Tiger Leaping Gorge,Tibetan Prefecture, China
A two hour and at times precarious bus ride has brought us to the stunning Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge in the Tibetan prefecture, a mere 15 minutes from the border of Tibet.There are several houses built from the slate and stone of the area...very rustic and the road to the gorge is littered with landslides and boulders Parts of the road to the gorge have also fallen away. The route can be stomach churning at times with steep fallaways into the gorge from the road.
There are plenty of international backpackers from Austria, Nederlands, France, U.K., Korea etc doing the 2 day walk. We managed a shorter half day walk today down to the very steep gorge where legend says that a tiger was seen leaping to a large rock amidst the gushing waters...hence the name. A precarious swing bridge leads to the rock and is maintained by locals. The Himalayan mountains on either side of the gushing gorge are about 2km high. and snow covered in winter. The gorge looks like white water rafting would be a perilous pursuit.
We have decided to spend a couple of days here, rather than rush on to Shangri-La , given the astonishing rugged beauty of the place. Tina's Guest House (an International Youth Hostel) offers food and lodgings and there are several other local Guest houses springing up along the walking routes. Yak meat is a delicacy in these parts and tastes a bit like an oxen's tongue.
The weather is clear, the sky blue and the sun shone warmly on us during our hike. A wonderful place to be!
