Danda Mountain in Banbar County, Chamdo
Chinese Name: 丹达山
English Name: Danda Mountain in Banbar County, Chamdo
Location: Located in Banbar County, Chamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region
Admission Fee: Free
Opening Hours: All Day
About Danda Mountain
Danda Mountain（丹达山） which is also called Xiagongla Mountain（夏贡拉山）in Tibetan language is located 20 kilometers southwest of Banbar County（边坝县）, Chamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region with an altitude of 5298 meters. It is one of the most important pass of the Ancient Tea-horse Road, the highest mountain in the whole road when the 18th army marched into Tibet as well as the watershed of Nu River and Brahmaputra River. Danda Mountain is called “the first danger of entry to Tibet”, and the name of the first danger is also obtained when the 18th army enters Tibet. Because of the steep road on the cliff, climbing the mountain is a test for mountaineering skills and patience. For outdoor enthusiasts, Danda Mountain climbing is definitely a very challenging and attractive tour.
Slowly climb from the bottom to the top of the hill is a very wonderful journey, from which you will experience a variety of climate changes. At the foot of the mountain, the sun is shining. With the slowly increasing altitude, there will be opaque fog, and then will be the sleet weather. After climbing over the top of one peak, the sun is shining again.
At the top of Xiagongla Mountain, there are some characters carved on the stone, which notes that “Conquering Xiagongla Mountain, only for Banbar people”. It was built to commemorate and thanks to Banbar people for their diligent work to build Xiagongla mountain highway. It is hard to imagine that a few decades ago, with the road traffic is still steep, and how the Banbar people built the highway under the difficult condition of very scarce resources technology. Their hard work and sweat should be remembered forever.
In addition to the precipitous nature of Danda Mountain, it also has rich natural resources. Besides the grassland vegetation such as forest, here also produce 5 kinds of rare medicinal herbs, such as the cedar wood, Tibet redwood, blue pine, etc. At the same time, there is a great variety of wild animals, especially in the most abundant rare animals and mountain animals. There are 22 kinds of animals. There are 4 kinds of animals belonging to the national level protected animals. Snow leopard and white labial deer are all here.
Looking up on the mountain peak, visitors can see the vast Danda Mountain ranges with the beautiful and pure snow covered around. Especially matching with the blue sky and red sun, it sparkles is spectacular! Halfway up the hill, an abandoned, looming mule is a little desolate, like a winding belt that slowly disappeared from view. Because of the passage of the new highway, it leaves only one kind of historical vicissitudes. On the face of it, the mountains are magnificent, beautiful and wonderful, but it is a different matter to get up. Because climbing the mountain is not an overnight thing, what it needs is a contest of strength and will between man and nature.
Attraction Transportation
Tourist can travel to Lhasa by air or train firstly and then transfer to Banbar County by long-distance bus, which is the major choice. And you can transfer from Qamdo to Banbar County. There is no need for you to worry about the transportation.
Attraction Travel Tips
- Traveling Hours: several days
- Traveling Seasons: May and September.
- High Altitude Sickness Avoiding: Better take some medicines for relief and keep warm all the time.
- As there is a large temperature gap between daytime and night, it is highly recommended to take along some pieces of thermal clothing, hat, and gloves and so on.
- As well as the Tibet Entry Permit, you also need to apply for Border Permit for traveling as this destination lies near the Chinese territory boundary.
- Do remember to prepare well for the mountain climbing not only for equipment, but also for emergency aid.
