Foray Announcement 2008
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Fungal & Floral Foray in Tibet
Aug 2-17, 2008
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2008 Tour Announcement
This trip to Tibet's Kongpo region is certain to be a once in a lifetime fungal, botanical and cultural experience in some of the most stunning landscapes on the planet. I am offering a over two week long guided journey from August 2 to 17, 2008
Our goals on this trip are simple: We will journey through incredible landscapes and exotic culture. Tibetans will accompany us on our mushroom forays as we hunt for a variety of mushrooms, which we will then enjoy in delicious culinary sensations both Tibetan and Chinese. We will traverse many altitudinal zones, from warm-temperate to alpine areas up to 15,000 ft (4600m), thereby experiencing a wide range of ecosystems, all with their unique flora, fauna and mycota.
August is prime months for ectomycorrhizal mushrooms in the old-growth conifer and oak forests. We will spend plenty of time out in the woods to encounter many wildflowers and find true matsutake, Tibetan Caesar (Amanita hemibapha), all kind of boletes including King boletes, chanterelles, lion's mane and more exotic species. Of special interest is also the matsutake trade, which dominates the local economy in August.
In alpine grasslands mushrooms such as Ser Sha (Floccularia luteovirens) a very tasty and several Agaricus species are fruiting. We will visit mushroom markets and surely encounter Yartsa gunbu, the Caterpillar fungus (Cordyceps sinensis).
Among hundreds of wildflowers we will find wild species of lilies, delphiniums, cremathodiums, edelweiss and fields of Pedicularis. A few Rhododendron might still be in flower. June thru September is monsoon season. Please note that the monsoon in Tibet is nothing like that in the south slope Himalayan areas; there will be rain, but not enough to deter us and rainy days are often balanced with sunny skies.
 Matsutake (Tricholoma matsutake) in evergreen oak leaves,
The tour will also include much cultural immersion. We also will visit plenty of incredible Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, sacred lakes, mountains and forests. We will experience the mysterious and colorful spirituality that lies at the heart of Tibet and its people. We will travel to alpine grassland areas surrounded by glaciated peaks visiting nomads and yaks, and taste some fresh "yakgurt". Beautiful hot springs along the route shall not be missed! The route will lead us from Lhasa to Kongpo.
We will do some days of trekking, plenty of day hikes, some of them on pathless steep slopes, thus you need to be in good shape. You do not need to be an athlete, but shortness of breath is magnified in a high altitude environment.
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 Westside of the Potala palace, for several centuries the world biggest building
 Nomad kids in their tent, Kogpo Bar La, June 2006
 Family collecting Cordyceps, Bar La, June 2006
 Khampa lady with matsutake
 Kongpo's Baksum Tso
 Bayi's dried mushroom and herb store
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 Tentative Itinerary for August 2008 (This itinerary will be fleshed out continously. Also the itinerary might be adjusted to weather and mushroom fruiting)
Sunday Aug 3 Chengdu
Meet in the evening in Chengdu, Sichuan. Hotel
(To be there on the Aug 3, you need to fly out of North America on the Aug 2, from Europe Aug 3, might be sufficent.
Aug 4 Chengdu - Lhasa
Fly to Lhasa, visit Jokang, Lhasa's 7th Century temple. Hotel
Aug 5 & 6 Lhasa
Explore the Barkhor market in Lhasa's old town, visit Potala Palace and one of the famous big 3 monasteries (Ganden, Sera, Drepung). Hotel
Aug 7 Lhasa to Baksum Lake
Drive from Lhasa crossing Kongpo Bar La / Mi La Pass (4700m, 16,000ft), beautiful nomad area and caterpillar fungus habitat to Baksum Tso with its unique Island Nunnery. Continue driving beyond monastery to end of dirt road to Xin Tso valley- camp.
Aug 8 Xin Tso Valley
Day hike & mushroom hunt. Camp
Aug 9 Xin Tso to Lunang
Drive along the Nyang Chu River, a major matsutake collection area to Bayi town. Bayi is the mushroom market in Kongpo. Its new airport is used for fresh mushroom export. Drive via Serkyim La / Seqi Pass (4540m, 15,000 ft), with some luck we will see Namchen Barwa (7782m, 25440ft) to Lunang, a small roadside stop surrounded by pastures and forests. Guest house
Aug 10 Lunang
Botanical & fungal walking to explore the forested Rong Valley up to base of Nyima pass. Guest house
Aug 11 Lunang to Yigong Lake.
Drive through gorgeous Kongpo, Tibet's most biodiverse region. Lush subtropical to warm temperate valleys surrounded by peaks, whose glacial lobes are surrounded by conifer forests. Late afternoon set up camp near lake.
Aug 12 Yigong
Exploration. Botanical and fungal walks, Camp.
Aug 13 Yigong to Bayi Town.
Bayi, the prefectural town of Nyingchi is a typical new Chinatown in Tibet. However, its government mushroom and herb store is worth a visit and so is the nearby massive old growth cypress grove, Cupressus gigantea, the world biggest cypress species. Hotel
Aug 14 Bayi to Zetang
Scenic drive along the Tsangpo valley with frequent stops in the valley and on passes to explore the environment.
Camp or simple guest house.
Aug 15 Zetang
Explore great cultural sites of Zetang (Guru Rinpoche's Crystal cave of Sheldrak, Renchungpa cave, Trandruk monasteries. Hotel.
Sat Aug 16 Zetang - Gongkar Airport - Chengdu
In Chengdu transfer to hotel, farewell dinner.
Sun Aug 17 Chengdu - home
Hotel airport transfer.
(North Americans would arrive home on Aug 18 (regaining the day lost previously flying east, Europeans would arrive Aug 19).
The new train
If you would like to use the new railroad, it is recommanded to leave Lhasa by train at the end of the tour. Coming up from China can cause a lot of discomfort due to the quick gain of altitude and all the hours spend above 4700m (15,000ft) without sufficient time for acclimatization. If we are informed well ahead of time we can arrange for tickets.
 Traditional nomad yak wool tent, Kongpo Gyamba, June 2006.
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The Route:
From Lhasa to Bayi (a.k.a. Nyingchi or Nyingtri),
the capital of Nyingchi Prefecture (=Kongpo)
we cross Kongpo Bar La (Mi La) follow the
Nyang Chu River Valley, but will detour to hike
around Baksum Lake (Basong Co). We will follow
the southern branch of theTibet-Sichuan Highway, and pass through Bayi. Past Bayi we continue direction Pome/ Bomi (and Chamdo). However, we will go to Yigong Tso, a beautiful lake completely off the beaten track. Returning to central Tibet we have to back track for a day, but then will follow (upstream) the Yarlong Tsangpo Valley via Minling, Gampo
and Tsetang. Finally we will fly out of Gongkar
Airport, which is about 75 min to the south of
Lhasa, where we started out.
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 Google Earth Image with 2008 tour route
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Summer Fungal & Floral Foray in Tibet
August 2 - 17, 2008
Land Costs: $3,450 (€2,500)
includes all accommodation, most meals, overland transport
[price for 10 or more participants, single room supplement: $500]
Additional costs:
International Airfare to China (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Hong Kong):
$1,200-1,500, August up to $2000
Tickets need to be purchased individually by participant. Be aware that August is not only fungal peak season, but also touristic high season. In addition, the Olympics are in Beijing (Aug.8-24), thus it might be a good move to avoid Beijing flying thru Hong Kong, Guangzhou or Shanghai to Chengdu. In addition, it might be advisable to purchase tickets as early as possible. Please check back before actually purchasing your tickets.
Domestic Airfares in China (i.e. Beijing / Chengdu / Shanghai to Lhasa rt):
$400-600
(Lhasa tickets must be purchased by travel agency. We can help purchasing tickets for air travel within China. Hongkong - Chengdu is regarded as an international flight)
(If you have checked on the tour before Jan. 18, 2008
you will have seen that the tour was shortened by a day and reduced $250 )
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 Lilium duchatrei in Gyalthang (Zhongdian)
Dechen TAP, NW Yunnan), July 23, 2007.
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 Meconopsis integrifolia growing at Kongpo Bar La Pass
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 Amanita vaginata group
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 Brothers looking out of their Kongpo house
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