Langmusi is a nice tibetan village in gansu province on the border of sichuan province and it's a beautiful place to stay. altitude: 3400m.
we are here for 3 weeks now. there is so much to do: phantastic landscape, friendly people, watching the everyday activities of the locals. no police hassle.
accomodation:
there are many places to stay. but many places are hotel-style and not very cozy.
our recommendation: JIA ZHOU Guesthouse. it's a tibetan owned guesthouse with bright nice little wooden rooms (very clean) and shared bathroom with hot water. they have dorms, single rooms and double rooms. bed prices start around 35 yuan. discount for longer stay possible. some rooms have a wonderful view over the village and the surrounding mountains. the outside of the guesthouse is also very appealing: colourful tibetan style. a cozy common room downstairs serves as hang-out and restaurant. the chef cooks great food (also good vegetarian). they also offer trips, if you want to see the greater area.
the staff speaks english and is very friendly and keen to tell you about tibetan life and culture. this guesthouse has a very informal and relaxed atmosphere.
to find this guesthouse you just walk up the mainstreet from the busstop towards the sichuan monastery. JIA ZHOU Guesthouse is opposite of Amdo Café. it's a 5 minutes walk.
activities:
stroll around the village and the beautiful monasteries and get a feeling for the tibetan life. there are lots of walks in the surrounding area: along the river, in the gorge, the grassland, climb mountains etc. that you can do without guide.
highly recommended: horsetrekking for 2 days through the grassland. you will reach an altitude of about 4000m. you'll pass grassland, hills and mountains, cross river and stay with nomads either in their winter place or summer tent. join the nomads when they muster their yaks and sheeps. try real tibetan food. etc.
there are 2 horsetrekking operators in langmusi. we recommend the one called Windhorse. It's a one-guy-business (his name is sonam). he speaks good english and his prices are reasonable. his style is very relaxed and not businesslike. we really liked it. the other operator (langmusi horse trekking) is slightly more expensive, but they don't have english-speaking guides. they serve mostly chinese tourists.
from langmusi you can do trips to the famous maqu grassland and other surrounding areas. the way to diebu is very beautiful.
langmusi is not touristy!
check out our photos of langmusi on: www.flickr.com/photos/vagabundinnen
langmusi - tibet - tibetan
