Explore Tibet Team, a professional Tibet travel agency based in Lhasa, introduces a new 12 day trek to Mt. Gangkar, a unique holy site in Tibetan Kham. Visitors should know something of the important cultural and religious significance of the mountain.

Mt. Gangkar is located in Sichuan Province, on the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau in the Minyak Rabgang range. The Tibetan name, Minyak Gangkar, literally means white snow of the Minyak. The mountain is named for both its beautiful snow-bound peak and its location within the ethnic Minyak region, who are a unique cultural and linguistic sub-group of Tibetans. Within the Minyak Rabgang range there are 20 mountains with elevations over 6,000 meters, but with an elevation of 7556 meters, Mt. Gangkar is the tallest in the range and Asia’s highest summit east of the Himalayas.

In summer the mountain is shrouded in clouds, and most of the annual precipitation (800-900 millimeters) occurs between July and September, which makes spring and fall the best time for trekking. The granite ridges of the mountain’s north-east, south-west, and south-east faces have attracted mountaineering expeditions since 1878.

Visitors and pilgrims to the mountain usually stop at the Gangkar monastery during the tour Tibet, which is at an elevation of about 3750 meters. It was built in the 13th century and is one of the 3 holy places of the Karma Kargyu Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The mountain itself is revered by Tibetans as the home of Chenrezig, who is the Buddha of compassion and the patron bodhisattva of Tibet. Mt. Gangkar is also considered the home of Demchok, a tantric deity of the Gelugpa order of Tibetan Buddhism.

Visitors travel to the mountain for its religious significance, unique cultural qualities, and for its natural beauty. This Tibetan trek is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.