Ganjia Grasslands

Gansu


The Ganjia Grasslands, 34km from Xiahe, aren’t as pretty as those at nearby Sangke, but there is more to explore. From Xiahe a bumpy road crosses the Naren-Ka pass (impassable after long rains) before quickly descending into wide grasslands dotted with herds of sheep and backed by ever-more-dramatic mountain scenery.

Past Ganjia Xian village, a side road climbs 12km to Nekhang, a cave complex where pilgrims lower themselves down ropes and ladders into two sacred underground chambers. A Dutch traveller fell to his death here in 2006 so it is inadvisable to penetrate too far into the cavern, though the front section – where a lama left a sacred hand print on the rock – is safe. A kind of makeshift barrier is in place to stop explorers from investigating the cave to any great depth. The gorge alongside the cave can be explored on a long and thrilling hike: indeed, it's possible to keep exploring for days.

Just up the road from the caves is Trakkar Gompa, a monastery of 90 monks set against a stunning backdrop of vertical rock formations and with sweeping views of the grasslands. From Trakkar it’s a short drive to the 2000-year-old Han dynasty village of Bajiao, whose remarkable 12-sided walls still shelter a small living community. From the village it’s a short 5km diversion to the renovated Tseway Gompa, one of the few Bön monasteries in Gansu. Make sure you circumnavigate any holy site counterclockwise in the Bön fashion (the opposite direction from the usual way). There are great views of Bajiao from the ridge behind the monastery.

A four- to five-hour return trip to the Ganjia Grasslands costs around ¥180 for a taxi from Xiahe. An English-speaking driver and guide costs ¥450 for the full return trip and can be arranged at Snowy Mountain Cafe.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Gansu attractions

1. Trakkar Gompa

0.55 MILES

A monastery of 90 monks set against a stunning backdrop of vertical rock formations. The name literally means 'White Stone Cliff Monastery'.

2. Bājiǎo Chéng

2.72 MILES

A 2000-year-old Han dynasty village with remarkable 12-sided walls that still shelters a small living community. There is no ticket office as such, but…

3. Tseway Gompa

3.64 MILES

The renovated Tseway Gompa is one of the few Bön monasteries in Gansu. Unlike most Buddhist temples, you should circumnavigate this holy site…

4. Labrang Monastery

14.22 MILES

With its succession of squeaking prayer wheels (3km in total), hawks circling overhead and the throb of Tibetan longhorns resonating from the surrounding…

5. Snowland Art

14.29 MILES

Tucked away down the backstreets of Xiahe not far from Labrang Monastery, Snowland Art is a family-style fine art and handicrafts training school set up…

6. Barkhang

14.3 MILES

The three-storey Barkhang serves as the monastery’s traditional printing temple. With rows upon rows of more than 20,000 wood blocks for printing, it’s…

7. Hall of Hayagriva

14.45 MILES

A repository of vivid and bright murals, the hall encapsulates a startlingly fierce 12m-high effigy of Hayagriva – a wrathful manifestation of the usually…

8. Hermitage Ruins

14.46 MILES

What remains of this hermitage are earthen walls overgrown with nettles, making the real attraction here the view of the town nestled into the mountains…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "china/gansu/xiahe/attractions/ganjia-grasslands/a/poi-sig/1529235/355974",
      "destination": "Gansu",
      "continent": "Asia",
      "country": "China",
      "region": "Gansu",
      "position": "superzone"
    }