Tagong Grassland Travel Guide - Essentials of Lhagang Grassland

Tagong, or Lhagang in Tibetan, is a small Tibetan settlement that is well known for its scenic grasslands and Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. It offers opportunities for hiking, horseback riding, and authentic Tibetan “homestays”, where you can see how a real Tibetan family live on a day-to-day basis.

Tagong Grasslands - A Huge Expanse of Prairie

The nearby Tagong Grasslands is a huge expanse of prairie that lies in the shadow of the sacred Yala Mountain. The grasslands are home to tens of thousands of yaks, and are full of lush grass with a few small lakes, which are the home of many species of wild birds.

Where is Tagong

Tagong is situated in the foothills of the Tibetan plateau, near Kangding in the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Western Sichuan Province. Expansive grasslands that stretch as far as the eye can see, and snow-covered mountains surround the town. At an elevation of 3,730 meters, it is not as high as some parts of the plateau, but is high enough for there to be a mild risk of altitude sickness, or Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS).

A horse was grazing leisurely on the Tagong Grassland.

The town has always been a major trading town for those who live in the area, and in more recent years has become very popular with backpackers. However, in the winter months, it is more likely that you will encounter nomadic horsemen than other tourists. At the elevation and location of Tagong, winter months can be cold, and are not the best time for foreign tourists to visit, unless you love snow.

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What to See in Tagong

Yala Snow Mountain

Mount Yala, also known as Yala Snow Mountain due to it being covered in snow all year round, sits at an elevation of 5,820 meters, and is located in the middle of a nature reserve that borders on three counties, Danba, Kangding, and Daofu. Yala Snow Mountain means “eastern white yak mountain”, and the mountain is worshipped by the local Tibetan people as their patron god. The Yala River springs from its foothills and winds its way across the grasslands, until it finally merges with the Dadu River.

Yala Snow Mountain - Being Covered in Snow All Year Round

It is the second highest peak in the Sichuan Daxue range, and is one of four holy mountains worshipped by the Tibetan people in the area. In the ancient Tibetan texts, the mountain is referred to as the “Second Shambhala” and the “Oriental White Yak”. Tibetans have been traveling to the mountain for centuries, and the hillsides are festooned with hundreds of thousands of prayer flags and religious items. As Sichuan’s second highest mountain, the views from the 4,216-meter-high Mt. Yala Pass are fantastic, and on a clear day, you can see the distant, snow-capped peaks of Minya Konka.

Tagong Temple

There are two Buddhist temples in Tagong. The Tagong Monastery is situated next to the town’s main square, right in the center of the town. Tagong is another monastery that has links to the beautiful Princess Wencheng, the wife of the Tibetan king, Songtsen Gampo. It is alleged to have been founded when she was passing through on the way to Lhasa. Her entourage was carrying a huge stone statue of Sakyamuni - known as the Jowo Sakyamuni Buddha, and now housed in the center of the main hall of the famous Jokhang Temple in Lhasa – which fell from the cart on the spot where the monastery now stands.

Tagong Monastery of the Morning

One legend of the occurrence reputes that the statue spoke to Princess Wencheng, and told her it would like to stay there, so the Princess had a reproduction made immediately from the golden sands of the site, to be left there in place of the original. Tagong means “the favorite place of the bodhisattva”, and it is said locally that, “if you cannot get to Lhasa for pilgrimage to the Jokhang Temple and the original statue, it will give the same merits and virtues to make your pilgrimage to Tagong Temple”.

The Jowo Sakyamuni Buddha

Built during the Qing dynasty to honor the journey of Princess Wencheng, the monastery features the replica of the statue, and contains sacred scriptures of the Sakya sect of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as other relics, some of which are said to be more than ten thousand years old. Every year, at the end of June, a major, three-day Buddha festival is held at the monastery.

Lhagang Monastery has a roof made of pure gold.

The Lhagang Monastery, a ten-minute walk south of the town center, sits in the foothills of the sacred, snow-covered mountains. This beautiful monastery is the site of the famous Muya Golden Pagoda, which was built in 1997. The pagoda, which was a gift from the Living Buddha of Zhuqing Monastery, has a roof made of pure gold, which sits in the center of four towers. The roof, which was constructed using over 100 kilograms of gold, honors the Living Buddha 10th Panchen Lama.

Muya Golden Pagoda

Ani Gompa Nunnery is also located nearby, just two hours hike across the grasslands. Set on a remote hillside location far from other settlements, it is the largest nunnery in the area. Apart from hiking, there is a road that can take you there, just south of the Lhagang Monastery. The nuns of Ani Gompa, along with their students, occupy a small settlement of rustic wooden houses that are spread across the hills leading up to the temple. The nunnery is linked to the Lhagang Monastery and many of the young nuns are there because their parents sent them to live at the nunnery indefinitely. “Ani” is a Tibetan term that means “aunt”, and is used as a respectful term for nuns in Tibet.

Local Tibetan Herdsmen

All across the Tagong grasslands you can find the Tibetan herdsmen, living in nomadic tents and tending to their yak all year round. Tens of thousands of yaks are dotted across the area, where the grass is lush and green for most of the year, and only turns brown in late November, as winter starts to set in.

Yaks are dotted across the area.

The nomads live in clusters of families, mainly for the safety of their small community. Tagong Grasslands is one of the places where wild wolves still roam, and the yak calves are easy prey for a pack of hungry wolves. To keep the animals safe, many nomads keep the calves inside their tents at night.

Simple and Basic Nomadic Tents

The nomadic tents are simple and basic, made of stitched canvas stretched over wooden poles, and are high enough to easily stand up inside. These tents are large, and accommodate the entire family, as well as the smaller yaks, with a central stove being the main feature of the tents. There is no furniture, and most of their possessions are stored in bags or rolled in blankets that are left on the ground.

The Inside of the Tent

The nomadic people live a very simple life, and they do not depend on an overabundance of material possessions. Everything inside the tents is built to have a purpose, including the tent’s guylines, which double as lines to hang laundry. Bedding is usually yak skins that are laid on the ground to help keep out the cold of the frozen earth in the colder parts of the year.

All Tibetan nomads actively take part in the horse races.

One of the main events of the year in the grasslands is the annual horse racing festival. Held at the beginning of the eighth lunar month of the Tibetan Calendar, the festival is a gathering point for thousands of Tibetan nomads, who descend on the site to watch and take part in the horse races, and enjoy the Tibetan operas while partaking of butter tea and traditional Tibetan foods. The Tibetan farmers also celebrate their harvest with festivals that include drinking, dancing, and singing, and can go on for several days.

Best Time to Visit Tagong

Given that Tagong is at a relatively high altitude, even the summer is quite cool, compared to lower areas to the east. Temperatures can get extremely cold in winter, especially at night, so it is not the best time to visit, although access to the town is available all year round, and it has some beautiful wintery scenery when the snow falls.

Spring and fall are the best times to visit Tagong Grassland.

Summers can be quite wet, with a lot more rain than higher parts of Tibet during the monsoon season. Wet weather gear is essential, although it is worth it to see the grasslands in the rainy season, with lush green grass as far as the eye can see.

Spring and fall are the best times to visit Tagong Grassland. The weather, although mild to cold, is pleasant, especially for trekking and horse riding across the huge expanse of Tagong Grasslands. The horseracing festival is also held in fall, and is definitely something to see.

Get to Tagong from Chengdu

Traveling to Tagong from Chengdu is relatively easy. There is a daily bus from Chengdu Xinnamen bus station to Kanding, which takes around seven hours to get there. Buy the ticket when you get there for the bus to Tagong, which leaves every morning, and is only three hours away. There are plenty of places to stay in Kangding if you are faced with an overnight wait.

Chengdu Xinnamen Bus Station

Vans are also available to hire outside Kangding Bus Station, although it is better to find other people to share the cost. Vans only leave in the afternoon, so you can spend a few hours in the morning gathering others to travel with.