We made it! Despite the worryingly high chance of getting snowed in en route, we got all the way from Chengdu to Lhasa – 3,000 kilometres – with only two tyre changes, one mild case of altitude sickness and one lost-and-later-found passport. I leave Lhasa today, heading back to the oxygen-rich fug of Chengdu to defrost (with the help of some mapo tofu), and thence to Hong Kong on Tuesday.

I’m due at the airport shortly, so a full report will need to wait for a day or two, but for now, here is a photographic taster of the last fortnight’s travels…

Enjoy!

xx

Night, Tuotuohe

Snowclouds, en route to Serqu

The roof of Ramoche Temple, Lhasa

Amdo nomad style, Yushu

Snack time, Serxu

Sunset over the Trola Mountains, outside Ganzi

Girl, Jana Mani, Yushu

Lake Yilhun La-tso, Manigango

We crash a wedding near Danba

Yak butter lamps, Yushu

Behind the Potala Palace, Lhasa

Waiting, TIbet

The frosty road to Nam-tso

Boy band material, Yushu

Upper reaches of the Yangtze, outside Qumarleg

Frosty morning in Tagong, Mt Yala in the background

Autumn in progress, between Danba and Bamei

Day 1: Our first 4,000 metre mountain pass

Sunset, Nagchu, Tibet

Potala Palace and reflection, Lhasa

Wolf, Serqu

Frozen reservoir at dusk, Serqu

Road yaks, Serqu

Sera Monastery, Lhasa

Mani stones, Nam-tso

A traffic jam inside a long tunnel damaged in the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake

Noodle action, Qumarleg

Earthquake damage, Yushu

Moonrise over the Four SIsters’ Mountains, Sichuan

A young tulku (‘living buddha’), Serxu

A yak! Luhuo

Mani stones for sale, Yushu

Flower seller, Jana Mani, Yushu

A mile of prayer stones, Bagemani, Serxu

A Gyarong Castle, Wori