Manigange and Yilhun Lhatso Lake

The bustling town of Manigango sets at elevation of 3960m. It lies at the junction of three important roads. Dege lies 110km to the southwest, Jyekundo/ Yushu 429km to the northwest and Gantse /Ganzi 85km to the southest. Yilhun Lhatso Lake also called Xingxing Hai is located at 10km west of Manigange.

Manigango 3960m

The bustling town of Manigango sets at elevation of 3960m. It lies at the junction of three important roads. Dege lies 110km to the southwest, Jyekundo/ Yushu 429km to the northwest and Gantse /Ganzi 85km to the southest. There are one hotel and one hostel which are located at the southwest end of of the town where you are heading to Dege and Yilhun Lhatso Lake. The Manigango town itself is not very interesting place to stay but it’s worth to overnight, so you can have a good view of sunrise at the lake nearby the town. You can also camp next to the lake on the permission of the guard.

Tip: For those who are traveling to Dege from Manigango in the winter time, I suggest you to spend more time at the lake before you drive up to the highest mountain in the region. Because the Chola pass 5200m is always foggy and snowing and the road is icy before 10am in the morning. You don’t want stuck some where on this road. For sake of safety, we normally take the paved road and go through tunnel towards Dege Direction. This also allow you to spend more time at the beautiful lake.

Yilhun Lhatso Lake /Xinluhai 4110m

Follow the road to Dege about 20km, you will reach the junction of dirt road towards Yilhun Lhatso Lake, from where you take a walk for about 10 minutes to the crystal clear lake of Yilhun Lhatso. As part of the historic Kham region in Tibet, Yihun Lhatso has long been known to the Tibetan people. It is considered a sacred lake in Tibetan Buddhism and a kora route circles the lake. The lake and adjacent streams are known for the hundreds of boulders that have been carved into mani stones.

This lake is one of the most beautiful lake in all Tibet. It’s shore bedecked with colorful carved Mani Stones(prayers carved on the stone or rock). From where you can view the locally highest mountain Chola(6168m) and it’s glacier. The lake is surrounded by snow capped mountains and forest which said to assume the divine form of the Cakrasamvara mandala to those who have the pure vision to perceive them as such. The Yilhun Lhatso Lake Nature Reserve is extending from the lakeshore as far as the jagged snow peaks of the Chola or Trola range to the south.

It is a natural habitat of more than 150 species of wild animals. Including black necked crane, red deer cervus albirostris, the snow leopard, the argali, the dragon spruce, cypresses and the snow lotus.etc. A short pleasant walk can be taken in the eastshore of the lake.

How to get there?

There are two routes to lead to the Lake. One is from Chengdu via Kangding and Ganzi and the other one is traveling from Xining via Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

Few other famous sites nearby are Dzochen Monastery, Shechen Monastery, Mount Chola, Derge and Ganzi town