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Trekking / Mt. Yala trek
Private camping trek
Five days walking the old Kangding–Yala–Tagong line through country with no roads and no parks: a hot-spring camp, the holy lake, and a 4,800-metre pass under the west face — finishing in the nomad grassland.
Ask about this itineraryPrayer flags under the holy mountain · Yala, 5,820 m
the pass under Yala's west face, on the big day
one Kangding hotel, then tents each night
the pass is out of play in snow season; a safe variant runs instead
carry your own — a supported version exists too
Why this route
Between the Tibetan-Chinese town of Kangding and the nomad grassland of Tagong lies a belt of unroaded mountain: wild valleys, herders' horse trails, hot springs rising out of a forested hillside, and the holy mountain itself — Yala, 5,820 metres, worshipped locally and climbed by almost nobody. This trek crosses that belt in five days, ending at Tagong's monasteries and mani walls.
It is a genuine off-grid line: no parks, no tickets, no tourist infrastructure — camp each night by a stream or a spring, meet yaks rather than buses, and finish with the great grassland opening out in front of you. The holy lake Yala Yumtso and the 4,800-metre pass under the west face are the two big prizes.
It is a private trek on your dates, May to November. In snow season the high pass swaps for a safe variant through the Yala park, and the trek runs as a different but honest line. Packhorses carry the camp — or, for experienced mountain travellers, a guided-backpack version has you carry it yourself.
The route
West out of Kangding into the wild belt, then north through the holy lake and over the pass, and out onto the Tagong grassland. One direction, no repetition.
Day by day
Three camps in unroaded country. The pass day has a safe snow-season variant — the guide will say the night before.
Chengdu → Kangding
Three to four hours to Kangding, then the acclimatisation walk at Yajiageng — four easy kilometres by the lake near 4,000 metres, hours rather than distance. The evening is the town's: the river, the square, the last real shops.
Depending on the season, the night may move to the village by the trail head. Either way, the trek starts before breakfast tomorrow.
Kangding → Xindianzi
An hour of mountain road to the trail head, where the packhorses take the camp. The trail climbs gently along a stream through forest and out into open country, past abandoned herders' stone huts, to the camp at Xindianzi — 3,600 metres, a spring for water, and nobody else around.
An easy day by design: the altitude is the opponent, and tomorrow is the longest day.
Yumtso → the hot springs
The longest day: up to a windy 4,200-metre pass with the Lamoshe peaks and Yala's south wall in view, past the Sister Lakes, and a short detour to the holy lake Yala Yumtso — prayer flags to the waterline, a small glacier dropping toward it. Then down through the Yala country to the hot-spring camp.
The camp's three open-air pools rise naturally out of the hillside and are free to anyone — bring a swimsuit. Eighteen kilometres, ending in the best possible way.
Over the pass
The big mountain day: three long climbs to the pass at 4,800 metres — five or six hours of it — directly under the west face of Yala, with the Tagong grassland already visible beyond. The descent is two hours, the first section steep and loose, poles and a steady guide recommended.
Camp sits by the river in the Taizhan valley at 4,000 metres. In snow season — roughly October to May — the pass swaps for a safe variant back through the Yala park; the guide calls it the night before.
→ Tagong → Chengdu
A last three kilometres along the valley to the road, with yak camps and, if you are lucky, a visit to a nomad family's tent on the way. The car meets you at the Anigongma turn-off for the Muya temple, the nunnery and the great mani wall — Tagong's sacred furniture, seen properly on the way past.
Then the road east to Chengdu, or a flight from Kangding airport for those flying out. The trek ends in the evening at your hotel, or at the airport gate.
Along the way
No roads and few people — the belt between Kangding and Tagong is real habitat.
The valleys, the lake basin, the pass
Blue sheep keep to the crags above the hot-spring camp; trekkers meet them more often than on any of the park routes.
Chances are field estimates, not promises. The crossing runs between 3,600 and 4,800 metres, off grid throughout.
What's included
A supported off-grid trek: guide, horses, camp and food on the mountain are in the price.
Arranged and paid for before you arrive.
An English-speaking trekking guide
Private, all five days.
Packhorses and their drivers
The camp travels by hoof; you carry a day pack.
Tents and camp equipment
Plus a cook and all meals on the mountain, dinner and breakfast at least.
One hotel night
Kangding, twin share.
All transfers
Chengdu door to trail head to grassland.
Yours, or yours to ask us about.
Meals off the mountain
Town meals are outside the quote.
Personal gear
Sleeping bag and boots; rental can be arranged.
The guided-backpack version
Carrying your own gear is quoted separately — ask.
Single room or tent
Quoted with the booking.
Tips and personal expenses
At your discretion.
May to November only — winter closes the pass. High-cut boots, rain gear and a swimsuit for the springs are the three things the pack list insists on.
Enquiry
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are. We will come back with the season's route — pass or variant — and a written outline with a price.
Read next: The Riwuqi trek, 4 days · The Minya Konka panorama hike · The Western Sichuan hiking tour · Five ways to walk Minya Konka · The hot-spring camp night, described · The camp at the hot-spring pools
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