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| From Gaode map: Dark blue - start, light blue - stop(s), red - end |
Start: Saga
1. Zhongba Colourful Desert 五彩沙漠
2. Mapang Yongcuo viewing point 玛旁雍错观景点
End: Darchen / Tarchen / Taqin of Purang County
Zhongba Colourful Desert 五彩沙漠
Zhongba Colourful Desert is located beside National Highway 219 in Zhongba County, Shigatse. Although it is called the colourful desert, it is not the desert itself that is colour but the overall landscape that integrates snow-capped mountains, rivers, grasslands and deserts. In the distance are white snow-capped mountains, followed by reddish-brown mountains and light yellow grasslands by the blue-green rivers. A little closer is the scorched yellow desert.
Aside from that, depending on the time of the day, one may see different shades of colour. In the early morning or evening, the sun shines on the yellow sand dunes at an angle. At night, when the temperature is low, white frost crystals will form on the surface of the sand dunes. With the background of reddish-brown mountain, the entire sand dunes is presented as red or yellow shades, in light or dark.
Mapang Yongcuo viewing point 玛旁雍错观景点
This is a quick windy stop along the way where the entrance to the Mapang Yongcuo viewpoint is located. It has view of the Himalaya ranges but there are electric poles in the foreground. We returned to the lake and visited Chiu Monastery on the return drive.
As we were approachng the Ngari Prefecture, it started to get very windy and ended with snowfall at the checkpoint itself. Interestingly, the snowing stopped as we exited the checkpoint and became sunny.
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| Along the way |
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| After the checkpoint |
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| The driver stopped to let us take pictures of the long straight road :D |
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| Taken at the viewpoint |
Side note: No more PH in Vic till November :(