Trekking trips in Gongga will involve camping for multiple nights. For the clasic treks of Minya Konka the camping is usually using former campsites in the wild valleys. At present (2023) there is no requires on registering at anywhere before doing camping in Minya Konka. Although due to the restrictions on using fire in the wild, overnight hikers are not allowed to do camping inside the valleys of Minya Konka in certain seasons when it is dry.
At some campsites, there are now permanent huts and shelters set up by local people and some are available for hikers to use. You may see some nomads’ tents or huts with local people live inat campsites like Upper Riwuqie or Liangcha Camp during herding season. Considering comfortibility and privacy you are suggested to use a camping tent for yourself but these huts can be used as emergency shelter. Most of the campsites are very good campsites considering the easy access to water and they are quite flat. You can always use the flat patch used by former hikers but normally you need to move the yak dunes before you set up your tent. Listed beow are the usual campsites of Minya Konka Trek.
Gexi Camp
Gexi Camp is at the begining of classic Gongga Trek. It is an open meadow with great views of Lamoshe Mountains by the north of Minya Konka. A basic road allows cars to get to Gexi Camp, and it is also used by many domestic hikers as the first night campsite, making it very busy during busy trekking seasons. Water source is clear and safe to use but toilet using is a mess here: people do it at anywhere close to where they can walk to in the bushes all ways around the camp. But in a normal day it is okay. (Please note overall Minya Konka Trek is not crazily busy except for some weeks in summer and except the first week of October. The rest of the year it is quiet.)
Liangcha Camp
Liangcha Camp is an intermediate camp to Riuqi Camp by the river junction. It has a cluster of nomads huts that can almost be called a village although you only see a couple of families actually live up here even in the busy travel season. There is also a family runs a basic shops that sells cola, instant noodles and sometimes milk to hikers. Liangcha is not normally used as a campsite by domestic hikers therefore by night it is quiet even by the busy trekking seasons. There is clean water source to use from side streams of the mountain or from the water pipes used by local people. There is designated toilet by Liangcha but very basic and you can always go higher to the rocks and bushes to use toilet. From Liangcha one has good views of Lamoshe mountains and Mt. Tschiburongi.
Riuqi Camp
TRiuqi Camp is one of the most beautiful campsites of Minya Konka. It has views of the heartland of Minya Konka mountains including Mt. Gyazi, Mt. Grosvenor, Mt. Reddomain. Riuqi Camp is usuually referred as Upper Riuqi Camp. The Lower Riuqi Camp is also a lovely campsite but due to trip planning people don’t normally use it as a place to sleep. By Riuqi Camp there are a couple of huts set up by local people and can also be used as emergency shelter or you can pay to stay there on shared bunk. There is also a basic shop selling cola and instant noodles to hikers but may not be available if the host is out taking care of yaks. Water source is from the river running through the open valley. It is clean but during busy hiking season it is wise to go camp further up the stream to avoid the crowd and to have better water. Riuqi is a big flat open pasture that you can find many places to camp. It is usually very windy by Riuqi but you can move further closer to the hills by the east side of the river, although by doing this you sacrifice your chance of having good views. We normally recommend to camp 200m to 300m south to the huts to get a quiet place to rest while still have the views of the mountains. By near the huts, using toilet is a bit messy. Everyone is recommended to go further east up to the shrubs and rocks to use toilet but some don’t follow the civilized suggest.
Reddomain Camp
Reddomain Camp is another beautiful and usually quiet camp in Minya Konka. It is on the classic Gongga Trek route and many domestic hikers either don’t do this route anymore or don’t use it as a usual campsite. Reddomain is the name of the mountain by the east of the camp itself. By the camp one can see the peak’s westface and its glaciers. There is no hut by Reddomain Camp. Water is less easy to get if you are camping in dry season in Autumn or Winter when the small stream may dry up near the camp. Although alternative water source is not very far away.
Yulongxi Camp
Yulongxi Camp is on the other side of the mountains in Yulongxi Valley where landscape is slightly different than Riuqi Vallley. The hills are less steep while views are still open although without big mountains in sight. Water is available either by the stream or from the main river. Using toilet may need to further to find enough bushes around campsite. Please note Yulongxi Camp is not a specific place where people set up tents but rather a large area by the riverside of Yulongxi Valley. Normally hikers set up tents wherever there is water and flat. There is no hut by Yulongshi Camp.
Mt. Nama Base Camp
Mt. Nama base camp is located by the foot southwest to Minya Konka itself. It is beyond the monastery of Gongga by flat part of an old glacier-formed terrain. Nama base camp is used by people who go to climb Mt. Nama and the mountains around. In a classic Gongga Trek it also goes to this camp but without overnight. From Nama base camp one can see Mt. Gongga in a close range.
Please note you can basically camp at anywhere in the valleys of Gongga where you think is beautiful and safe. Water source is usually easy to come by and there are actually plenty of flat places to set up tents in Riuqi, Gyazela, Panpanshan, upper part of Moxi Valley with good views. There are also places to make good campsites in/around Zimei village and Bawang Lake.
Water is not an issue by most places in Minya Konka while hiking. You may find it hard to get water from nature while you are at higher part of when you are walking over a long pass for example, Riuqi, Yulongxi or Ridaman. The rest of the time you are safe with running water either from the main river by the valley or streams from side valleys. Most of the time you will be walking in the valleys where you can easily get access to water. Hiking during winter time many of the streams will dry up but the main river will still have water even though sometimes it maybe frozen. Smaller rivers from side valleys will still have running water in winter if they are not frozen. Minya Konka is wild places. The water is still recommended to be treated or cooked before drinking. It is not necessary to bring bottled water for such hiking all the way. Streams from springs or side valleys are the first choice of water to use. If inevitable you have to use the water from main river, try to get as higher range as possible while taking water from the main river in the main valley.
Campsites in Gongga that are often used by hikers are basically safe and with little risk of landslide, flood.
High Elevation
The elevation of campsites in Gongga are in general very high. Gexi Camp is at 3600m, Liangcha Camp is at 3800m, Riuqi Camp is at 4250m, Reddomain Camp is at 4300m, Winter Pasture is at around 3800m, Yulongshi Camp is at around 4200m, Nama BC is at around 4100m. We recommend hikers to be fully-acclimatized before going sleeping at higher camps to reduce risk of getting mountain sickness.
Sharing Bunk in a Hut
Using huts for overnight is an option by the camp of Liangcha and Riuqi. It saves you the trouble setting up tents and you don’t have to worry too much if the weather gets bad. The disadvantage of using huts includes that you will likely have noisy nights while sleeping since it is also shared by other people.
Animal-related Hazard
There are no deadly insects found in Minya Konka before while a bigger worry is usually from the yaks/horses while camping. The yaks are almost everywhere and they like anything that contains salt. And they have very good sense of smell. So you are suggested to keep your food covered or sealed and to use toilet farther away from your sleeping tent maybe at least 200 meters. The yaks do not attack people and they are shy animals but you certainly don’t want to be woken up by the snuffling yaks at your tent while you are sleeping at night. Other wild animals found at Minya Konka include wolves and snow leopards but not big in numbers and usually they don’t come down to where humans are. Watch out for the horseflies although they only appear in summer.
Extreme Weather
Extreme weather indicates mainly the snow storm that is possible by either end of April, beginning of May or second half of September to first half or October given the more and more unpredictable weather patterns. Chance of snow storm is low but it has happened before. The recent one was in 2018 by end of September. When it happens it is still not super scary but rather difficult to walk for both people and horses. The deepest snow it ever gets was around waist by elevation above 4500m. When you are in an aranged tour, your guide and porter will take care of guiding and finding the way and you have ways to evacuate if necessary. If you are doing self-supported trek in Minya Konka, you are advised to check weather before you go into the mountains especially for the seasons of possible heavy snow listed above and quickly change the plan when it happens.
Camp Fire
Making a camp fire is not allowed in Minya Konka.
There are a couple of gear shops in the town of Kangding that you can find basic gears including stoves, gas canisters, lighters, raincoat, warm and down jackets, hats, gloves etc. But tents and sleeping bags are limited or even unavailable. One gear shop is located by the Long Song Square in the center of the town. By the lower part of the town there are two more gear shops that sell mainly outdoor clothing. You can also rent gears from us in Chengdu, please read our Gear Rental details.
Route: Kangding - Gongga - Kangding
Route: Chengdu - Gongga - Chengdu
Route: Chengdu - Tagong - Gongga - Chengdu
