Speaking of "Namtso" in Tibet, no one who has been to Lhasa knows that this scenic spot is a must-see place. Namtso is 240 kilometers away from Lhasa, between Damxung County and Bangor County. Namtso has a large area, more than 70 kilometers long from east to west, and more than 30 kilometers long from north to south, with an altitude of 4718 meters. It is the largest large lake with the highest altitude in the world. Namtso means "heavenly lake" in Tibetan. But how many people know that Nam Co, a popular scenic spot, is located on the south bank of Damxung County. This is a very mature scenic spot, which is already very commercialized, so to speak, it has been over-developed. But in Namco on the north bank of Bangor County (belonging to the Nagqu area), not many people know about it. The "Holy Elephant Tianmen" scenic spot that has only emerged in the past two years has not been fully developed so far. It used to be one of the holy places of the ancient Zhang Zhung Buddha Dharma Yongzhong Bon that only old Tibetans knew. Holy Elephant Tianmen is located in Wucun Village, Qinglong Township, Bange County, Nagqu Prefecture, on Chadorangka Island in the northern part of the holy lake Namtso.
Before departure, I searched the Internet for free travel guides to the Holy Elephant Tianmen. Most of them arrived there by self-driving tour, and I could hardly find detailed and complete information for reference. The remote location, inconvenient transportation, poor road conditions, poor accommodation and other factors make many people flinch. It is also because of this that the Holy Elephant Tianmen has added a bit of mystery, making some curious and persistent people come here to see its charm. As a backpacker who always likes to travel alone, this time I had to sign up for a tour in Lhasa to visit the Holy Elephant Tianmen. Even if it is a group tour, the level of hard work is no less than a few days ago when one person went to Sapu Mountain alone. On the early morning of September 23, the two-day tour group of the Holy Elephant Tianmen departed from Lhasa. The driver and tour guide continued to persuade everyone to be mentally prepared along the way. Buy oxygen. Not long after the car drove out of Lhasa, it stopped at an anchor store to have breakfast and buy oxygen bags and even oxygen cylinders. The exaggeration is that a young woman in the tour group actually bought the largest oxygen bottle and brought a cart to the back seat of the car. Why does this store look so familiar? After some hard work, I retrieved it from my memory. It turned out that when I came to Tibet for the first time a few years ago, I also stopped at this store when I took a one-day tour to the south bank of Namtso. This store can be regarded as a time-honored store. The preparations for buying and renting are ready, and everyone starts off with the car. The same route as the first time I came here a few years ago, passing through Damxung County and then entering the Namtso Scenic Highway. On the way into the scenic highway, I found out why there were so many tourist buses going back early in the morning. The driver contacted his companions in front through the walkie-talkie and learned that there was heavy snowfall above Namtso last night. For the sake of road safety, the road was temporarily closed this morning and all vehicles were not allowed to enter. Hearing this news, everyone was very upset, wondering if today's journey would be ruined. Now that we have entered the area of the scenic spot, we have no choice but to bite the bullet and drive forward until we reach the gate of the scenic spot before making a decision. Outside the gate of Namtso National Park, there is a long line of vehicles waiting to enter. Maybe everyone has the same idea, and if you come, you will be safe, and then maybe good luck will come. After waiting for more than an hour and a half, there was good news that the blockage was unblocked. At about 1:00 noon, the cars lined up entered the gate of the scenic spot, and most of the cars were going to Namtso on the south bank. There is still 40 kilometers from the gate of the scenic spot to the lake area. First, you have to cross the "Nagan Pass" at an altitude of 5,150 meters. There is a lot of snow here, and the pass is not only very windy but also very low in temperature. But it is also considered a famous scenic spot, and cars usually stop to watch and take pictures when passing by. After crossing the mountain pass, you will go down to the lake area, and the beautiful Namtso is in sight. When the car passed by the familiar Namtso on the South Bank, it felt that it had been developed on a larger scale than in previous years. I think this is not necessarily a good thing.
After passing the Namtso scenic spot on the South Bank, the car should be heading towards Bangor County. There were very few cars along the way, and only one bus like a long-distance bus was seen, probably bound for a certain place in the Nagqu area. After a while, there was light snow in the sky, and I couldn't help worrying about the weather conditions when I arrived at the destination later. At this time, I saw the shepherdess running in the wind and snow outside the car window, working hard in the field in such bad weather, but I was worrying in the car, thinking about everything and resigning myself to fate.
It is about 100 kilometers from Namtsokai on the South Bank to the scenic spot of Tianxiang Tianmen. This section is full of dirt roads, and the potholes are the most difficult road I have ever seen in Tibet. Due to the closure of the mountain and being stranded at the entrance of the scenic spot for more than an hour, it was delayed to reach the Holy Elephant Tianmen for nearly two hours, and it was nearly five o'clock in the evening to arrive at the "Moon Bay" scenic spot. The car is parked in the parking lot below the mountain, and visitors must climb up to the top of the cliff on foot. The first half of the hillside is not difficult, but it is not easy to climb the slope above 4800 meters above sea level. When we were about to reach the top, there was no road and there were jagged rocks, rugged and difficult cliffs, and it took a lot of effort to climb to the top of the cliff. There is no doubt about the mountains and rivers, and there is no way to climb high and look far into the sky. When I stood on the high cliff, my eyes were shocked and blinded. The goshawk hovers between the sky and the earth from time to time, facing the blue holy lake from a high place, you seem to be standing in front of the vast sea, and the snow-capped Tanggula Mountains on the other side are continuous, and you have never seen such a shocking scene . The holiest snow-capped mountains and the purest holy lakes are so perfectly matched between heaven and earth. At this moment, all the most beautiful pictures in front of me go straight into my heart. As the name suggests, the Holy Elephant Tianmen is a huge natural stone statue standing on the north bank of Namtso. The elephant's trunk just extends into the lake, as if it is drawing holy water from the snowy area. Between the body of the stone statue and the trunk, there is a huge door, which is the holy door leading to heaven.
The weather on the snow-covered plateau is ever-changing, and the color of the sky also changes accordingly. Snow mountains, lakes, strange rocks, cliffs, colorful, the light is moving fast, and the colors are changing rapidly. Go down the cliff, get close to the holy lake, and feel the Namtso holy lake at your feet and the Nyainqentanglha Mountains in the distance. This couple holds hands and looks at each other. Walking among the strange rocks and peak forests on the shore, the ingenious and peculiar Kanas landform gave me endless imagination and time travel. At dusk, the clouds passing through the sky and the flickering sunlight constitute a dreamy color of the deep mysterious sky. The sky and the lake reflect each other, reflecting the faint blue light, and the faint sunset glow on the edge of the sky leaves people with some reverie. All these things endowed by nature are really unimaginable.
The night is about to fall, and when you return to the base camp accommodation, the remaining glow on the other side of the sky will accompany you into the sweet dreamland of Namtso.
Last night, the tents at the base camp were ventilated from all directions, which may be due to the strong winds near the lake. Even though there was a fire in the tents, it still felt very cold. Early in the morning, I walked out of the tent and saw the clear sky. After the snow, Namtso's sky is blue and transparent, and the lake is blue and clear. The first ray of sunlight slowly rises from the Nyainqentanglha Mountains, and the soft light ripples on the lake. Nam Co at this time and yesterday's scene are completely in two worlds, and everything around is immersed in warm colors. The warmth brought by the sun in the alpine region makes people see hope and is full of joy. Standing not far away are the magical three stones, which are called "Sansheng Stone" by the locals, and there is a beautiful legend. It is said that couples in this life can get married for three lives and three lives as long as they come here.
车子返回拉萨于昨天行驶的路线有所不同，离开圣象天门走的是沿北岸纳木错湖边沿线。虽然沿途的路况很差，但丝毫影响不了观赏湖光山色的美景。在湖边走才体会到纳木错之大之美，洁白的念青唐古拉雪山和湛蓝色的纳木错湖水，这对念念不忘的恋人给人间执手共同谱写了一幅唯美的画面。