Cycling Tibet (Sichuan - Yunnan)

Hey everybody! Thinking about cycling Tibet? You may like to have a look to the trip I made with my friend in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces . We planned to go from Chengdu to Kunming.

Season: We went in the autumn-winter season during October-November.  During the night we had subzero temperatures around -15ºC  so yeah, but once the sun comes out it gets pretty warm (usually around 10-15ºC below zero). We had blue sky the whole trip unless the first day it was snowing. If you plan to go during July-September you may find many rainy days.

Route: There are two main routes possible to accomplish for this  trip:

Route 1:  Starting from Rilong to Xinduqiao It will take 5 days on the bike plus a day on the bus.

I went with the intention of doing this track in mind, however, at the time I went (Nov’09) the road to Rilong had collapsed due to Sichuans Earthquake of 2008, so the only possibility was to take a bus from Chendu to Rolong and start from there. The bus was leaving at 6am and would take 8 to 12 hours long. So if you want to take this route it will take you another day to start cycling.

Route 2:  Starting from Kanding to Xinduqiao. Yeah I know, it’s a big shortcut, but you will have more time to get lost and enjoy the the amazing spots you will find on the way.  I won’t

recommend to cicle from Chendu to Xinduqiao, the road is too busy and risky so be aware!

As I already plan both routes I will split the first part of the document  showing both alternatives hoping it might help someone.

When didn’t go from Daocheng to Yading because we had to pay to see a mountain (four times

the quantity of the Imperial Palace!!! Oh! Come on!) so I have no idea about the road (but it should be ok).  We save two three wonderful days to enjoy: one in Xiangcheng, and the rest in Yongke, a relaxing village just after the Tiger Leaping George.