Yamdrok Tso (Lake)- Tibet, China

Yamdrok Tso Lake was beautiful! Our tour guide said he's never seen a more perfect day! Though it did take him a while to admit to this. Tibet must have heard our desire for good weather & it provided us with so much more! The drive from 3,600 meters (11,800 ft) to an approximation of 4,950 meters (16,200 feet) was an incredible ascent as well! I must admit, I was a little disappointed that I forgot to change the settings on my camera for greater detail. However, these definitely work!

At the beginning of the drive, we stopped for some quick photos of the Kyichu River.

Tibetans have three main burial ceremonies, one of those being a river burial. This is the point where many of them are performed.

Bikers getting close to the top of Kampala Pass. That must have taken some energy at this altitude!

Kampala Pass had received snow the night before.

Yamdrok Tso Lake with a backdrop of mountians. Mt. Nojin Gangsang is the highest peak in the background. It has an elevation of 7,191 meters (23,592 feet). It was our guide's first time to see it from Yamdrok Tso Lake! These locals were looking to make some extra cash by offering a yak ride. I couldn't really understand, but think one of them was even offering a drawing with his dog.

We just had to see what it was like to hike above 16,000 feet! So, we started our slow climb!

It took some time to hike at this elevation, but it felt great!

Amazing! My altimeter read 5,015 meters (16,453 feet) & our guide confirmed that should be about right.

The serenity of the snow-capped mountains with the reflection below.

This lake is one of the three largest in Tibet & extends much farther than we could see.

With the confusion prior to entering China, we almost wrote off this Tibetan adventure. So Paul & I cheers, to a long overdue celebration! We literally carried these beers for days, in anticipation of this moment. In looking back, this was day before we each went on our own course of travels.

This was the best photo of them all! What a view! It was so peaceful up there... This is more of what I had expected from Tibet & we couldn't have timed it out better. The weather, snow & visibility were all perfect! This was the last full day in Tibet & we left with an experience always to remember.