ZaDoi county or sometimes spelled as Dzato means the upper reach of Mekong River. is a county in the southwest of Qinghai province, Traditionally knowns as Kham Region of Tibet, it is under the administration of Yushu Autonomous Prefecture within Qinghai province and bordering Tibet Autonomous Region to the south.
Landscape of Zadoi county in Qinghai Province.
The source of Mekong River. From Dzato town, there are two roads diverge and one is about 59km northwest to Sangchen and another is 36km southwest to Ato township. Continuing beyond Sangchen on the northwest, the road is connected to the town where Mekong river’s source is located. The actual source is still far north of the Moyun town.
Within the county, there are 24 monasteries, of which most of them are belong to Kagyu and Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
Tibet trekking
Dzoto being the furthest county in Qinghai Province, many of the lands are still undiscovered to outsiders which gives an opportunity to some endangered wild animals such as snow leopards, Himalayan wolf, wild yaks .etc.
Wildlife at the source of Mekong River in Zadoi, Kham Tibet
When you travel from Xining to Zatoi, there are 2 ways to get there: 1). Take flight from Xining to Yushu or Chengdu to Yushu and then drive towards west about 230km. 2). Drive from Xining to Yushu which is about 800km and then continue drive 220km to Zatoi. The later option likely be your choice as you do not want to miss the landscape between Yushu and Xining.
Accommodation at Zatoi is rather basic. Here are the only options you have at Dzatoi.
- Zaduo Hotel which is the best accommodation you can get in the town.
- Zaduo Lancang (Mekong) Business Hotel
- Zaduo Chengdu Hotel
