Yunnan Highway update 2007 :

This is the road to get to Lhasa, but it steel illegal to bike thru all of this except for the region of Lhasa. We did it on the winter 2007, so I could give you my appreciation about the road and the risk of doing it. I will first say that we follow the suggestion of passing some town in the night like: Yanjing, Markam, Nyingchi and Bayi. But it seen to us, that weren’t really necessary. On the way we cross like 2 to 3 police car and every of them wave friendly to us. But I will say that, if I do it again I will do the same, since the road it’s very hard and you don’t want to do it twice! The police if they get you, send you back from where you from.

The road is very hard specially, for the first 800 km because you will continually pass from river valley to high pass and back to a river valley. And the road it’s mostly in gravel and some are really really bad! So the progress it’s very slow, especially when you go down! You have to thing about carrying enough food for 8 to 12 days, because it’s impossible to stop in a big town. You can’t find a lot of good stuff in Degen!!

For the food we suggest you to carry good one like mix nut (you could do it by yourself), instant oats, fresh veggies, rice, chocolate, noodle, sauce, peanut butter, some meet (can or sausages, and what you will like to eat. Instant noodle is always good, but don’t only eat that because they don’t have much value.

We observe some new change on the road, the major one is at the first checkpoint. When you get close to the town you will see a big light, but this light is not the checkpoint, they building a new petrostation at the entrance of the town, the checkpoint is 300 m after this. When you gone a past in Markham you will get a pave road on your right turn there and the end turn left and follow this until you get to a junction where you will take left and 300m after turn right and the checkpoint will be there! So good luck every one and enjoy your trip, it is a wonderful country to visit.

For more information go see this web site :How to cycling Yunnan to Lhassa

Zhongdian (Shangri-la) to Lhasa : 1625km

Frienship Highway :

The Frienship Highway is the road who connects Lhasa to Kathmandou (870km). It past thru Canyon, desert valley, most of the country side it is brown. If you travel there in March, the wind make a big difference because his blowing from de Himalaya everyday and his getting stronger in the after noon. So it is very cold and it always slow you down, even one day at the top of Gyatso La we been enable to get down since the wind was so strong and cold (-35). The other point where it could be dangerous it is the section after Tong La because you crossing the Himalaya and when we pass there they had sign of resent avalanche, it was really muddy, and the road was full of ice, ice bloc and snow.

For the food it is not a problem you could stop mostly every where for eating in a restaurant who sale western food, since they have much more tourist going one this road from Nepal in there 4wheeldrive. It is also easy to cook because you will corner shop, in all the town and grocery store in Shigatse. So enjoy your riding!!