern Tibetan plateau, at 4,500 metres: enormous grassland, nomad camps and almost nothing else. It is the highest and emptiest prefecture in China, where the Tibetan antelope migrate and the summer horse festival draws nomads from across the plateau.

What to see

• The Changtang grassland and its nomadic pastoralism
• The Nagqu Horse Festival in August — nomadic horsemanship, dress and trade
• Namtso (Namu Lake), one of the three great holy lakes, at 4,700m
• The Tanggula Mountains and the source of the Yangtze

What to eat

• Nomad food: yak meat, butter tea, tsampa and yogurt, all in their most traditional form

Best time

June–August; the rest of the year is extremely cold and many roads are impassable

Practical tips

• Altitude above 4,500m — this is not country for a first trip to Tibet or for anyone with heart or lung conditions