Potala Palace from Afar
With a coverage of 1.2 million sq. km., Tibet, provides a wide array of beautiful and different natural landscapes. Snow-capped towering mountains, stunning lakes of all shapes and colors, amazing pure starry sky, vast verdant grassland, and the most tough wildlife and vegetation. And aside from the masterpiece of nature, the people of Tibet make this land even more charming by being genuinely friendly and consistently creating fascinating culture and art. No matter you're a photographer who adores natural beauty or have an intimacy for culture, Tibet will generously treat you what you are keen for.
There is no one best season for all photography projects and themes. The best times of photography vary depending on what subjects you try to capture. Here below we compile a round-up of seasonal highlights for photography experience in Tibet.
Yamdrok Lake in Winter
Key benefits: less touristy, budget saving
Winter is the off season of Tibet travel. The average high temperature of Lhasa in the daytime can be 10 degrees higher than in Beijing. With the plateau sunlight, you can actually have some mild and warm moments at the high noon. It is almost rain free in winter. With high visuality and low humidity, it is very ideal for photographing. The only thing you may be more careful about is the overnight coldness which could be a hazard to your camera. The lesser crowds enable you a quiet time with this pristine holy city. You can wander freely at your own pace admiring the amazing architecture in its brilliantly mix of colors, which is also a combination of being mighty and delicate. It is also the most budget friendly season for backpackers, when the winter preferential policy has cut down half price or whole price of most attractions except the monasteries and temples. Accommodation, transport also offer great deals. Meanwhile, it is also when the northern birds fly to the river basin areas for their winter.
Culture Photography
Tibetan on their pilgrim journey
The People On Their Faith Journey: Traveling to Tibet in winter will be definitely a great chance to soak in the authentic old Tibet. The devout pilgrims who have finished their autumn farming harvest, would go on their pilgrimage journey of a lifetime, travel hundreds or thousands of kilometers to visit their holy city Lhasa. With the wrapping up of the tourists, Lhasa welcomes the ceaseless pilgrims in winter. They gather around the Jokhang Temple, doing full body prostration, chanting and praying wholeheartedly, paying no attention to the curious tourists. You'll see the Lhasa citizens or the traveling pilgrims share a charity movement, which is giving arms to the ones they think in need. By doing this, they hope to support the pilgrims to fulfill their arduous journey. Besides the paltry income of donation, most of the pilgrims who would extend their journey to the holy mountain, the Mount Kailash, located in the westernmost of Tibet, often take short-term jobs in Lhasa, make money for their further faith journey.
Note on photography courtesy: Sadly, there are some photographers who've done harm to the feelings of local people with their cameras. They failed to ask for permission before shooting the people. Though most Tibetan people are tolerant to these imprudent(rude) behaviors; Some even give smile to the photographers. We hope that they can be treated as people rather than prey of the cameras. A polite request before pressing the button, will be highly appreciated.
Lalu Wetland
Winter Migratory Birdlife in Tibet: From late October, many birds start to fly to the two major river areas to spend winter. The main one is Yarlung Tsangpo River basin. The others are its tributaries, the Lhasa River and Nyang-chu River (or Nianchu River). The closest birdwatching spots in and around Lhasa include the Norbulingka Park, the Lalu Wetland, the Zongjiao Lukang Park; The other renown winter ground is Linzhou County, which is home to around 2,000 Black-necked Cranes.
Tibetan New Year: The traditional new year of Tibet is normally celebrated in January or February. The actual date varies each year according to the Tibetan calendar. If you like shooting the merry atmosphere, you should check out the Tibetan calendar here.
Nyingchi in Spring
Highlights: spring flowers and mountains
Nyingchi, is a very atypical part of Tibet. It is the moistest and warmest region of Tibet, and endowed with the largest forest coverage. Nyingchi is the natural museum of plants. It is the first place of Tibet to welcome the arrival of spring. Flowers stretch and sprawl on the countless meadows nurtured by the alpine streams. The wild growing peach flowers, many of which are hundreds of years old, are the most duteous and punctual flora. They quietly turn into humble pink or passionate pink, and give the still existent early spring chill a warmth of bright color. They grow in rows along the Yarlung Tsangpo River and its tributary in Nyingchi, the Nyang River. They are also pretty companions of the local households for centuries. They befriend the highland barley and the generations of barking poochies. They witness the growing of minors turning into healthy handsome teenagers. They are so beloved that the Nyingchi people hold an annual festival for the peach flowers to show their gratitude for having the most beautiful spring here. Come over and join the flower watching trip. Nyingchi is as generous as all the remaining Tibet. She gives more than flowers in spring.
Nyingchi Peach Blossom Festival
Date: It is normally celebrated at the end of March, annually.
Best Spots: a series of hamlets that offer accommodations including Zhibai Village, Suosong Village, Tunbai Village, Bomi County, and more.
Tips: Nyingchi is basically a burst of peach flowers in March and April. You may just need to book accommodation in advance. To avoid the other likewise flower hunters, you can take some easy hiking and there are many hilltops providing great views.
Mount Namcha Barwa
Locations; 100 km southeast of Bayi Town, the seat of Nyingchi
Description:
With an altitude of 7,782 meters, Mount Namcha Barwa is with a humble height compared with other 8,000-meter peaks. But she is admired by many people because of the amazing composition with the surrounding evergreen forests, the running river and broad wetland and meadows. And according to previous statistics, generally there are only 56 days of a year when a clear view of Namcha Barwa are possible to be caught. Therefore, the domestic travelers believe it is an auspicious sign if they can have such a luck.
Changtang Plain
Charms: green grassland, horse racing, stargazing
Tibet Horse Racing Festival
Date: Normally held between August 10 to August 14, annually
Venue: Damxung County, Lhasa City
Description:
Horse Racing Festival is held widely in the whole Tibetan-inhabited areas, including the whole Tibet Autonomous Region, and the Tibetan part of Qinghai, the Tibetan part of Sichuan, and the Tibetan part of Yunnan. They are historically and geographically the Central Tibet, the Amdo Tibet and the Kham Tibet. Different regions may have slightly different festival events. But the long-distance horse racing and hada-collection competition are the normal mutual highlights. Drinking highland barley wine and yak butter tea, dancing the Tibetan Guozhuang are also indispensable festivities.
You'll see not only the young and strong Tibetan youth who are the contestants, but also see many children who come to view and emulate the skills for their future participation. Summer is the most beautiful season for the Changtang Plains in the North Tibet. Verdant grass predominates the land, flowers of all colors burst into blossom. The horses, the people, the singing and dancing are just a touching scene.
Ngari Stargazing and Meteor Photographing
Staring Night in Ngari Dark Night Park
Location: Dark Sky Park, 25 kilometers south of Shiquanhe Town, the seat of Ngari, the West Tibet
Entrance fee: Dark Sky Park has been open to tourists for free since its establishment in 2014.
Description:
Sitting above 5, 000 meters, with high-quality night sky darkness, and being far away from light pollution, Ngari is an ideal place for stargazing and astronomical observation. It might remind you of some other top breathtaking stargazing sites, such as the outback of Western Australia. Even though Dark Sky Park is located thousands of kilometers away from Lhasa, countless scientists, meteor photographers, and starry night lovers pay frequent visits here.
In addition, the Ngari Observatory had been officially opened on November 27, 2018, which is recognized as the highest-altitude observatory. And currently the staff team are working on the internet technology to enable the future availability for people to observe the sky at home in real time.
Best season: Summer. Summer brings the most rainfall to the most of Tibet, which applies to Ngari as well. However, even in the rainiest months of July and August, the precipitation of this aridest region of Tibet, is till paltry and won't affect much to a clear sky.
Yamdrok Lake in Autumn
Photography Benefits: Clear skies, Mountains reveal themselves, autumn foliage
Idea Destinations for Autumn Photography: Literally everywhere
Description:
What would Tibet look like in autumn? The towering mountains still have their tops covered by snow, but they'll reveal themselves more frequently thanks to the higher chance of clear days. Rainy season just left, and the snow period hasn't approached yet, which means high visuality for mountain peak view and safer road conditions leading to most attractions. It is the time for the nature to show her boldness and enthusiasm in colors. Yellows, oranges, reds saturate the southeastern forests of Tibet and the trees growing along the river banks. The vast grassland in the North Tibet are blanketed in smooth warm colors. The Yamdrok Lake, seen from the mountain pass, is in its stunning turquoise,(or sapphire, deep blue, you name it) in the autumn weather.
Well we'll only give one small reminder, that is no matter how beautiful and irresistible the scenery is, put away your camera for a while and enjoy the view with your eyes.
What We Recommend: The Sichuan Part of Tibetan-inhabited areas (the ancient Kham Tibet)
Best time: Travel after the 7 Day National Holiday (Oct. 1 to Oct. 7) to avoid the biggest tourist volumes of year.
Description:
The G318 National Road and the natural scenery are at the most beautiful in autumn. Starting from Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan, via Western parts of Sichuan, and finally entering Tibet, this road route is bursting with fascinating and everchanging natural and cultural landscapes. You'll experience various terrains from the east to west, inclusive of the Chengdu Plains, the West Sichuan Plateau, the Hengduan Mountains, the Nyingchi Forestry Region, the Glaciers in Midui, the Yarlung Tsangpo River Valley, and more. The heart-warming autumn leaves keep you company all the way on this autumn road trip. The numerous lakes and rivers are just soothing and healing when you have fatigue from long journey. The mountains stay humbly in the background keep welcoming you with their unblocked images. Traveling along G318 from Chengdu to Lhasa via Nyingchi in autumn, is just something that an overland trip fan should not miss out.
We relate to you and know how that feels like seeing this mysterious land with the most devout people and their beautiful and authentic lifestyle. We understand your passion to capture the touching scenes of them living their life with little attention to the distractions. But please do ask for permission before you feel like taking a photo of the people.
