Drive Suge la - Gyantse

After a few kilometers away from the pass Suge la through mostly barren landscape, finally appear the picturesque green oases around the local river.
 

The first major village in this valley below Suge la is Kangmacun la (4 224 m asl) located below the rounded hills so typical for Tibet.
 

Along the road you will see typical Tibetan houses with flat roofs.
 

Along the way, of course, prayer wheels cannot be missing.

During the last thirty-kilometers drive through the valley there is already one village after another surrounded by fields. Just before the confluence with Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) (3 780 m asl), the valley properly spreads. On the horizon is visible also a small monastery.
 

You finally get to the bridge over Brahmaputra and join the main road G318 linking Lhasa with Shigatse. By this you will join also to the classic circuit through Tibet, which usually skips out (unfortunately) the pass Suge la. After driving 15 kilometers upstream you get to the beautiful outlook place of Brahmaputra. The valley is here two and a half kilometers wide and river has a different flow depending on the season.
 

Due to the fact that Brahmaputra flows through Tibet from west to east, it is the highest located major river in the world. Its valley is truly monumental.
 

The road continues on through the valley of Brahmaputra. But experienced drivers turn at the airport situated far away from town Shigatse along the dirt road to the mountains and get by that shortcut to the valley of Nyang Chu (more than 60 km shortcut compared to driving through Shigatse). From there it is still a few dozen kilometers to the town Gyantse, the destination of this stage.