Gamagou Valley in Tingri County, Shigatse
Chinese Name: 嘎玛沟
English Name: Gama Valley
Location: Located in Tingri County(定日县), Shigatse Prefecture(日喀则市)， Tibet Autonomous Region, China
Admission fee: Free
Opening hours: All day
About Gama Valley
The Himalayan mountains were “cut” out of the four gaps, in Xigaze of Tibet, these gaps eventually formed “four big famous ditches(四大名沟)” of Xigaze: Jilonggou(吉隆沟), Zhangmugou(樟木沟), Gamagou(嘎玛沟) and Yadonggou(亚东沟). In the 1920s, the British explorer, Mr. Barre, praised Gamagou valley as “the most beautiful valley in the world” in the book Everest Expedition(珠峰考察).
Gama Tsangpo River(嘎玛藏布) rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Qomolangma(珠穆朗玛峰). The valley carved out by its waters between the towering snow-capped peaks is Gama. Yolo village (优洛村) is a tiny hamlet close to the western entrance to the valley. Standing between the north entrance of Chentang Valley(陈塘江) and the west entrance of Gama Valley, Mt. Zhongla serves as viewing platform, from the top of which we can see a row of three world’s highest peaks: from left to right there are Mt. Makalu, Mt. Qomolangma, and Mt. Lhotse. In Tibetan, “Zhongla” means “place where yaks cry.”
Gama Valley, running from east to west, is fifty-five kilometers long and eight kilometers wide and, from April to July, when azaleas come into bloom, the entire valley is covered in flowers.
Main Attractions- Gama Valley
There are two routes you can take into Gama Valley from Yolo and Yopa villages (优帕村) in Qudang Township (曲当乡). The first one is the easiest: you leave the village, go over Chula Mountain, and you are in the valley. Easy though it may be, on that route you cannot see any of the 8000-meter peaks – Makalu, Lhotse, or Qomolangma. The second route takes you across the much more challenging Xargu-La Pass, but here the entire panorama of the Himalaya opens in front of you. At the lower reach of Gama Tsampo River, you can find the first land reclaimed by human. Originated from the foot of Mt. Qomolangma, the upper and middle reaches of Gama Tsampo can be several kilometers in width, but here at the lower reach, the river became slender with only 200 meters in width. Warm and moist air current drifted from east to west into the Gama Valley.
Hiking
The whole hiking route is extremely difficult within the natural protection zone of mount Everest(珠峰自然保护区). Here, the climate is changeable with a high elevation, people are rare going here. The scenery can only be described as “amazing”, but its charm lies in this, giving a person a kind of pleasure to conquer oneself .
Attraction Transportation
You can fly to Lhasa Kongga International Airport(拉萨贡嘎国际机场）and then take the bus to Shigatse（日喀则）. And then you can drive by yourself or follow the leader to Gama Valley.
Attraction Travel Tips
1. Traveling Hours: 2~3 days
2. Traveling Seasons: All year
3. High Altitude Sickness Avoiding: Bring enough water and some thick clothes, eating more fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins and so on.
4. Taking some good professional climbing equipments and trying to participate as a team in order to your safety.
