Accommodations and Food in Genyen

Listed below is detailed information about accommodations and food in regard of traveling to Genyen by our travel experts. Traveling to Genyen and one needs to be aware of the places where you need to consider about your food and accommodations, Litang and Genyen. Litang is a fairly big town where you can purchase snacks and water, etc. While Genyen is a large area basically where you can find food is the villages called Lamaya, Naigaduo, Zetong, Lengda, Gemu, etc. There are basically no real hotels nor guesthouses in these villages although a couple of really small shops are available in each village.

Accommodations in Litang

Hotels in Litang are with plenty of options from the 3* like hotels with attached bathroom and other modern facilities cost about 300 yuan to 400 yuan depending on the season. There are also smaller and more economy hotels which cost about 150 yuan per night. Remember Litang is a town with pretty high altitude, if you travel there within a short time, you may want to stay in one of the better and more comfortable hotels for better rest.

Accommodations at Genyen

The accommodations in Genyen are changing quickly right now. There is a new road built from Litang to Genyen this year (2017) and with the expectation of tourism development, local authorities may start to charge an entrance fee to visitors. And there have been newer constructions of accommodations in the villages. Right now the accommodation available is mainly the simple and basic home stay offered by local Tibetan people in the village of Zetong, Nagaduo and Lamaya. These accommodations will usually cost you about 50 yuan per night with really simple overnight stay: no shower, no attached bathroom, just a room and possibly without electricity nor beds. It is expected that there will be another option on accommodation which is well-built hostels. There is one “luxury” hostel built 1km outside of Zetong village that costs up to 1000 yuan per night with fancy rooms. The other hostel is owned by the Nigong Monastery that costs about 300 yuan per night. This one has beds but not attached bathroom. Although Genyen is a big place, that you can easily find places to camp for the night, and it is very easy to camp where it’s close to water.

In Lamaya Village there is a guesthouse where it has probably the best accommodations among these villages. The electricity is stable and you even get phone reception. There are a few shops in this village as it is the biggest village here. This is also where you can hire local cars and find horses.

In Zetong Village there are basically only Tibetan families you can stay but outside of this village there is a fancy wooden guesthouses ran by the local government. These rooms are clean and expensive, cost about 800 yuanto 1000 yuan per room per night.

In Naigaduo Village there are also plenty of Tibetan families where you can stay. These rooms are very basic and possibly without beds. (Note that Tibetan people don’t really use beds in their lives. They sleep on the couch-looking wooden chairs).

In Lengda Village and in Gemu Village it is the same as Naigaduo

Food and Restaurants

To eat in Litang it is similar as many other towns in western Sichuan. It costs about 30 yuan to 50 yuan depending on what you eat. Also depend on where you stay in Litang, the restaurants may also be limited because many hotels were built outside of the town of Litang, where there are not many restaurants. In Genyen you are recommended to eat at your host’s house or you cook your own food. Genyen is not exactly a developed place for visitors so options on food are really limited. Travelers to Genyen often cook by themselves or eat at their host’s place. To eat at your host’s place you are often charged by number of people and it is likely to be charged around 30 yuan per person per meal. Shops are available in Litang where you can find places to buy water, fruit, snacks, etc. While in Genyen the shops are limited and you may find one of two shops in a village and you and the shop owners are not always at home. It is recommended to bring your own water/food if you don’t stay there long or even you stay there long. In these shops you can find instant noodles, cookies, cola and beers.