Amnye Machen Guide

The Best Guide to Mount Amnye Machen and How to Plan a Mt. Amnye Machen Trek

The Amnye Machen mountain range is located in the Golok Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province; traditionally, this region belongs to Amdo Tibet. It is one of the four most sacred mountains in Tibet—the others are Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, Mount Minyak Gongkar in Sichuan Province, and Mount Karwa Karpo in Yunnan Province. It is revered by both Buddhists and Bon adherents. The protector deity Machen Pomra is said to reside in the mountain’s highest peak. The pilgrimage circuit around the mountain is popular among Bon followers and Buddhists as well as adventurous trekkers.

The Amnye Machen Kora has two options: one is a full circumambulation of the mountain which takes 8 days, and the other is a 4-day trek in front of the snow mountain. The average trek distance is about 15-16 km with 6-7 hours per day.

Our guests are taking a break during 8 days trekking around Mt. Amnye Machen.

What Is It Like: The 8-Day Mt. Amnye Machen Kora?

Mt. Amnye Machen at a Glance

Route: Around Mt. Amnye Machen
Distance: 140 km full Kora and 70 km half Kora
Duration: 8 days for full kora and 3-4 days for half kora
Travel Permit: Not required
Start point: Tawo Sholma from west of Mount Amnye Machen or Tsanak Khamdo from east of Mount Amnye Machen
Finish point: Tawo Sholma from west of Amnye Machen or Tsanak Khamdo from east of Amnye Machen
Highest pass: Tamchok La 4,900m
Difficulty: Medium
Accommodation: Camping
Food: Outdoor cooking

Highlights of Mt. Amnye Machen Trek

The traditional starting point is the Chorten Karpo near Chuwarna village, although most pilgrims and trekkers at present set out from either Tawo Sholma or Tsanak Khamdo. Some of the highlights of the Mt. Amnye Machen trek include:

Trek Around the Holiest and Highest Snow Mountain in Amdo Tibet

The Amnye Machen range, which forms the large bend of the Yellow River, is the ancestral homeland of Golok and the sacred abode of the protector deity Machen Pomra, revered by the Bonpo and Buddhists alike. There are many Tibetan pilgrims taking Kora every year, and you will encounter pilgrims when you are doing the Kora. The Bon pilgrims take their pilgrimage tour counterclockwise.

Golok Nomads and Vast Grassland Dotted by High-Altitude Lakes

The Bayankala and Amnye Machen ranges of Amdo Tibet demarcate the upper reaches of the Yellow River, the homeland of Golok. This is an area rich in natural mineral and forest resources and is characterized by vast grasslands covering high mountains and deep valleys. We’ll ride out into this rugged countryside where you often see nomads camping with their herds of yak, horses, and sheep grazing on these grasslands.

Temples and Monasteries Around Mt. Amnye Machen

There are 4-5 temples and monasteries around Mt. Amnye Machen:

Guri Gompa: A branch of Dzogchen and Dodrubchen of the Nyingma school, which recently became the seat of the late Thubten Tsering, a charismatic lama descended from Lhalung Paldor. It was he who founded the original tented camp at the beginning of the 20th century.

Chuwarna Lhakhang: Contains central images of Padmasambhava with his two consorts, flanked by Shantaraksita and King Trisong Detsen. The temple is surrounded by a wall of Mani wheels.

Zangdokpelri Temple: Contains a lifelike image of the late lama Thubten Tsering of Guri Gompa. Alongside it are a row of eight stupas and a cluster of prayer flags.

Mt. Amnye Machen view from Tawo Sholma

Mt. Amnye Machen Trekking Itinerary

Day 1: Tawo Sholma – Nagchog Do (4,020 m)
Day 2: Nagchog Do – Dragde La Pass – Drag Gyago (4,600 m)
Day 3: Drag Gyago – Chuwarna (3,650 m)
Day 4: Chuwarna – Tsanak Kamdu – Dolma Bumdzong (3,960 m)
Day 5: Dolma Bumdzong – Tamchok (4,650 m)
Day 6: Tamchok – Tamchok La Pass (4,700 m) – Tagkhen Latsetsa (4,400 m)
Day 7: Tagkhen Latsetsa – Mountain Pass – Shari Phagyab (4,210 m)
Day 8: Shari Phagyab – Dradi Latse (3,980 m)

How to Get to Mt. Amnye Machen and What Tours Are Available?

The Most Popular Way to Reach Mt. Amnye Machen

Route 1: Xining (2,270m) – Tsigorthang (3,300m) – Tawo Sholma (3,950m) – Amnye Machen

Route 2: Xining (2,270m) – Trika (2,250m) – Machen (3,670m) – Tsanak Khamdo (3,960m) – Amnye Machen

Based on our years of experience running Mt. Amnye Machen Kora tours, most travelers or trekkers choose to reach Xining first, either by flight or train from any main cities in China like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu. After one or two days of acclimatization in Xining, they decide to approach Mt. Amnye Machen from either the west start point or east start point of the Kora, depending on individual interests.

Monastery around Mt. Amnye Machen

How to Plan a Lifetime Mt. Amnye Machen Kora

Amnye Machen is one of the four main holy mountains of Tibet, along with Kailash in western Tibet, Mt. Gongkar (Minya Konka) in eastern Kham, and Mt. Kawa Karpo in southern Kham. Located in the Golok Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Amdo, it rises to 6,282m / 20,605 feet above sea level. It might be less known as a holy mountain, but it is equally important to the Tibetan people as the well-known Mt. Kailash and attracts Tibetan pilgrims from all across eastern and northern Tibet during the summer months.

Mt. Amnye Machen kora is a medium-level trekking route, as its altitude is not as high as mountains in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The trekking route’s average altitude is 4,000m / 13,123ft. You are expected to trek on rugged mountain trails for over 140km. The thin air, eye-blinding sunshine, unforeseeable snow at the passes, plus complex travel formalities and long distances prompt you to have full-fledged preparation. But if you follow our professional advice for the Mt. Amnye Machen trek, we guarantee that you will have a safe and unparalleled spiritual journey.

Pre-Book Your Mt. Amnye Machen Tour with a Reliable Travel Agency

Since Mt. Amnye Machen is located outside the TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region), you can avoid the complicated process of obtaining a Tibet Travel Permit. However, like all Tibet trekking tours, we strongly recommend arranging everything in advance through a licensed Xining-based Tibetan travel agency. As a well-established and licensed Tibetan travel agency, our company has offices in both Xining and Lhasa, putting us in a good position to arrange Mt. Amnye Machen tours as well as arrange your other logistics such as food, camping gear, and yaks and horses to rent from local nomads.

Mt Amnye Machen Trekking Map

Map of Mt. Amnye Machen Trekking route

Travel Documents Needed for Mt. Amnye Machen Trek

Both Amdo Tibet and Kham Tibet do not require Tibet Permits to visit. The traditional Tibetan regions of Amdo and Kham are located in the northeast and southeast corners of the Tibetan Plateau. Though most of Amdo lies in modern-day Qinghai Province, large regions are also located in southwestern Gansu and northern Sichuan provinces. Roughly 1.6 million Tibetans live in Amdo, which accounts for over 25% of the total Tibetan population. Most importantly, no Tibet Travel Permit is required to travel to this region of Tibet, yet you will receive a better experience with Tibetan nomadic lifestyle.

When Is the Best Time for the Mt. Amnye Machen Trek?

To decide the best time for the Mt. Amnye Machen trek depends on the weather conditions of each year.

Weather and Precipitation at Mt. Amnye Machen:

Average Annual Temperature: -2.9°C / 26.8°F
Average Annual Precipitation: Aug. (119 mm, Highest) / Nov. (6 mm, Lowest)
Highest Temperature: July, 6.5°C / 43.7°F
Lowest Temperature: Nov. -12.0°C / 10.4°F

April to September is believed to be the best time for Mt. Amnye Machen trekking, especially traveling in April, May, June, September, and the first half of October. You will enjoy incredible clear blue skies, crisp air, and high visibility, with temperatures staying at around 8 or 9 degrees Celsius on average. July and August (monsoon season) see half of the rainfall in the whole year. However, constant downpours are rarely seen here. You’d better double-check a week’s weather before coming.

At Tamchok La Pass (4,650m) and Dragde La Pass (4,600m), the highest points for Mt. Amnye Machen kora, unexpected snowfall and severe gales can happen at any given time throughout the year. If you come in April, you are likely to walk on rugged mountain trails covered with snow.

The most auspicious time to visit Mt. Amnye Machen is in the Year of the Horse. We believe that the blessings and merits you accumulate are multiplied by 13 times more than in regular years, and the wishes you make will be more likely to come true.

Horseback ride during Mt. Amnye Machen Trek

How to plan a lifetime Mt Amnye Machen Kora ?

Amnye Machen is one of the four main holy mountains of Tibet along with Kailash in west Tibet, Mt Gongkar or Kunga in eastern Kham and Mt Kawa Karpo southern Kham. Located in the northern Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Amdo, it rises to 6282m / 20,605 feet above sea level. It might be less-known as a holy mountain but it is equally as important to the Tibetan people as the well-known Mt. Kailash and attracts Tibetan pilgrims from all across eastern and northern Tibet during the summer months.

Mt Amnye Machen kora is medium level trekking route, as its altitude is not as high as mountains in Tibet Autonomos Region, The trekking route average altitude is 4000m / 13123ft. You are expected to trek on the rugged mountain trials over 52km. The thin air, eye-blinding sunshine, unforeseeable snow at the passes, plus complex travel formalities and long distance of travel prompt you to have a full-fledged preparation. But if you follow our professional advise for Mt Amnye Machen trek, we will guarantee that you will have a safe and unparalleled spiritual journey.

Book Your Mt. Mt Amnye Machen Tour with a Reliable Travel Agency

Since Mt Amnye Machen is located outside TAR(Tibet Autonomous Region) and you can avoid the complicated process of Tibet Travel Permit, but like all Tibet trekking tours, we strongly recommend to arrange everything in advance through a licensed Xining based Tibetan travel agency.  As well established and licensed Tibetan travel agency, our company has offices both in Xining and Lhasa, making it us a good position to arrange Mt. Amnye Machen tour as well as arrange your other logistics such as food, camping gears, yaks and horses to rent from local nomads.etc.

Our guests are enjoying relaxed afternoon break during Mt. Amnye Machen Trek

Do Prepare a Good Level of Fitness

You need to be physically fit even if you are not planning to do challenging treks in Tibet—visiting Tibet as a normal tour is also very challenging for people who live at low altitudes. Therefore, you’ve got to prepare a good level of fitness. Swimming, hiking in mountains, jogging, cycling, etc., before coming for this trip. All these aerobic exercises will help you build up a better level of fitness and stamina for the arduous trek.

Tips: Small oxygen tanks are available for purchase in Xining. It may also be worth talking to your doctor about taking Diamox, the “altitude sickness” medicine. If you are already in China, then Diamox is not available. So the herbal medicine called Hong Jing Tian is a good substitution. Hong Jing Tian can be purchased in most pharmacy shops in China.

Accommodation and Dining for Mt. Amnye Machen Trek

There is no accommodation (hotels and guesthouses) during the trek or Kora of Mt. Amnye Machen. Therefore, camping is the only option for the entire trek.

For food during the trek, there are no tea houses or restaurants like you find during the Mt. Kailash Trek. You need to prepare food in advance either in Xining, Hainan Prefecture, or Golok Prefecture. During the trek, you can cook yourself or hire a cook who cooks for you. But some dry fruits, chocolates, energy pills, or other things you may want to have on this trek should be brought with you from your home country. You will have a hard time buying them in this place.

Camp site during Mt. Amnye Machen Trek

What to Pack for Mt. Amnye Machen Trekking

The two main rules of thumb when packing are to pack light and to layer. Temperatures can vary greatly in one day, and it is common to experience all four seasons when driving through Tibet. As such, it is recommended to pack lightweight, breathable, easy-to-wash layers of clothing to suit whatever weather you encounter. For Xining, just a lightweight jacket is fine, but if you’re headed to high mountains like Mt. Amnye Machen, you’ll want a down jacket.

During the Mt. Amnye Machen trek, you have to bring your own sleeping bags, although we can also arrange sleeping bags for you. However, the sleeping bags from us may be old and used as we have several trekking or camping tours in this region every year. The other essential is warm clothes. The weather conditions and terrain vary significantly from one region, or even from one trail to another. Seasonal changes can significantly alter any track. Moreover, the wind is very strong at some passes. Thus, wind and rain-proof clothes and proper warm jackets are strongly recommended.

The temperature in mountain areas of Tibet may be very low even in daytime. At night, the temperature will drop below zero. Besides, the weather may change greatly in a day. Thus, down jackets and thermal trousers are necessary for Mt. Amnye Machen trekking even in summer. Meanwhile, sun protection like sunglasses, sunscreen, and lip balms are also a must. Since no one can precisely predict the onset of rain and hail, a waterproof jacket or raincoat should be taken with you. After all, getting soaked at a place above 4,000m might put you in serious trouble.

Don’t forget to bring some high-calorie snacks and refreshing coffee and tea, in case you need the energy for another round of adrenaline rush. Of course, for responsible travel, some plastic bags to collect your garbage will be very considerate.

Yaks are carrying luggage during Mt. Amnye Machen Trek