Updated Yarchen Gar (Yaqing Monastery) Travel Guide and Tips 2024

Yarchen Gar (Yaqing Monastery) Travel Guide and Tour Packages

Updated news of Yarchen Gar (Yaqing Monastery): All travelers are not allowed to travel to Yarchen Gar anymore since early 2019. No reasons were given for this change. According to local authority Yarchen Gar may open by sometime in the next years. Travelers who plan to travel there please be aware of this change and make plans accordingly.Yarchen Gar is the biggest Tibetan non (Tibetan female Buddhists) shrine in China. Yarchen Gar is 800km west to Chengdu and 120km southwest to Ganzi Xian. It is home to over 20,000 nuns regularly. Yarchen Gar was built in 1985 and functioned as a Buddhist school. Yarchen Gar is located in Baiyu of Garze Prefecture. It is located 102km southwest to Ganzi Xian and 122km east to Baiyu Xian on the Ganbai Road. Yarchen Gar is a complex of Buddhist schools, temples and monasteries and meditation cubes. Behind the Changqu River sets the biggest Juemu Dorm in Tibet. Juemu is the Tibetan name for non. It shares the same fame of Larung Gar of Sertar. Yarchen Gar is a Nymmapa Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Except its stunning size and color, there are also rituals of Yarchen Gar including ritual dances, 100-day meditation festival, etc. Aside from this, travelers can also combine Yarchen Gar with other nearby places such as Tsopu Lake at its south.

Yarchen Gar Festival Season

Recommended length of visiting: 3–4 hours to 1–2 days;

Yarchen Gar - The largest nunnery in Tibet

Yarchen Gar is the second-largest Tibetan school and the biggest Buddhist school for female religious people in Tibet. Thousands of houses locate on “the Island”, which makes it one of the most stunning man-made landscape in Sichuan Province.
Festival 100-day Meditation

It is called a 100-day Meditation Festival. It starts by around November every year. It is one of the important curriculums the Tibetan nuns conduct every year. During this event, every non will stay in her small cubic to meditate and study.
A Photo Tour

Yarchen Gar is one perfect place to take photo shots of Tibetan Buddhist complex aside from Larung Gar. Its sheer volume of houses and dormitories are amazing by the river bends. Sunrise and sunset views are excellent of Yarchen Gar. It’s one of the must-see destinations for photographers.
A Trek between Yarchen Gar and Tsopu Lake

A trek from Yarchen Gar to Tsopu Lake is one of the wild and unexplored treks in western China. It takes up to one week to go from the holy school of Yarchen Gar to the beautiful lake Tsopu Valley through hard walking and stunning landscape.

MORE THINGS TO DO

Getting There and Around Yarchen Gar

Go to Yarchen Gar By Bus

There is no direct bus from Chengdu to Yarchen Gar. One needs to transit from Ganzi Xian. From Chengdu to Yarchen Gar there are 2 ways to use bus to get to. First is to take the bus to Ganzi Xian from Xinnanmen Bus Station at 10am every morning. This bus costs 265 yuan and will have 1 night stay in Kangding and then next day arrive in Ganzi Xian. From there you need to take the bus departs at 7am every day to Yarchen Gar. Or you can use a local taxi or shared taxi to get to Yarchen Gar. But shared taxi is not always available. The shared taxi costs about 60 yuan. The second way is to cut the bus from Chengdu to Ganzi into 2 part: to get to Kangding first and then from Kangding use the bus to Ganzi at 6am and 7am to Ganzi Xian.

Go to Yarchen Gar by Shared Taxi

The other way to get to Yarchen Gar is to use a shared taxi from Chengdu to Ganzi Xian first and then from there another taxi to Yarchen Gar. The shared taxi is available at near Wuhouci in Chengdu. There are usually lots of cars with Tibetan drivers waiting for business.

Yarchen Gar Travel Tips

Gathered below is the most useful travel guide to Yarchen Gar. Important travel information of Yarchen Gar includes travel season and climate, detailed and useful Yarchen Gar travelers advice, tips on accommodation and food issues about traveling to Yarchen Gar.

Travel Season

The best season to travel to Yarchen Gar is from April to November when it’s not so cold. Weather is normally good here. In winter time it is too cold, it gets below -10C at night if you travel in winter time. Summer is August and July when the mountains are greenest but during this season you may encounter the monsoon rain. April and May, September October are colder but generally have stable weather. more>>

Accommodation and Food

There is only basic accommodation available at Yarchen Gar. The guesthouse available at near the compound are basic rooms without attached bathroom nor hot water for shower. If you are looking for comfortable accommodations, you need to drive back to Ganzi Xian or use the relative better hotels in the town 5km away called Jiacha Village. Food is also limited, but simple shops are available.more>>

Planning Ideas and Maps

A trip to Yarchen Gar will require a minimum of 5 days from and back to Chengdu. Its distance between Chengdu is over 900km, either by driving or using public transfer it will need at least 2.5 half days. Yarchen Gar is recommended to be combined with other visits along the way.more>>

It is NOT Open to Foreigners

Yarchen Gar is closed to foreigners since 2019. No foreign visitors are allowed to visit this place. This is confirmed information from local authority. more>>

Yarchen Gar Tour Packages

Yarchen Gar no longer allows any visitors to go in from 2019. We are unable to provide tours there. Please look for alternative visits to Dzogchen in Derge, Kathok in Palyul, or Anigongma in Tagong. We have listed below alternative tours that have cultural significance in Tibetan Sichuan.

Western Sichuan Overlanding Tour (All in One) - 20 Days

This is a long trip in Sichuan covering the famous as well as remote and wild destinations in Sichuan. Places in this trip include Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, Zoige Grassland and Yellow River Bend, Lianbao Yeze, Larung Gar, Derge and Mt. Chola, Tsopu Valley, Genyen, Daocheng Yading and Minya Konka, Kangding. It is an adventure of a lifetime.

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Northern Sichuan Adventure Tour - 9 Days

Northern Sichuan Adventure tour is a well-organized adventure into the most stunning national parks of China, Jiuzhaigou and the vast grassland of Zoige along with the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine of Langmusi as well as the amazing rocky peaks of Nyenpo Yurtse. This is a tour designed to enjoy the authentic views and culture while have the best possible comfortable pace.

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Wild Sichuan Ultimate Adventure Tour– 12 Days

This is a 12-day adventure tour into the far most regions of western Sichuan including most of the highlights of western Sichuan. This is a guided private trip starts and ends in Chengdu. Considering the remoteness and authenticity, this is truly a lifetime experience you will have.

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