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The route is Kunming > Dali > TL Gorge > Zhongdian > Deqin > Zhongdian > Xiangchang > Litang > Kangding > Tagong Area > Ganzi > Baiyu > Dege > Ganzi? > Serxu > Yushu (Qinghai) > Xining > Mengda > Tongren > Xiahe > Langmusi > Songpan (horse trek 3 days) > Jiuzhaigou > Chengdu > Emei shan > Leshan > Zigong (possible bamboo sea excursion) > Chongqing > 3 gorges > Wuhan.

Solo traveler, extreme shoestring, 8 weeks about, sleeping on the ground in places like Tiger Leaping Gorge and Jiuhaigou (no tent but tarp and blanket so that means probably not camping in northwest Sichuan mountains), if it can't be done by bus I am not getting a taxi or renting a vehicle (hitch under extreme circumstances only), and I speak fluent mandarin which should prevent getting ripped off in some areas. What do you think, not including souveneirs? USD1,000 or even 10,000rmb should be plenty, even if it ends up taking 10 weeks?

[kamal]

Seems like a hella lot of places to see in 8 weeks.

But as far as a budget, logically your biggest expenses are going to be transportation. In some instances the train is cheaper than the buses so survey your options when deciding.

Your mandarin will help you to get into the cheaper lodging, so shop around at some of the smaller hotels.

I think your money will hold up for the 8 weeks, however will you have time to enjoy so many places in so short a time frame?
I know from experience that taking local buses to remote locations requires one day to recuperate mentally and physically, especially if its a real nasty long haul. I usually try to limit my bus rides to 14 hours max and take a day wherever that will take me to recoup then carry on.

[holia]

I've done most of this, but I'm too lazy to figure out prices etc at the moment. Living expenses in the Ganzi, Baiyu Dege region will be bare bones (easy $8 a day) however, transport will be a difficulty--either long bumpy bus rides when they are running--or you will get stuck and have to hire a car for a leg (if you can find others for the share taxi it will be cheap, otherwise 60 usd for Ganzi to Dege (roughly).

You could do the horse trek in Dege region NOT Songpan--no tourists, much more beautiful-- you will however have to be somewhat more self sustainable, it can snow, and a blanket might not cut it if you don't make it all the way to the next monastery. Also in this region people speak the Kham dialect of Tibetan, so manderin and Lhasa Tibetan will often be unhelpful.

Getting to Serxu could be a real trick if you don't want to hire...this might be one of those time you have to hitch from Manigango. However, I would reconsider your entire loop Serxu > Yushu (Qinghai) > Xining > Mengda > Tongren > Xiahe > Langmusi > Songpan (horse trek 3 days). This will not only be tedious in terms of the amount of travel, but you will be in rather redundant areas that are not nearly as impressive as some of the stuff in the dege region. The monasteries at Xiahe is pretty over touristed form what I understand, and the entire region is more like rolling grasslands. langmusi will be nice, but you will have already seen better stuff at that point if you take some time in Dege county.

You might be better off spending the extra time and money in Dege then heading back to Chengdu and chilling somewhere in the south.

If you want a better alternative to the 3 gorges email me
joshuabroggi@gmail.com

pick up "trekking in Tibet" by gary mccue (get the latest edition with this region in it)

[lorrdan]

"Proper" is boring. A great memory is walking into an Asian "park" and half way along the road maintemance crew gave us a lift in the back of a route to the entrance. Then we were still a long way to go so the senior ranger instructed a junior ranger to give us (wife and I) a ride on the back of his bike. Flat out along a dirt track and to be waved down by the road crew route to give me my day pack back that I had left in the back of the route.

However the program seems "silly". The experiences as desribed above require "time" that is the trade off for money.

You sound like the oldies that talk of "doing Europe" - "UK one day, France the next day, etc - 10 countries in 10 days'

However each to their own

[aynor]

I think 8 weeks on parts of that itinerary are going to require more than US$25 per day thus about $1500 min. IMO the biggest expense is National Park entry fees eg Emei Shan is 120 rmb PER DAY (x3 days if you do most of the hike, without buses or cable cars). Monastries & food are also expensive on the mountain. Juizhaigou is also expensive and you are not allowed to stay in the park overnight. On the Songpan Horsetrek you still need to pay entry fees to scenic spots (70RMB for Erdaohai) and a "camp cleaning fee" of 10 kuai. It is a shame to go all that way & not be able to enter monasteries or temples etc.

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