The heavenly lake "Namtso" — an earthly paradise hidden in Tibet!

Text and photos byPaperclip 'Food, Photography & Happiness'

【Tibet Syndrome】Tibet Syndrome
1. Thinking about when you can go back every day after returning home
2. Often feeling dizzy and tired, unable to adjust to the high oxygen levels at lower altitudes
3. Frequently flipping through photos of Tibet and smiling foolishly
4. Often finding yourself smiling foolishly while lost in thought
5. Thinking the sky in Taipei looks gray and gloomy
6. Feeling the air in Taipei is humid and stuffy
7. Often craving spicy stir-fried food
8. Searching for Tibetan music on YouTube to listen to
9. Reliving the past every day, imagining where you were a month ago at this time

I originally thought that after fulfilling my wish toEverest Base Campand having the rare chance to see the world’s highest peak in person, there would be no more highlights. Little did I know that the sacred lake Namtso would once again write an unforgettable chapter for our journey into Tibet’s hidden wonders.

After descending from Everest Base Camp, we spent a day resting in Shigatse. In the morning, we leisurely visited Tashilhunpo Monastery, and in the afternoon, we explored the less touristy Salu Monastery. The next day, we headed in the direction of Lhasa. However, our journey wasn’t over yet — instead of returning to Lhasa, we were heading to Namtso National Park. Despite the long and arduous road ahead, perhaps because we had “waited out the clouds to see the mountain” at Everest and gained confidence in the weather, even the heavens seemed to be helping us. Along the way, what we saw were blue skies and white clouds, which appeared even more majestic against the vast grasslands that stretched as far as the eye could see. We stopped frequently along the way, and whenever we encountered beautiful scenery, our guide Renqing would let us get out of the vehicle to play around. Everyone truly had a fantastic time.

Namtso (also spelled Namco), where “cuo” (or sometimes written as “cuo”) in Tibetan means “lake,” so “Namtso” means “Heavenly Lake.” This lake is located between Damxung County in Lhasa City and Bangor County in Nagqu Prefecture, and is the third-largest saltwater lake in China, as well as the highest-altitude (around 4,700 m) large saltwater lake in the world. We got stuck in traffic for a while in Damxung before finally arriving at the entrance of Namtso National Park. Our guide let us use the restroom here while he went to purchase the park entry tickets.

Once back in the vehicle, the guide said that we still had over an hour’s drive ahead to reach the lodge where we’d be staying for the night by Namtso. We first drove uphill until we reached the highest point, “La’gyai La” Pass (5,190 m), but Renqing said we’d stop there to take photos on our way back to Lhasa the next morning. Because we had done so much already and been delayed by traffic, we now needed to head straight to Namtso to catch the sunset.

After descending from La’gyai La Pass, the downhill drive was relatively smooth, although we did witness a small passenger car somehow crash into a roadside rock, flipping its rear end up in the air. A group of young people looked helpless, which drew gasps from us. Renqing said that many outsiders drive to Tibet, thinking they’re skilled behind the wheel, but due to unfamiliarity with the roads and Tibetan driving culture, they often end up in accidents.

Upon arriving at the Namtso lodge, our guide Renqing helped us check in (I’ll share the check-in experience in a later post), and we carried our luggage into our rooms before he led us toward the lakeside.

Almost every vehicle was covered in dirt XD

Even though we had already endured the challenge of Everest Base Camp at 5,200 m, here at 4,700 m altitude, we still couldn’t get used to the increased heart rate and breathlessness caused by altitude sickness. It took us about 10 minutes to walk from our lodge to the lakeside, mostly on a gravel path, which made every step feel even more strenuous.

However, the moment we laid eyes on Namtso, we instantly knew all the effort had been worth it. A short distance inland from the shimmering lake lay a long, shallow water basin. With calm waters, it reflected a stunning mirror image, enhanced by the backlight of the setting sun. All the living activities by the lakeside became perfect subjects for photography.

When I previously saw photos taken at Qinghai Lake... I probably only saw them online. But here, I also saw white swans (?)... I think there might be black swans too. (#There are actually quite a few here.) The only thing is that the water here seems a bit murkier compared to Qinghai Lake. I think Qinghai Lake might look more transparent. But maybe that’s just how Tibet is — more raw and natural. Entry here costs 10 RMB per person.

Felt like a wanderer of the earth?

Renqing asked us to walk out onto the land between the shallows and the main lake to take reflection photos. I didn’t go with them, but I joined Renqing to take some shots.

Renqing also took a few photos himself. In this one I didn’t take well — I cut off the top of his reflected head. Sorry about that. The snow-capped mountain with white remnants on the right side of the photo is the main peak of Nyenchen Tanglha Mountain (7,162 m).

My friend M and I also took a few shots. Everyone said this starfish photo came out really well, complementing the reflection.

Pluck a heart.

Chinese aunties really are the strongest—bringing their own scarves, they dashed back and forth on the 4,700-meter-high plateau just to capture a beautiful, romantic photo.

I had originally wanted to shoot the sun’s starburst effect, but after reviewing the photos, I realized that the lens protector had gotten way too dirty from all the bumps along the way XD

Namtso Lake is truly breathtaking. The entire experience was so overwhelming that, for me, it even surpassed the emotional impact of Mount Everest.

After a hearty dinner at the guesthouse, my companion M and I stargazed in the courtyard. I think this was the first time I could clearly see the Big Dipper?! It was incredibly exciting. I had brought two cameras this time—one was the Olympus OMD EM1, and the other was the Canon G7X Mark II. The Canon has a star photography mode, which finally came in handy.

I didn’t bring a tripod, so I just placed the camera directly on the trunk of a parked car in the courtyard.

Can you spot the Big Dipper, the big spoon?

A bit later, the Milky Way became more and more visible. This was my first time seeing the Milky Way and such a dense starry sky.

Let me try the star trail mode on the camera. I used the preset 40-minute setting, again pointing the camera towards the sky and placing it on the car trunk. The temperature was around 5°C, and M and I wore warm down jackets as we waited in the courtyard. About an hour later, when the star trail photo was done, we jumped up and cheered in excitement. First try at capturing star trails, and we nailed it.

However, sleeping at the guesthouse wasn’t very comfortable, so we decided to get up early the next day and head to the lakeside to catch the sunrise. By then, the sacred lake, which had been bathed in golden hues by the sunset the night before, now shimmered in soft pinkish-orange. The fatigue from a sleepless night was finally soothed. Faced with such a view, even the hardened armor of every traveler softens and submits—there was nothing more we wanted than to deeply imprint this scene and moment in our memories.

The white r?Ｒ isn’t very common, but one is impressed by the wild and colorful scenery. (#?!, meaning: the lake isn’t very large, but the wild scenery is dazzling. (#?!), the lake water is sourced from glaciers, if possible, please don’t pollute it.

Many people advocate traveling without a camera, just using your heart and eyes to remember well. But I still insist on travel photography because it helps keep my memories from fading and allows more people to feel even a fraction of what moved me.

Back at the guesthouse after breakfast, it was finally time to head back. We hadn’t had much time to stop along the way on the way here, so now we could finally take our time and enjoy it.

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Yang Shifu's WeChat ID: Y971305789

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