The Ganden to Samye trek links the monastery of Ganden, on its ridge east of Lhasa, to Samye, the oldest monastery in Tibet, on the far side of the mountains. It is the best-known trek in the region and the easiest of the Tibetan routes to arrange, partly because both ends are accessible by road and partly because the crossing takes three or four days rather than a week. The route climbs over the Shuga La and then the Chitu La, both above five thousand metres, and drops into the valley of the Yarlung Tsangpo at Samye.
What the walking is like
The first day climbs steadily through scrub and forest to a herders' camp below the first pass, where there are often families living in tents through the summer pasture season. The second day is the crossing: a long climb to the Shuga La, then a descent to the valley floor and a second camp. The third day takes the Chitu La and drops down towards Samye, and many walkers finish with a fourth short day to reach the monastery itself. Altitude rather than distance is the difficulty - a fit walker covers the ground easily at low elevation and finds the passes hard work, and the descent is steep on loose rock in places.
Camping and food
There is no accommodation along the route, so the trek is done with camping equipment and, almost always, a support crew of yak drivers or horses who carry the loads. Food is either carried in and cooked by a camp cook or bought from the herders, who sell yoghurt, butter and sometimes potatoes and meat in summer. Water comes from streams and should be treated. Nights are cold at any time of year, and the passes are often blocked by snow between November and April, which restricts the season to roughly May to October.
Practical notes
Foreign visitors to Tibet travel on a permit arranged through a licensed agency and must be accompanied by a guide, and the same applies to treks: you cannot walk this route independently. The agency arranges the permit, the guide, the transport, the camp crew and the yaks, and the cost is considerably higher than a comparable trek in Nepal as a result. Allow four to five days in total from Lhasa. Acclimatise in Lhasa for at least two or three days before starting, take altitude medication as advised, and carry more warm clothing than the daytime temperatures suggest.
