4WD Overland Expeditions

This is not a tour with a 4WD in the photos. It is an expedition: unpaved tracks across the Gannan and Gansu-Qinghai plateau, river crossings, passes above 3,800 metres, wild camps with a camp chef, and nights in nomad tents and Tibetan village houses.

What makes it different

Everything on the standard loop happens on tarmac. Twenty kilometres east or west of that tarmac, the roads become tracks, the tracks become riverbeds, and the villages stop seeing foreign travellers entirely. Our overland routes are built on those tracks: Land Cruiser or Prado vehicles with proper tyres, a support vehicle on longer expeditions, and drivers who have crossed these valleys in every season.

The route, roughly

Six to nine days from Lanzhou or Xining. South through the Sangke and Ganjia grasslands, over the Ganjia pass, into the stone-box mountains around Zhagana, then west along the Tibetan monastery circuit and north over the Qilian foothills. Some days you drive four hours on gravel and see nobody.

Altitude is real: nights at 3,200–3,800 metres, one pass at 4,000. We acclimatise properly, carry oxygen and a satellite communicator, and keep the first two nights below 3,300 metres.

Comfort, honestly

Vehicle: Land Cruiser 200 or Prado, 3 passengers per vehicle maximum for long expeditions, with a roof rack and recovery gear.

Camping: expedition tents, proper sleeping systems, hot water bottles, a camp chef cooking Sichuan-Tibetan food. Wild camps are chosen on the day by the guide, with permission from the local village.

Guesthouses: family-run Tibetan houses in Zhagana and Langmusi, shared bathrooms in the remotest spots, always clean.

Who it suits

Travellers who have done the classic loops and want the other version. Photographers. Families with teenagers. Anyone who would rather eat dinner at a folding table under a mountain than in a hotel restaurant.

When to go

June to early October. July and August are greenest but wettest on the tracks; September and early October give the most stable weather and the best light. Winter expeditions are possible with experienced crews only.

On the third day, the tarmac ends and the trip begins.