Not Just Peach Blossom in Spring! Nyingchi is Worth Visiting in Four Seasons

Lying in the far east of the Tibetan plateau, Nyingchi Prefecture-level City is one of the most beautiful parts of Tibet. And while the main attraction for most people is the coming of the peach blossoms in the springtime, there are plenty of other attractions for tourists in this outstanding scenic area of Tibet. The area has unique charms in all four seasons, and the altitude and geography of the prefecture means that it can easily be visited throughout the year.

Visit Nyingchi in Spring - Nyingchi Peach Blossom Festival

The peach blossom festival of the springtime in Nyingchi has long been the most popular time of year in this part of Tibet for tourism, and with good reason. Few places in the world can boast the amount of peach blossoms that can be seen in such a small area, and there is a particular attraction for tourists in Nyingchi that other areas are lacking. As an amazing attraction in Nyingchi, the Peach Blossom Festival is a spectacular experience for anyone traveling in Nyingchi in spring.

From around mid-March, the peach blossoms come into bloom, the area becomes covered with the white and lilac and pink blooms of the various varieties of peach trees. The best places to see the blossoms are in areas such as along the banks of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, and in many of the fields around the riverside areas of Nyingchi.

The blossoms come at different times of the year, but are usually found first in Bome County, followed soon after by the other counties, including Mainling County, Nang County, Bayi County, and Gongbo'gyamda County. And if you are looking for the best spots for seeing these beautiful blossoms, Galang Lake, Xumu Township, Guyu Township, Gala Village, Suosong Village, Zhuo Village, Basum Tso Scenic Spot, and Gadan Village are among the top sites in the region.

To travel to Nyingchi for the Peach Blosom Festival, one can get to Nyingchi or Lhasa first. To save time, it is recommended to fly directly to Nyingchi. After acclimatization, you can follow the most classic route to enjoy Peach Blossom Festival from Nyingchi to Bomi, Ranwu, Bayi, Darksum-tso, and finally to Lhasa. In this way, you will appreciate the most brilliant peach blossoms in different classic destinations of this area.

And if the colors of the blossoms and the delights of the traditional Tibetan festivities are not enough for you, there is also the stunning background scenery to admire. The peach blossoms come at a time when the rest of Tibet is still recovering from the cold of winter, and many of the mountains in Nyingchi, which has been likened to the Swiss Alps, are still capped with snow and make an impressive backdrop for the colorful blooms.

Visit Nyingchi in Summer - Primeval Lulang Forest and Colorful Flower Sea

Summer in Nyingchi is the time of the rains, and while it may be the monsoon season, this does not mean that you cannot spend some time here. The monsoon season in Nyingchi is the heaviest of the various areas of the Tibetan plateau, but it has limits to when the rain tends to fall. June, July, and August are prime months for rainfall, but with only around 115mm-130mm per month, this is still a lot less than many monsoon areas in Southern Asia. And then you have the added advantage of the rainfall mostly coming in the late afternoon and evening, leaving most of the days clear and bright for touring around the beauty of this alpine region of the Himalayas.

One of the most stunning areas of Nyingchi in the summer months is the awesome Lulang Forest, an area of Nyingchi that is host to more plants in one small area than anywhere else in Asia. A real natural museum of plant life, almost every species of Asian plants can be found here.

Lying at an altitude of around 3,700 meters, the forest area is a typical mountain meadow on the Tibetan plateau, and stretches out over 15 kilometers, though is only one kilometer wide. A fairyland of scenic natural beauty, the name means Loong King Valley, and is known as “the place that will make you forget your home”.

This is one place in Tibet where lush green landscapes are found throughout the year, and in the summer months, the monsoon rains make it even more lush and verdant than ever. And this is good for the summer flowers too. A time of blooming for the grasses and low-lying meadow plants, summer is the time of the flower sea, where you can see a veritable ocean of flowers stretching out along the valley for mile on mile.

Visit Nyingchi in Autumn - Best for Photography and Trekking

Autumn is one of the best times for stunning scenery in Nyingchi, and for anyone with an eye for a good photo, this is probably the single best time to come to the area for great shots of nature at its most colorful. Rustic colors of reds, golds, browns, and oranges cover the landscape as the leaves on the many deciduous and broad-leaf trees start to change colors ready for the fall before winter. Half-bared trees lie in a colorful carpet of leaves, often framed by the still-green evergreen trees, such as pine and spruce.

Autumn is not only a colorful time of year, it is also one of the best times of year in terms of weather. After the rains of the summer, the landscape is still mostly green for the early part of autumn, and temperatures are still warm enough to be comfortable, though often with cooler evenings and nights as the season progresses. However, it is not until the latter part of November that the nights can drop to below freezing.

If you are a fan of hiking, then autumn is the ideal time to visit the many trekking trails that Nyingchi has to offer. From September to late November, Nyingchi is the ideal place for some beautiful scenic trekking, and there are areas of outstanding natural beauty that are well worth visiting. The most popular, and most recommended, hiking trails lie along the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, around the Holy Lake Nalatso, and the famous Namche Barwa Base Camp trek, which gives you the best views of this stunning mountain.

Visit Nyingchi in Winter - Snow-capped Namche Barwa Mountain

While most of the Tibetan plateau is already in the grip of the cold hands of winter, in Nyingchi, it is still warmer than anywhere else, with the winter months being a great time to travel for some light winter hiking and the stunning snow mountain views. And that includes the best views of the stunning Mount Namche Barwa, the most famous of all Nyingchi’s mountains. Sitting at the entrance to the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, the mountain is often shrouded in clouds in spring and summer, and even parts of the autumn season too. However, in winter, the air and skies are clearer and drier, and you have a better chance of seeing the summit of the mountain. And while it may be covered in snow, the silvery mountain peak shines in the winter sunlight.

Winter is also a good time to explore the cultural and traditional side of the Tibetan people in Nyingchi, and great for traveling around the sights and the small local villages. Weather is generally warm and comfortable throughout the days, and even when the snows fall in January and February, it is light and soft, covering the roofs of houses and temples like a pristine white blanket. It is a good idea to bring along some sweaters, though, as it does get colder at night. But the chill weather in the evenings is well worth it for the beauty of Nyingchi in its blanket of powdery snow.

Conclusion

So, if you are thinking of traveling to Nyingchi, then remember that this beautiful area of the Tibetan plateau is not just about peach blossoms and springtime. The whole year is a good time to try a visit to Nyingchi, and every season has its own attractions and charms that will enthrall and captivate you so that you will long to come back next season to see what that has to offer.