Things to do in Sertar

Red Houses + Sky Burial Site + Yak Hot Pot, 2/3/4 Day Itinerary Packaged. 🏘️ I. Must-See: Larung Gar Buddhist Academy: The world's largest Tibetan Buddhist academy, with red houses dotting the valley. Walk around the mandala, and watch the sunset illuminated from the West Mountain viewing platform. 🕊️ Sky Burial Site: 13:00-16:00, last entry at 15:00. 🚫 No photos or videos allowed; solemn and quiet atmosphere, skip if you're sensitive to noise. 🛕 Dongga Monastery, Jinma Grassland, Dengdeng Qudeng Pagoda, Gesar Tibetan Opera, 4 Intangible Cultural Heritage items. 🚗 II. Itinerary: ⚡ 2 Days: Day 1 Chengdu → County Town → Buddhist Academy Night View; Day 2 Morning Mist → Sky Burial Site → Dongga Monastery → Return Trip. 🌟3 Days (Recommended): Day 1 Chengdu → Ma'erkang → County Town; Day 2 Buddhist Academy → Mandala → Sky Burial Site → Night View; Day 3 Dongga Temple → Jinma Grassland → Return Trip. 🚙4 Days: Day 1 Chengdu → Xinduqiao; Day 2 Tagong → Moshi → Seda; Day 3 Morning Prayer → Sky Burial Site → Danba; Day 4 Siguniang Mountain → Chengdu. 🏘️Internal Tour: Sightseeing Bus → Mandala → Larung Hotel → Viewing Platform → Red House → Great Sutra Hall → Night View, 6-8 hours. 🎫 III. Transportation Reservations 🚌Chengdu Chadianzi Bus: 220-284 RMB, 10-12 hours. 🚗Shared Ride: 300-500 RMB, Chartered Car: 400-600 RMB/day. 🎫Mini Program "Larung Valley Entry Reservation", tickets released 3 days in advance at 18:00, 48 RMB round trip. Offline ticket to Luoruo Town: 30 RMB. Private cars are not allowed; use sightseeing buses instead. 🎮 IV. Activities 📿 Walk slowly, circling the mandala three times clockwise. 🌅 Take photos of the blues and lights 20 minutes after sunset at the viewing platform. 📖 Morning prayers at 5 AM and large prayers from 8-10 AM; please do not disturb. 🚙 Provincial Highway 455: Nailong Mountain Pass, Nailong Secret Realm, and Kavalori God of Wealth Mountain. 🏠 Stay in an oxygen-supplied hotel in the county town; the Larung Hotel offers views of red buildings from the window, but it's at an altitude of 4200 meters, and there's a queue. 🍲 V. Food 🥘 Yak meat hot pot: 60-80 RMB per person, served with chili powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and the original broth. 🍵 Butter tea + tsampa: Salty, helps with altitude sickness; tsampa 5-10 RMB, butter tea 15-25 RMB/pot. 🥣Tibetan Yogurt: So sour it'll make you wince, sprinkled with sugar, about 10 yuan. 🥟Tibetan Buns: Potato/yak meat filling, Ni buns. 🍜Sweet Tea House: Sweet tea a few yuan a pot, Tibetan noodles 15 yuan, fried potatoes 5-10 yuan. 🥗Vegetarian Restaurant at the Buddhist Academy: Buffet 15-20 yuan, vegetarian hot pot 20 yuan. 🍽️Recommended: Yam Hot Tibetan Restaurant, 70-120 yuan per person. ⚠️Don't look for meat at the Buddhist Academy; roadside yak jerky is often fake; drink butter tea while it's hot. 📌 VI. Tips 🫁Altitude Sickness: Take Rhodiola Rosea in advance, move slowly, don't shower or drink alcohol, bring oxygen. Eat lightly upon arrival. 🧥Clothing: Windproof jacket/light down jacket, hat, sunglasses for sun protection. 🙏Etiquette: Remove hats in the prayer hall, no photography, turn prayer wheels clockwise, don't photograph monks, no drones allowed. 🕊️Sky Burial Site: Photography and videography are strictly prohibited. Please remain quiet and respectful. 🎬Conclusion: A quick look at Red Valley Mountain is incomplete without a thorough examination of its natural formations. Approaching it with reverence is more important than bringing a camera.

After going through a lot of hardships from Jiuzhi, it took 7 and a half hours to finally reach Seda. Although it is only 378 kilometers, all of them are provincial or county roads, with washboard roads and cannonball roads everywhere. On one side are mountains that may fall rocks at any time, and on the other side are rolling rivers under cliffs. But along the way, the grasslands, mountains, lakes, villages, and temples made us feel that the scenery is on the road again.

The huge and magnificent mandala is located on the highest mountain in the Buddhist Academy. The mandala has three floors. Most people circumambulate on the first and second floors. The first floor is a prayer corridor with a circle of prayer wheels. People circle here every day, morning and evening.

When someone shared photos with me before! I said I wanted to go! And I actually went alone! I saw the sky burial! The Mingjiao school! I caught a groundhog! Although it was smelly! It was really worth the trip.

Dongga Monastery is a photographer's paradise in Seda!!! It's a shame it's not more widely known!!! I visited Dongga Monastery this morning. Unfortunately, it was drizzling, overcast, and lacked sunshine. However, I still witnessed its photographic potential. Dongga Monastery is surrounded by ravines, small grasslands, large grasslands, and a winding river. Located halfway up a mountain, it offers excellent views. Morning and evening are both great times for taking photos. I suggest the Seda County Photographers Association take inspiration from Aba County's "Luorinaze Light and Shadow Scenic Area" and promote Dongga Monastery as a photographer's paradise.

The Battle of Jiangling is a historical story recorded in the epic "The Legend of King Gesar". It tells the story that King Sadan of Jiang State sent troops to occupy the salt sea on which Ling State depended for survival. Gesar fought back and fought for 9 years. In the end, Gesar turned into a fish and swam in the sea. King Sadan went to swim in the sea and drank the fish into his stomach. Gesar then turned into a thousand-spoke wheel to kill Sadan and conquer Jiang State.

Seda Grassland is the most famous natural pasture in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Going north along the Sequ River, there are hundreds of gullies with lush pastures and colorful wild flowers on both sides of the river, and rolling ridges extending east and west. In between, there are black yaks and white sheep flowing like musical notes, and pastoral songs that are sometimes soft and like clouds blown by the wind.