Mount Everest self-driving travel guide

Mount Everest is the highest mountain on the blue planet. It attracts a large number of tourists from all over the world every year, as well as brave people who climb Mount Everest. In fact, self-driving tours around Mount Everest are also a good choice. It is also very pleasant to look up at Mount Everest from the bottom of the mountain.

The old Everest Base Camp has been closed, and the new Everest Base Camp has now descended 2 kilometers to Rongbuk Monastery (the original text states: "Since December 2018, no unit or individual is allowed to enter Mount Everest." Tourism in the core area above Rongbuk Temple in the National Nature Reserve"). For ordinary tourists, viewing Mount Everest will not be affected. In the photo, my location is Rongbuk Monastery. Have you seen Mount Everest? Do you want to take a closer look? Let’s go

Mount Everest It is under the jurisdiction of Tingri County of Shigatse City. Tingri County and Mount Everest are both national borders. You must hold a border defense permit to pass. It is recommended to apply for it at your place of residence before leaving for Tibet. Applying for the permit in Lhasa takes too much time. Take Guangzhou as an example. Bring your identity card. To verify your household registration, first go to the police station where your household registration is located. If you want to travel to Tibet, please help to issue a certificate of no criminal record (it will take about 3 working days). Take the certificate from the police station to the district public security bureau, and you can collect the certificate on site.

Remember, do not be lazy to fill in "All Tibet" when you go to the place you are going to. The border defense permit filled out in this way will be invalid. The lady at the public security bureau's certificate window told me that the current policy is to go to Everest Base Camp and fill in Shigatse City, but I was worried and asked her to help me add Tingri County and Mount Everest (I read the guide and it was said that I had to fill in the You may not be able to go to Mount Everest in Tingri County). Tibet *** has 7 prefecture-level cities (regions), of which some areas in Ngari Prefecture, Nyingchi City, Shannan City and Shigatse City are border areas, which can be filled in as needed according to the destination

Lhasa City, Changchun City There are no border cities or counties in the metropolis and Nagqu City, so there is no need to apply for a border defense permit. Such a detailed and well-illustrated guide on how to apply for a Tibetan border defense permit.

Today’s itinerary is from Shigatse City to Everest Base Camp. The total journey is nearly 320 kilometers. The navigation shows that it will take 7 hours without rest. The journey is long, so try to start as early as possible. The early morning in Shigatse is deserted. Firstly, there are few people in the town for leisure. The second reason is a bit special. The hotel front desk guy told me that it doesn’t get dark until 10pm in Shigatse, so the locals generally don’t have dinner and just wait until dark for midnight snacks. , eat late and go to bed late, so get up late in the morning

The price tag of a noodle restaurant in the city center (not close to the scenic spot), on the plateau border, the cost of material transportation is high, and the food and beverage price level is only higher than that of Guangzhou. This restaurant Is the store mainly engaged in tourist business? But Shigatse is not a popular tourist city. Is that a local business? Is the price too high for the local income level?

A bowl of beef soup noodles + a bowl of mutton soup noodles 40 yuan to solve the breakfast of two people, the amount of meat It's quite filling. When I first brought it up, I thought it was just a few pieces of meat. When I ate it, I realized there was a lot hidden underneath. Eat well and set off

When you leave the city in the direction of Mount Everest, you will pass by Tashilhunpo Monastery, the residence of the Panchen Lama. It is the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in the Houzang area. You must not miss it when visiting Shigatse. I have to rush to Mount Everest today to say goodbye, and I will visit again on my return trip tomorrow

It was rainy all the way from Lhasa to Shigatse yesterday, and it was still rainy when I went out this morning. The long-lost blue sky when I climbed over the pass of Tsola Mountain at an altitude of 4,500 meters Baiyun finally came out, and I was in a good mood

The journey to Mount Everest was smooth and the road conditions were very good, but the speed was measured in sections throughout the journey, some with a speed limit of 70, some with a speed limit of 60, and some even with a speed limit of 70 mph. Note that 30 is an interval speed test. How to break it? It happens that the rapeseed flowers bloom so beautifully in Tibet in August. Don’t just rush. So I always run for a while, stop to look at the scenery and take photos, and then continue walking when the time is almost up. Those who have never been to Tibet would not know that the rapeseed flowering period on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is half a year later than that of Luoping, Yunnan, which has the earliest flowering period in China

The most important thing you cannot miss is the 5,000-kilometer milestone of the 318 National Highway on the Southern Sichuan-Tibet Line (this place is close to Lazi County seat), it is exactly 5,000 kilometers from Shanghai People’s Square, the starting point of National Highway 318, to here, which is very, very, very memorable. It should also be noted that there is another more domineering 5,000-kilometer commemorative wall

The location is Qianggong Village, Resha Township, Lazi County, Shigatse City (in the service area a little before the 4952 milestone), one next to There is a rest stop on the roadside. It is a little hidden and easy to miss (I walked too far when I went there. This photo was taken on the return trip on the second day). Note that towards Everest, you must first go to this wall and then go up. At that milestone, the two places are at least half an hour's drive apart.

So I am very confused, which one is the real 5,000 kilometers between this memorial wall and the milestones on it?

Not far from the 5,000 kilometers milestone is the checkpoint in Lazi County (there is no need to check the border permit here) ), the checkpoint staff told me that the 5,000-kilometer memorial wall has passed a long way, but there is another place ahead that must be checked in

Chawu Township, Lazi County is the terminus of the Xinjiang Line of the old 219 National Highway ( The new 219 National Highway has been extended to Dongxing City, Fangchenggang City, Guangxi). There is a boundary monument between the Sichuan-Tibet Line and the Xinjiang-Tibet Line in Chawu Township. On one side is the 318 National Highway leading to the Zhangmu Port on the China-Nepal border, and on the other side is the connection to Xinjiang via Tianshang Ali. The 219 National Highway

Of course I continued to walk along the 318 National Highway, passing through the mountains, winding all the way up, and walking

This is the entire Sichuan-Tibet Line The highest point, here is the pass of Gyatso La Mountain with an altitude of 5248 meters. This is the first place from Lhasa towards Mount Everest where you can overlook Mount Everest. The scene that is about to appear is quite spectacular

The archway reads: "You have entered the Mount Everest National Nature Reserve." The background is the blue sky and white clouds. I am the most excited at this moment. I am more excited than seeing Mount Everest at the Everest Base Camp

A person behind me Paixue Mountain consists of four majestic peaks with an altitude of 8,000 meters. This scene can only be seen when the weather is fine. It is almost unique among all the passes crossed by roads in the world. Although I can't tell who they are, it is really quite impressive to see them with my own eyes. Excited

The next road will be accompanied by snow-capped mountains. In fact, it is still far away from the Everest base camp. The navigation shows that the remaining time is 4.5 hours. Along the way, besides the snow-capped mountains, there is the wilderness of Gobi. This is a very boring and winding journey. In the uninhabited land, ultraviolet rays are extremely strong on sunny days on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The mobile phone on the navigation stand and the action camera on the front of the car were exposed to direct sunlight. They were so hot that they automatically shut down several times. While driving this section of the road, I was thinking, what if the car breaks down here? I can’t imagine it.

Seeing this big stone means that we are finally approaching Tingri County. The Jiacuo La Pass we just passed is the boundary between Tingri County and Lazi County. Tso La Pass is about a 40-minute drive

Another good place to take photos and check in, but it is a bit unfriendly. Some local young people will take the trouble to chase you with special souvenirs such as bloodstones and conch fossils to sell them to you. , if you don’t know whether it’s true or not, you definitely don’t dare to buy it or ask about the price. You can only politely refuse it, for fear of irritating them with a bad attitude. This situation also exists in Gatso La Pass

In fact, 318 The national highway does not directly pass through Tingri County, but Baiba Township, which is close to the county seat. Baiba Checkpoint is the first checkpoint where you need to show a border defense permit during this trip. If you do not have a border defense permit or the place where you are going does not have a border defense permit, Please come back to the Shigatse area. If you don’t plan to spend the night at Everest Base Camp, it’s best to stay one night in Dingri County, so that there should be no problem in going back and forth to the base camp on the second day. If you come from Shigatse like me, it’s unrealistic to go back and forth in the same day

If your car is short of gas, you must fill it up in Baiba Township (the township road will pass by PetroChina). There will be no gas stations later on when you get to Everest Base Camp. I filled up my tank in the city of Shigatse before setting off, and the 45-liter tank was just enough to cover the round trip from Mount Everest to Shigatse

The famous Lulu checkpoint on the 318 National Highway Lhasa-Everest Base Camp section, the inspection is very strict. All members (including the driver) must get off the car and go to the checkpoint to show their ID cards and border passes for real-name inspection

Continue going forward at this intersection and you can get on the Ali Grand Ring Road. To the left is the Everest National Park ticket office. , I met a group of well-equipped motorcycle friends who didn’t go into the mountain. After taking photos and checking in in front of the scenic gate archway, they continued towards Ali

The small room next to it was the ticket office. It was almost 3 p.m., watching It's still early, but the navigation shows that there are still more than 3 hours away from the base camp. If you want to catch the sunset on Mount Everest, you have to hurry up

There is only one Tibetan conductor in the small room at the ticket office, and there are two or three others. tourists

How much does it cost for two people to go to the base camp to see Mount Everest? The ticket to the Everest scenic spot is 160 yuan/person + a car is 320 yuan (including the ticket for a driver) + the scenic spot environmentally friendly car is 240 yuan ( 120 yuan/person. The road from Everest Base Camp parking lot to Rongbuk Temple is about 1 hour's drive. You must take a scenic eco-friendly car) = 720 yuan. Remember to bring cash. You cannot use WeChat or Alipay

To Everest Has 108 turned off? Not yet. We will continue on a boring journey through the Gobi wilderness and occasionally encounter some small villages. There is one detail that needs to be paid attention to. If you are worried about the difficulty of accommodation in the base camp during the peak tourist season, you can ask the conductor for the tent owner’s phone number to make a reservation in advance. Accommodation in Datongpu is 80 yuan per person (flat price at base camp). The boss called me and told me that I could reserve a private room in the tent for 500 yuan. It was too expensive. I said I would just stay in Datongpu

< p>The 108th turn of Mount Everest starts from this village, and there is no green anymore.

At first, I wanted to use a drone to take a panoramic view of 108 Turns, and record how long it would take to complete the entire 108 Turns

But I soon discovered that I was wrong. Human beings are so insignificant in front of nature. The sentence couldn’t be more apt here

The endless 108 turnings on Mount Everest are definitely more than 108 turnings. Only when I got here did I realize that the 72 turnings on the Nujiang River were not enough.

The altitude is 5198. The Mt. Gawula Pass is the second highest point on the way to Mount Everest (higher than Rongbuk Monastery, second only to the Gawula Pass passed before). It is the only two viewpoints where you can overlook a row of snow-capped peaks. Taiwan

When we stopped to take pictures, three children popped out of the house. Maybe it was a rare opportunity to chat with strangers. Although they didn’t speak Mandarin very well, they still told me enthusiastically that they were with their parents. Living here, I invited me to take a photo with the row of snowy peaks behind me, and they happily agreed. When I said goodbye, I gave the children a pack of Jiujiang distiller’s grain peanuts brought from Guangzhou, so that they could share the taste of the distant place with their parents

It took me an hour to turn around and drive away. I was so dizzy that I had to stop on the side of the road and close my eyes to rest and regain consciousness

Finally, I turned to the Everest Base Camp parking lot, parked the car, took my luggage, and transferred to the scenic eco-friendly car at the Everest Base Camp. You must bring dinner, water and oxygen bottles, as well as a camera and a tripod to take pictures of Mount Everest and the starry sky. If you don’t want to fly the drone, don’t take it with you. Let’s go

After another half hour of driving, the driver The eldest brother pointed to the front and said in an understatement - Mount Everest. To him, this is a normal scene, but to many friends, this is a once in a lifetime or never seen again

The base camp has finally arrived , the altitude is less than 5,000 meters, it’s around 7 o’clock in the evening, and the sky is still bright. It took nearly 9 and a half hours to get here from Shigatse. Taking pictures on the way took too much time.

Mount Everest is right in front of us, and I am eager to go to it. He moved closer, but he still had to find the tent first, put his luggage and settle in. Each tent was numbered and easy to find.

Rongbuk Temple is right next to the tent. I didn’t have time to go in and visit. I went to many temples along the Sichuan-Tibet line and became a little immune to the temple-like scenery.

From Rongbuk Temple to the Mount Everest Height Measurement Stone The straight-line distance is only about 300 meters. There is no uphill slope and it is all flat. You don’t have to worry about strenuous exercise inducing high reflexes

The place in front where people gather is the Mount Everest Height Measurement Stone, which is basically the distance from the Rongbuk Temple Base Camp to Mount Everest. The nearest place. The old base camp was closed, and the new base camp was withdrawn 2 kilometers. The Everest altimetry stone was also withdrawn. Where the altimeter stone is, the base camp is there.

This is the furthest point on this self-driving trip to Tibet. The temperature is low and the wind is close to 5,000 meters above sea level. Here, we don’t mind whether the photos are good or not. Taking good photos is much more important than good ones. Maybe I won’t come here again in this life, so I must commemorate this cool experience

The Everest base camp has very difficult accommodation conditions, and the 80-yuan mixed-sex dormitory in Datong is like this. Tonight, we are alone with a group of people. A young couple from Chengdu lived in this tent. They said they didn’t have enough vacation time and had to go down the mountain early tomorrow morning to rush back to Lhasa. It would be too difficult. I hope they go well.

The tents were filled with dried cow dung. The horse dung is roasted over a fire to keep warm, and the fuel is well processed. Even if you smell it up close, there is basically no smell

If you don’t bring dinner, you can buy it from the tent owner. The price of 15 yuan/box is very reasonable (I brought the peanuts myself) of). The tent owner was a young man who was very interested in my Xiaomi Mi Band 4 and asked me to sell it to him. However, I think I couldn’t bear to part with this band after I took a trip to Tibet. Thinking about it afterwards, I understand his mood. , where can express delivery be delivered at the remote top of the world.

At 9 o'clock in the evening, after dinner, I walked out of the tent and was surprised to find Rizhao Jinshan. I felt that I was really lucky on this trip and had the best encounters along the way.

Summary of the itinerary and costs for the 14th day of the 27-day self-driving trip to Mount Everest in Tibet by a couple from Guangzhou:

The first 13 days: Guangzhou City - Guiyang City - Chengdu City - Yajiang County, Garze Prefecture - Garze Batang County - Zuogong County, Qamdo City - Basu County, Qamdo City - Bomi County, Nyingchi City - Nyingchi City - Lhasa City - Shigatse City, about 3942 kilometers, expenditure 14651.7 yuan

Day 14 : Shigatse City - Everest Base Camp, about 320 kilometers

Cost: 0 yuan for gas (no gas today) + 160 yuan for accommodation + 70 yuan for meals (40 yuan for breakfast + 30 yuan for dinner) + 720 for admission Yuan (160 yuan for Everest scenic spot tickets + 320 yuan for a car including driver + 240 yuan for scenic environmental protection tickets) = 950 yuan

Total expenditure for 14 days: 15,601.7 yuan