Seda Wuming Buddhist Academy Tour from Chengdu

Tour Length & Outline:

6 Days & 5 Nights
Chengdu(1N) - Maerkang(1N) - Seda(2 N) - Maerkang(1N) - Chengdu

Best Time to Visit:

all year round

Physical Demands:

Very leisure tour; zero physical demand

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The Prayers are praying before Tancheng
The Seda Wuming Buddhist Academy and its red surroundings
The lamas are studying Buddhism
The Night Scene of Wuming Buddhist Academy
The Diaolou & corn cob at Tiaoping Qiang Village

6-Day Seda Wuming Buddhist Academy Tour from Chengdu

Trip Overview
Day by Day
Price Guide
Know before you go
About 3rdpole Tour
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Trip Overview

Seda is famous for the world's largest active Tibetan Buddhist Academy/ School named Larong Wuming Buddhist Academy and Tianzang Funeral at Tianzang Site. In the tour, we arrange a whole day for you to visit the Academy and its surroundings, see thousands of red houses, personally experience Tianzang Funeral, enjoy the silent and dazzling night scene, and visit Xisuo Folk Houses featuring Jiarong Tibetan architectural art and Taoping Qiang Village which is well-preserved architectural art of Qiang group.

Seda county is far away from Chengdu, about 780km, which takes about 17 hours if there is not a stop. Therefore, we arranged one night stay at Maerkang, Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, and have a short break after 4-hour driving.

[2008 earthquake memorial site] Stand in silence here and say a little prayer for those who were perished;
[Xisuo Folk Houses] See the architectural houses of Jiarong Tibetan;
[Wuming Buddhist Academy] The world's largest active Tibetan Buddhist Academy/ School has thousands of resident Lama and Juemu;
[Tianzang Funeral] Personally experience the most solemn Tianzang funeral in Seda, see the lamas chanting and the Master dissecting corpse to loaf;
[Taoping Qiang Village] The world's well preserved architectural art of Qiang group.

Day 1: Chengdu Arrival

Upon your arrival at the Chengdu Shuangliu international airport, our tour guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel in Chengdu downtown. The rest of the day is yours to relax and have a good rest.

Direct International Flights to Chengdu

Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport offers more than 65 international airlines ranked the fourth domestic airline after Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The direct airlines directly link Chengdu with Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne, New York, London, Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Anchorage, Paris, Frankfurt, Seoul, Bangkok, Tokyo and more. Click here to check the map of Chengdu direct international airlines.

Day 2: Chengdu-Dujiangyan-Wenchuan-Li County-Maerkang (B, L)

May 12, 2008 Earthquake Relic

Xisuo Folk Houses

Today after breakfast at the hotel around 7:30am, we will drive about 7 hours from Chengdu to Maerkang by way of Wenchuan and Li County. We have a stop by the 2008 earthquake memorial site in Yingxiu town, where you will feel horrified by the destruction and devastation; stand in silence and say a little prayer for those who were perished, and then stop to visit Xisuo Folk Houses, which have Jiarong Tibetan architectural features. Then move on to Maerkang. It was an important trade hub on the ancient Tea-Horse Route.

Drive 350km, about 7 hours
High Altitude: Chengdu (540m), Maerkang (2600m)
Internet & Wifi
Maerkang Local Hotel (standard room with private bathroom)
Breakfast, Lunch

Day 3: Maerkang-Seda County (B, L)

The Lamas in Seda

The Prayers in Seda

Today our journey continues westwards to the Seda County. Due to the rough road, we will stop the car and have a rest for several time.

Drive 280km, about 7 hours
High Altitude: Maerkang (2600m), Seda County (3800m)
Internet & Wifi
Seda Local Hotel
Breakfast, Lunch

Day 4: Seda County-Wuming Buddhist Academy-Seda County (B, L)

Seda Wuming Buddhist Academy

The Tianzang Site near to the Buddhist Academy

Today, drive 20km from the county to visit Wuming Buddhist Academy, which is the world's largest active Tibetan Buddhist Academy/ School. It belongs to Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism, with an elevation of around 3700 meters. Around it are thousands of red houses. You will spend the whole morning to explore the academy, red houses and Tancheng, and study Buddhism with Lama and Juemu.

In the afternoon, you will personally experience Tianzang Funeral at Seda Tianzang Site which is located the mountainside (over 4000m) near to the Academy. Then go to the platform next to Tancheng or from Larong Hotel, you can look down the whole valley and enjoy the silent and dazzling night scene of Buddhist Academy. And then transferred back to your hotel in the county.

Drive 40km
High Altitude: Seda (3800m), Buddhist Academy (3700m)
Internet & Wifi
Seda Local Hotel
Breakfast, Lunch

Day 5: Seda County-Maerkang (B, L)

After breakfast, drive about 7 hours back to Maerkang, and check in Maerkang local hotel. The rest of today is yours to explore the county.

Drive 280km, about 7 hours
High Altitude: Seda County (3800m), Maerkang (2600m)
Internet & Wifi
Maerkang Local Hotel (standard room with private bathroom)
Breakfast, Lunch

Day 6: Maerkang-Chengdu (B, L)

The Diaolou & corn cob at Tiaoping Qiang Village

Today, we will get back to Chengdu, and it takes about 7 hours. We have a short stop at Taoping Qiang Village, which is the world's well preserved architectural art of Qiang group. We will transfer you to your hotel in Chengdu, or the airport/ train station for your next destination.

Drive 350km, about 7 hours
High Altitude: Maerkang (2600m), Chengdu (540m)
Internet & Wifi: No
Hotel: No
Breakfast, Lunch

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Price Details & Guide

Price Inclusions

Private transportation to the destinations and sites listed in the itinerary; ranging from 4WD land cruiser to bus depending on the group size and trip route; car gasoline, road toll and in-transport refreshments (free bottles of water, air pillow and headscarf) are included
Lodging: one night in Chengdu business hotel; two nights in Maerkang local hotel; two nights in Seda local hotel;
Private experienced English-speaking trip leader;
Airport/railway station pick-up and send-off services at the beginning/end of the tour;
Entrance ticket fees for all the sight spots listed in the itinerary;
Meals listed in the itinerary (5 Breakfasts, 5 Lunches);
First aid kit;
A coverage of 300,000RMB Chartis travel insurance;

Price Exclusions

International and domestic flight/train to Chengdu (Note: we accept the domestic flight/train tickets booking to Chengdu from other cities in advance, check the updated ticket availibility and cost with your travel consultant);
Meals that are not specified in the itinerary (Averagely a meal in the 3rdpole region cost 3~10USD per person);
Tips and gratuities for the trip leader and driver;
The expense of a personal nature like alcoholic beverages, laundry, phone call, etc;
Optional activities and excursions not specified in the itinerary;
China Entry visa fees;

Itinerary Alteration

Once we receive your tour deposit, which is followed by signing the contract, your reservation is secured with legitimacy. Our staff will reserve the accommodation, vehicle, site tickets, meals and more, and pay the deposit for our suppliers. So if you want to alter to another itinerary, you need to cover the deposit we've paid, while no service charge is needed if you make some changes on the itinerary you booked.

Cancellation and Refund Policy

If you cancel the tour beacuse of your personal issues, you will be liable to pay cancellation charges that are bounded by 3rdpoletour.com cancellation policy as follows:

1.) If you cancel the tour more than 30 days before the trip starts, you will forfeit 10% of the total land cost per person;
2.) If you cancel the tour 15-30 days prior to your trip start date, 20% of your total land tour cost will be forfeited as a cancellation fee.
3.) If you cancel the tour 7-15 days before the trip starts, you will forfeit 30% of land cost.
4.) If you cancel the tour 7 days prior to your tour start date, you will forfeit 50% of land cost.
5.) If you fail to show up or cancel at your scheduled arrival time without prior notice or later than that, you will forfeit 100% of the land cost.

If the tour has to be cancelled because of the natural disaster or the government restrictions that is beyond both parties control, we will charge only USD50 per person, this is just the service fee and larbor fee during the preparation. This is a rare occurrence!

The cancellation fee charged by 3rdpoletour.com will be kept under your name (person who contacted us) for a usable period of 2 years. Within the applicable period you can use it for next time or you can kindly pass your authority to any of your family, friends or colleagues to use by booking a tour with 3rdpoletour.com. A certifying email from you is necessary to pass the cancellation fee to others, but it is only applicable for private group.

Know Before your Go

Meals

Eating is a big part of traveling. Traveling with 3rdpoletour you will experience the vast array of wonderful local food that is only available in the places we visit. We have most of the breakfast in the hotels except for the camping; for the long-driving and transportation day the lunches are included as well; the featured local flavor dinner is arranged as well in some places. Included breakfasts will usually be asian style consisting of noodles or congee (rice porridge) or bread and eggs, although in some remote areas the choice maybe very limited. Generally, the food in the plateau areas is worse than in the morden cities of the plains, but it's much cheaper, about 3~10 dollars one person one meal. No group dinner.

For the Meals not included in the trip price, we would like to leave you a choice of eating options, to give you the maximum flexibility in deciding where, when and what to eat. Our trip leader will be able to suggest favourite restaurants during your trip. Vegetarians will be able to find a range of different foods, although in some areas the choice may be limited.

Accommodations

In most of the 3rdpole area (Western Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Gansu) they might not be like what you are used to back home as service and efficiency can vary. In some areas we stay in simple local guest houses in stunning locations, and rooms are small and simple and there may only be shared toilet facilities and showers. But we guarantee to arrange the best local hotels for our guests. The accommodation condition of every night is shown on the itinerary description, please refer for the details.

Trip Leader

All 3rdpoletours trips are accompanied by one of our professional English-speaking trip leaders who are different from the tour guides you may book from most of the online China travel agencies. Our trip leaders are trained strictly and they are not allowed to take guests to commission shopping factories. All of them are our full-time staff and work 8 hours every day in our office to do the editing and website friendly design when they don't have the trip on the road. Not like most agencies who pay their guides and themselves with commision earnings, we put the cost of paying our guides a good wage straight into the tour price so they are happy and not reliant on guests spending money shopping to earn their own salaries. Thus they concentrate on your needs and being the best hosts to you that possibly can.

They know the areas like their backyards and have explored like hundreds of times. With a experience of more than ten years, everyone of them has served more than hundreds of guests from all over the world. They are responsible, trustworthy and have their own life experience and story to share which will add more fun and safety to your trip in the plateau highland.

Transportation

We include all transportation during the trip except for the international flight or train, although you need to pay by yourself for the horse riding, cablecar, and more that are not included in the price quotation in some destinations.

We will be using a variety of types of vehicle on our trips, mainly depending on the number of your group. Land cruiser 4WD is the most popular vehicle in 3rdpole tourism that is suitable for rocky and bumpy road in off-the-bitten-path. Capacity of the vehicle is 4 passengers and bags can kept in the trunk. Most of our land cruiser are almost brand new. The van and mini-bus are mostly used for groups ranging from 5 to 15 people, and most of the vans and mini-buses are pretty new and in a very good condition. Buses are mostly used for bigger groups ranging from 20-40 people.

Our drivers are professional and always consider the safety and comfortable as the priority, although most of them don't speak English. It is our company policy to provice you with unlimited free drinking water, an air pillow and a headscarf for each one to make your driving more relaxing and comfortable.

Emergency Contact

Your trip leader is the one you could contact at the first place, should you need to contact us during a situation of dire need. If for any reasion you do not receive a satisfied answer, please call or email your travel consultant who organized the trip for you, and they will assist you 7/24. Our office number is 028-8522698, open 7/24.

Visa & Travel Pemit

Except Tibet, you can travel all of the destinations and cities of 3rdpole region with only a Chinese visa. For a visit to Tibet, we will apply for a Tibet travel permit for you in advance.

Tipping

Tipping for your trip leader and driver is expected - though not compulsory - and shows an expression of satisfaction with them who have assisted you on your tour. Tipping is appreciated if they did an excellent job for you.

High Altitude Sickness

Average altitude in 3rdpole area is more than 2000M, and you may be worried about the altitude sickness. We prepare the medicine to reduce high altitude sickness symptoms. Please load this page to read the detailed information about the 3rdpole elevation and high altitude sickness.

WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO

WHO WE ARE

We are the pioneer in in-depth explore travel in the Tibetan Plateau - Western China and Nepal - which is praised as the Third Pole afte the Arctic Pole and the Antarctic Pole. A 3rdpole tour is more than a vacation. It is a chance to dive in to the home to many difference ethnic communities speaking more than 600 languages with enourmous cultural diversity and authentically explore the hidden corners and appreciate the last pure land of the world.

WHAT WE DO

We are pretty proud of the trips on our website, not to toot our own horn or anything, but we really offer the widest variety of destinations, covering the regions of:
- Western Sichuan (Mt.Gongga, Four Girls Mountain, Yala Holy Mountain, Xidu Bridge, Seda, Danba, Lugu Lake, Jiuzhaigou Valley, Huanglong, Daocheng, Yading and more)
- Tibet (Lhasa, Namtso Lake, Everest, Mt.Kailash and overland to Nepal)
- Yunnan (Lijiang, Shangri-la, Dali, Shuanglang and Zhongdian)
- Qinghai (Xining, Qinghai Lake, Nian Bao Yu Ze)
- Southern Gansu (the wild Great Wall)
- Southern Xinjiang (the Silk Road, Ejin Banner)
- Nepal;
All of the destinations we show you here have the extremely gorgous views, very original local cutlture and customs, and rarely explored by the tourists with unpolluted environment - the blue sky, green rivers, blue/colorful lakes, green oasis, beautiful sunshine, romantic snow, rolling mountains, the blanket of stars, and boundless incredibly breathtaking scenery.

ABOUT THE THIRD POLE

The region that encompasses the Himalaya-Hindu Kush mountain range and the Tibetan Plateau is widely known as the Third Pole because its ice fields contain the largest reserve of fresh water outside the polar regions. The Tibetan Plateau is the largest and highest region on earth and the source of the 10 major river systems that provide irrigation, power and drinking water for over 1.3 billion people - nearly 20% of the world's population.

The Third Pole region has enormous socioeconomic and cultural diversity; it is home to many different ethnic communities speaking more than 600 languages and many more dialects. It is endowded with rich natural resources and contains all or part of four global biodiversity hotspots.