Sapu Mountain may be relatively unfamiliar to tourists who are new to Tibet. As a donkey friend who entered Tibet for the third time, I only learned about it when a friend sent me a photo before departure. Before leaving, I hurriedly checked the relevant information on the Internet, and learned of limited strategies. Only the strategy written by a young man named Shu Xiaojian is of more reference value. In 2016, the young man born in the 90s, Shu Xiaojian, started to play with the eight sacred mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In the following year, in 2017, he may be the first person to step into the "peerless secret land" - the visitor of the sacred mountain of Sap. In October of that year, he published on the Internet "Two Explorations to the Sap Mountain, and the Peerless Secret of Tibet Finally Revealed". In the past two years, many donkey friends have traveled thousands of miles to come here just to see its style. Due to the remote location and the extremely inconvenient traffic, it can be said that more than 90% of them are self-driving donkey friends, and there are only a few backpackers who enter the holy mountain on foot. I hold the heart of fanatical worship of Sap Shenshan, and I am fortunate to be one of the few backpackers in the area. Due to the long distance, difficult transportation, and hardships, this travel note will focus on the detailed process of entering the mountain, hoping to inspire and help the latecomers.

On September 15, 2019, the prelude to the 40-day Tibet and Xinjiang trip began. The air ticket from Shanghai to Lhasa was too expensive, and the cheapest was more than 2,700 yuan. For a poor traveler like me who is often away, it is really unacceptable and I have to find another way. It only costs 1,200 yuan to fly to Lhasa the next day by staying in Changsha for one night, so why not do it. It was already 5 o'clock in the afternoon when we arrived in Lhasa the next day, and immediately went to Lhasa Railway Station to buy the Lhasa-Naqu train ticket at 9 o'clock in the morning on September 17th. At 7 o'clock in the morning on the 17th, I packed up my bag and set off with both excitement and anxiety. The excitement was that the Sapu Mountain was already waving to me, and the anxiety was how to enter the destination on the road ahead. I don't have a precise itinerary yet. At 7 o'clock in the morning in Lhasa, it was not yet fully lit. When I walked out of the hostel, I saw the Potala Palace on the hillside not far away, shrouded in a dreamy sky before dawn. The train departed on time at nine o'clock, and it was on the Qinghai-Tibet line. I remembered that it was the line from Lanzhou that I entered Tibet for the first time a few years ago. The train left Lhasa Station and slowly climbed up. The altitude of Nagqu is 4,500 meters, which is nearly a thousand meters higher than that of Lhasa, which is 3,600 meters. The majestic Tanggula Mountains lined up outside the car window, flashing before my eyes. Blue sky, white clouds, snow mountains. There are many grasslands, pastures, and rivers, with distinct layers and pleasing to the eye.

Sap Sacred Mountain belongs to Puzonggou, Yangxiu Township, Ruxian County, Nagqu area. The first stop for me to go to Sap Sacred Mountain must be from Lhasa to Nagqu. Nagqu is 330 kilometers away from Lhasa. The train took about three and a half hours to arrive at Nagqu Station, a few kilometers away from the city center. After leaving the train station, there was no bus to go to the city, so we had to share a car with others to the city’s passenger terminal, about 8 kilometers away. The fare is 20 yuan per person. Before departure, I checked the time of the passenger bus to the county on the Internet. It happened to be the bus that departed at 2:00 pm. There were about 4 buses a day, and the latest bus was at 4 pm. For example, the county is 230 kilometers away from Nagqu City, but the bus has been driven for a full six hours, including parking to pick up passengers, the driver to eat, and so on. After driving out of Nagqu Station, the bus soon entered the winding mountain road, driving over mountains and ridges along the edge of the cliff, with the rushing Nujiang River at its feet, which was really frightening. At 8 o'clock in the evening, the bus arrived at Ruru County Passenger Station. Most of the passengers who came with the bus to Ruru County were picked up by cars or motorcycles. I was full of travel and dust, and I was waiting for a taxi on the side of the road with my luggage. There may be no buses in this small county. Look at Nagqu for Cordyceps sinensis in Tibet, and look at Nagqu for Cordyceps sinensis. For example, the quality of Cordyceps sinensis in the county is the best. In recent years, the hype of Cordyceps sinensis in China has not diminished, resulting in a substantial increase in local fiscal revenue. When they have money, they will engage in civil engineering construction, and the streets of the county are full of dust. After waiting for a long time, a taxi came and took me to a hotel I had found in advance by the Nujiang Bridge. In order to make it easier to catch a taxi on the bridge tomorrow morning, I went to Yangxiu Township. When the Tibetan driver learned that I was going to Sapu Mountain tomorrow morning, he offered a sky-high price of 2,000 yuan to take me to the base camp of Sapu Mountain, which is about 110 kilometers away from the county seat. Along the way, I kept saying that the road was bad and there was no car, etc., and finally it was reduced to 1,500 yuan. But for me, it's all in vain to say that I have an idea in my heart, just listen to it. The taxi took me to this hotel called "For example Xinrong Business Hotel". The address is No. 12, Ningbo East Road, next to Provincial Highway 303. All cars going to Yangxiu Township must pass through Provincial Highway 303. What is surprising is that this business hotel is actually located in the auto repair shop. It turned out that the owner of the auto repair shop opened it to entertain passing drivers. However, the night I stayed in a hostel with dozens of beds, I stayed alone, and the price was cheap, only 80 yuan per night. Needless to say, the condition.

The traffic from Ruru County to Sap Shenshan is nothing more than a few situations. One is to drive directly to the Shenshan Base Camp, and the other is to take a long-distance bus at the Ruxian County Bus Station located in the opposite direction yesterday, and then get off at the Shenshan Base Camp (car Not every day, you need to check the schedule in advance), and the easiest and most helpless way is to stop the car while walking along the way. At six o'clock in the morning on the 18th, the moon was still high above Ru County, and I quietly walked out of the inn to the Nujiang Bridge, waiting for the passing cars at the end of the bridge. Since it was too early to see the car, after waiting for a while, several cars drove one after another to send the children to school early in the morning. Standing on the bridge early in the morning was very cold. After about ten or twenty minutes, a business van drove towards me, and I hurriedly waved it to stop. A burly middle-aged man pulled down the car window, and I hurriedly explained the reason. He seemed to understand what I meant, and immediately asked a middle-aged man in the back seat for permission, and let me get in the car after getting instructions. After getting in the car and talking with this man, I learned that he was traveling to a Tibetan area for travel and filming. Not long ago, I went to Sapu Mountain to shoot, but today I am going to Sanse Lake to shoot, and I went to Yangxiu Township to pick up people earlier. Perhaps because I also like to travel, I know that it is not easy to go out, especially in Tibetan areas. The road from Ruru County to Yangxiu Township is in good condition, and the whole journey is asphalt. Not long after leaving the county, the car



Then we entered the "Shala Mountain" at an altitude of 5090 meters and climbed uphill. This line of mountains, the shape, texture and color of the mountains, I have never seen them before, and I really can't imagine how beautiful the sky is. The Tibetan uncle has excellent driving skills. After entering the mountain road, he kept turning left and right at the upward bend, and kept the speed above 60. Not only is he familiar with the road conditions, he is a veteran in this area. The 70-kilometer journey from the county seat to Yangxiu Township took only 50 minutes for a Tibetan driver to arrive at the destination. On the top of the mountain in the morning, the sun only showed a little bit of its face, and the mountainside was surrounded by clouds and mist, and the car shuttled through it as if it was flying on the road to the sky.

At the intersection of Yangxiu Township, they dropped me off because they had to go in to pick up people. Standing on the side of the road and looking at the opposite Yangxiu Township, it is like a beauty sleeping in a cloud and mist fairyland, quiet and mesmerizing. It was still early, and there were no passing vehicles, only tractors passing by. After a while, I finally saw a self-driving convoy with consecutive numbers driving far away, probably heading towards the base camp of Sap Shenshan. I hurried to get ready to stop the car. There were about seven cars coming at a high speed, and none of them kept whizzing by, which may be the reason for the formation. Although the last car didn't stop, I noticed that the car slowed down. The driver put his hands on the steering wheel and made a gesture of bowing to express his apology. It was this car numbered 2. I did not expect to meet him again in the base camp of Sap Shenshan the next day, and formed an unforgettable friendship. This is a later story.


Because I came out early, there was no water in, and the temperature in the alpine area was low, I stood on the side of the road and shivered from the cold, and I really experienced what it means to be hungry and cold. If I wait any longer, I’m afraid I’m going to catch a cold. I’m most afraid of catching a cold in the high-altitude and cold areas, and then the next trip will be ruined. So I decided to set off immediately, and stopped the car while walking towards Sapu Mountain. Go down tens of meters from Yangxiu Township to a three-way intersection. There is a sign on the right hand intersection, which clearly introduces the sacred mountain of Sapu, the distance and the emergency service number. Next to the sign is the entrance, which is now the gate sign of the road construction company. The rotten road leading to Sap God Mountain is currently being repaired section by section. It is hoped that the road will be repaired in the near future, and Sap God Mountain will become lively. It may be early at this point, and there are almost no cars in the direction of Sapp. When I walked a few hundred meters inside, a minivan drove up from behind. The driver rolled down the window, and a middle-aged man who could speak well sat next to him. He said that the car came from Qamdo, hundreds of kilometers away, and if he wanted to take the ride, would he be given a fuel subsidy? It is about 45 kilometers from Yangxiu Township to the base camp. Except for a small section of cement road that has been repaired, the rest is full of potholes and uneven dirt roads. My old bones are about to fall apart. Almost half of the journey, I saw the Sangda Temple on the hillside. According to reports, this is the largest temple in Yangxiu Township, with an altitude of 4,300 meters. It took only a few tens of kilometers to reach the base camp of Sap Shenshan after driving for 2 hours. It was almost noon at this time, and my stomach was rumbling with hunger, so I rushed into the tent to keep warm and look for food. There are only breakfast noodles left in the kitchen of the inn. No matter what the taste is, warm them up before eating. This bowl of ordinary vermicelli with two grains of yak meat floating on it costs 25 yuan.

The full name of Sapu God Mountain is Sapu Gongla Gabu. Sapu means snow leopard in Tibetan, Pu means inside, deep mountain-there are snow leopards in the depths of the mountain. The base camp of Sap Shenshan is 4,700 meters above sea level, and it is under the jurisdiction of Langqie Village and Parong Village, Yangxiu Township. A checkpoint is set at the entrance of the base camp, and all foreign vehicles must stop here and are not allowed to drive in. Either enter on foot, or take a local villager's passenger motorcycle to enter, and each person needs to pay 150 yuan, because there are still four or five kilometers from the base camp to the foot of Sapu Mountain. But I didn't see any motorcycle carrying people that day, and I don't know why. A group of Tibetans came into the tent of the base camp inn, and they seemed to be familiar with the boss. The boss warmly entertained them with butter tea and yak jerky, and gave me a piece of yak jerky to taste, but unfortunately I couldn't bite. After they finished eating and came out of the tent, I realized with my sixth sense that they were going to drive in. So I found a kind-hearted middle-aged uncle and asked him to take me in. I couldn't communicate with the language, so I had to do my best to express it with body movements. After the Tibetan uncle understood what I meant, he agreed to my request and set off to the holy mountain with his wife and daughter who were in the same car. Although it is only a few kilometers from the base camp checkpoint to the Sap Holy Lake, it is still a bad road. There are many puddles and creeks on the bad road. If the small car with a low chassis encounters a strong current, it may not be able to pass. The sacred mountain of Sapp is getting closer and closer. Although I went through a lot of twists and turns early this morning, I came to her. At this time, I couldn't help shouting--Sacred mountain, I finally saw you. After getting out of the car, I was like an old colt having fun in front of the holy lake. Regardless of the hypoxic situation at an altitude of 4,700 meters, I happily ran along the shore of the holy lake, enjoying the happy time in front of the holy lake under the snow mountain. The only regret is that the sky today is cloudy and cloudy. The sun seems to be playing hide-and-seek with me. Sometimes it appears briefly, and sometimes it hides in the thick clouds for a long time. After watching the scenery and taking pictures, it is time to find the accommodation of the intended target.

Before departure, when I was doing a strategy on the Internet, I saw the introduction of the senior donkey friends. It is located about 3-4 kilometers above the holy lake and is closest to the ice lake. There is a Tibetan inn, and the owner is Gade. This is a small two-story stone building, surrounded by stone walls, with an iron gate on the front and backed by Sapp Snow Mountain. The accommodation conditions should be considered very good in such a remote and uninhabited place with high mountains and rivers. There are only two inns in the area above the entire ice lake, and another one is opposite Gad’s house and near the foot of the mountain. The owner Gade is not an easy Tibetan. He was the local guide of the British mountaineering team 20 years ago. From 1997 to 1998, Gade followed the mountaineering team with his luggage on his back to the shoulder of the main peak of Mount Sapu, at an altitude of 6,950 meters. The British mountaineering team made 20 attempts, all of which ended in failure. This can only be attributed to the power of the mountain. But when I met Gade, I chatted with him and found the story of him and the British mountaineering team on the Internet. Although he hardly speaks Chinese, we can see the expression of pride and happiness from his facial expression. Because of this, the distance between me and him has drawn closer, and I feel that I understand him and respect him. To go up from the holy lake below to the ice lake above is either by car or on foot. It takes one and a half to two hours to hike, and just over 20 minutes to drive. If you are hiking, you can go along the cliff on the left side of the holy lake or the gravel road on the right side of the lake. Of course, you can take pictures of Mount Sapu from different angles along the route. But now I have to go from 4,700 meters below to the top of about 5,000 meters with my luggage on my back, and I have been bumping all the way in the morning until now I only have a bowl of clear soup and noodles. I am afraid that my physical strength will be difficult to support. Standing on the bridge leading from the holy lake to the frozen lake above, I was worrying. God really helped me. The middle-aged Tibetan uncle who drove me in from the base camp just now stopped in front of me. He was driving to the frozen lake. to go. He gestured for me to get in the car. The warm and kind uncle is really destined for him. The road to the frozen lake is still a bad road, and it is also bumpy. After arriving at the ice lake, I expressed my thanks to the kind-hearted Tibetan uncle and his family, and then went straight to Gade Inn with my luggage on my back.

After lodging in Gadejia Inn, there are more than ten or twenty Tibetan-style beds surrounded by a large room. Each bed costs 100 yuan per night without meals. Gade is about 60 years old this year and walks with a little limp on his right foot, which may have been left by a fall while working as a guide for the British mountaineering team ten years ago. In addition to him and his wife, there are two elderly people and a four or five-year-old boy in Gad's family. When talking with Gade, he can only speak a few simple Chinese words, all relying on body gestures. He was happy to take out a publication published by the British mountaineering team that year, which contained photos of him and the mountaineering team members. This magazine is his beloved treasure, and he asked me to take pictures of him with it. After some exchange, he happily took me out the back door of his house, climbed over a hill and came to a glacier lake with a wide view. This may be the closest contact with the snow-capped mountains and glaciers above. He walks on the river beach and picks up sundries and garbage, just like a guard guarding his homeland.

Sap God Mountain has the most unique mountain shape and breathtaking glacier style in the world, and the common feature of mountain glaciers and lake glaciers is the biggest highlight. The huge mountain glaciers above shattered into the lake below the mountain, and there were ice cubes of different shapes and sizes floating. Unfortunately, the number of ice cubes in the lake I saw was not much, which may be related to the global warming. Sap Snow Mountain has mythical legends, such as a wife who cheated on a doctor and gave birth to an illegitimate child, etc. You can search for different versions on the Internet. I think these are just legends and stories made up by people according to the thoughts and wishes they want to express in their hearts, and there is no way to talk about them. On the contrary, I think this legend is a bit far-fetched and a bit blasphemy. I don't like to name the peaks according to the story in the story, I will number them in order from left to right facing the Sapp Mountain. The No. 1 peak on the far left is also the wife peak in the legend. Whether you appreciate it from a distance, you will feel that she is the most seductive. The two equilateral triangular peaks next to Peak 1 are also the biggest attraction, just like scattered Egyptian pyramids. The large and small one front and one back triangular snow-capped mountains cooperate so perfectly that it may be difficult to find another one in the world. In addition, many snow mountains in Tibetan areas have similar peaks. I think that the "Meili Snow Mountain", "Gongga Snow Mountain" and "Nanga Bawa Mountain" that I have been to have been written by donkey friends on the Internet. Triangles, words like pyramids. But today, when I stood in front of these two completely equilateral triangle snow mountains, the clean and solid triangle shape, I was really impressed by her appearance, this is the real product. On the far right is also the highest peak, Pu Gangri, with an altitude of 6,956 meters. Its appearance is ordinary, and its kingly demeanor is overshadowed by his wife's graceful appearance. Even so, he still stands on the highest place and looks down at the people under his nose proudly. group of peaks.

Gade took me for a walk around the frozen lake, and knew that I wanted to go to the "Sabrakang" temple on the opposite hillside, so he led me across a stream. Point to a small red brick temple at the top above the rocky hills and tell me that there is no one inside today. The small temple stands quietly at the foot of Sapu's Daughter Peak. There is only one monk named Master Caizhu in the temple, and a clear lamp is accompanied by the ancient Buddha. It is said that he has been studying the differences between Bon Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism here since he was 28 years old. Caizhu used to be a teacher and knew a lot of Chinese. Gade reminded me that no one was there, and it reminded me of a motorcycle approaching on the way to the base camp in the morning, and a monk with a big beard and a red cassock sitting behind him. Isn't he Master Caizhu, maybe he went to Sangda Monastery. There is no way to go to Sapu Temple, only to grope up in the pile of rocks. Since the door was locked with an iron lock, and the strange person was not there, we had to give up. I walked down from the top of the frozen lake to the high side of the frozen lake. At this moment, looking down at the frozen lake has a wider view. I was lying on the big rock at the foot of Sap Sacred Mountain, and there was no one around. When I looked up, the peaks of Sap Sacred Mountain flashed in front of me. The holy mountain and the holy lake, the mountain lives with the lake, and the lake lives with the mountain. Lakes and glaciers are of the same color, and clouds and mountains are flying together. Such a wonderful world belongs to me alone. The mind is empty, the thoughts are stagnant, and there is nothing in the world that can compare to the moment. The sky gradually darkened, and the beautiful scenery under the sunset of Sapu, which I wanted to place great expectations on, almost disappeared. Light rain fell from time to time, and the chill became even more severe, so I had to go back home. In the evening, Gade invited me to have dinner with his family, which showed that he treated me as a sincere friend. For dinner, we ate fried barley flour with butter tea, which was really hard to swallow. I didn't eat much, and Gad kept telling me to eat more, and he saw it and remembered it in his heart. In the early morning of the next day, I experienced a scene that I will never forget in my life.

Originally planned to stay at Sap Holy Mountain for at least two nights. After waking up at 5:00 in the morning, I heard the sound of rain outside the door. It seems that there is no good weather to be expected today. How hard it is to come and leave like this, somewhat unwilling. When he was at a loss and unable to make a decision, Gade walked into the room holding a box of Master Kong’s sauerkraut instant noodles, which meant that I didn’t have a good dinner last night and told me to eat it. The truth is seen in the subtleties, and spiritual communication is rare. I was really moved by his behavior for being so considerate and caring for me who is far away from home. I immediately took out the brand new waterproof shoe covers I brought and gave them to him, telling him that he must use them when wading across the river, because his legs are not good and need to be protected. Gade thanked him repeatedly at this time, and immediately returned to his room to take out a white khata and presented it to me with both hands. This is probably the highest etiquette of the Tibetan people. It was only dawn at seven o'clock, and the old man from Gade's family asked me to have breakfast. I drank a bowl of buttered tea and ate some porridge. Gade and his wife were not seen at this time. The cute little boy in his family can speak a little Chinese, and learned that they went to the mountain to graze yaks early in the morning. The hardworking and honest Tibetans wish them a safe and happy life. When I walked out of the house, it was raining lightly, and dark clouds filled the surroundings. The snow peak of Sap God Mountain had long since disappeared, and the visibility was extremely low. Waiting to stay another night is no longer an option. Through the little boy, I expressed to his parents that I would leave and go down the mountain to the base camp, and I will give him 100 yuan for the accommodation. The elder meant that Gade said that he could not charge my accommodation fee, and I would pay Gade the accommodation fee for everything I said. Gad's family didn't have a car to take me down the mountain, and most of the people who stayed at his house drove up with cars. The little boy told me that a young man would come to his house to pick up food soon, and he could ride down on his motorcycle. After a short wait, a young man came to his house and took away a few bags of barley powder in the most primitive trade method of exchanging goods. I said goodbye to the kind-hearted family of Gade and sat on the back seat of the young man's motorcycle. downhill. There are about three or four inns in the Sap Shenshan Base Camp. When I came to the base camp again, I saw the convoy from Lanzhou that I met yesterday parked at the entrance of the second inn. The No. 2 car mentioned above was also at the entrance. I immediately entered the inn, which is a restaurant and accommodation run by people from Sichuan. It may be that the food is more delicious, which attracts them to come and stay. I went in and chatted with them. They may be an outdoor club organizing car tours in Tibet. The goal of today’s departure is to stay in Nagqu for one night, and tomorrow I will drive into the no-man’s land in the north of Ngari. It sounds very desirable. The owner of No. 2 car recognized me at a glance. I also talked about the matter of stopping the car at the intersection of Yangxiu Township yesterday morning, and I had a special affection for him. The owner's surname is Chen and I have the same surname. We belonged to a family five hundred years ago, and we have gotten closer through mutual understanding. Mr. Chen is the boss of a software company in Lanzhou. He looks like a well-bred person with a gentle manner. While talking, I told him that I wanted to take his car, and he agreed to my request without hesitation. I really met a lot of enthusiastic people along the way. Otherwise, I would have to figure out how to get to Ruru County by car, and then take a long-distance bus from Ruru County to Nagqu, which would be a toss again. This is simple, you can reach Nagqu for one night today, and take the train to Lhasa in the morning directly tomorrow. The convoy departed from the Sapu base camp at 10:00 in the morning, and passed through the county town for lunch until 7:00 in the evening before reaching the urban area of ​​Nagqu.


Nagqu is at a high altitude, so it was quite cold last night. I woke up early the next day, and arrived at the Nagqu Railway Station in the stars and the moon, and took the early bus back to Lhasa at seven o'clock. The early bird catches the worm. I didn't expect that this bus would pass through the "Qiangtang Prairie" in northern Tibet during the best time in the morning. Located between the Kunlun Mountains, the Tanggula Mountains and the Gangdise Mountains, the Alpine Scenery Grassland Ranch is simply beautiful. God is fair. Although I didn't take a beautiful picture of Chaoyang in Sapp, I didn't expect to make it up for me on the train back to Lhasa. The cotton-like white clouds in the sky, the prairie that has not yet woken up, the snow water flowing gently in the creek, the Tanggula mountains in the distance, and the young trumpet looking and thinking from a distance, constitute the beautiful pictures inside and outside the car window. When the train was about to arrive in Lhasa, the Tibetans from Qinghai in the train began to move happily. They took out the brightest clothes from their luggage, dressed each other up, and went to worship the holy place in their hearts with the most beautiful appearance. The life of simple and simple Tibetans is so simple and happy. Although the weather was not ideal during this trip to Sapp Mountain, I did not take the expected photos. But from another perspective, the people and things experienced during the journey, and every detail that is still unforgettable, aren't they more precious than beautiful photos. A journey, a story, a rare encounter in life.