Laga Mountain 拉尕山

About Laga Mountain

The provincial scenic-area list places Lagashan on the south bank of the Bailong river in the south-east of Lijie, in Zhugqu county, 12 km from provincial road 313, and describes it as having fine natural scenery and distinctive local custom and as an important place of Tibetan Buddhist assembly in the Tibetan country of Zhugqu. The Zhugqu county government's own page, carrying a Xinhua photo feature, places the scenic area in Zhugqu county, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu, gives its average elevation as above 2,600 m, and records that it was graded a national AAAA-grade tourist attraction in 2010; among its photographs are the visitor service centre and the guesthouses inside the scenic area. A Gansu Daily account of a visit describes the mountain as lying in the hinterland of the Min mountains on the upper Bailong river, with vegetation falling in clear vertical bands, and as combining a Tibetan village, streams, grassland and forest.

The Gansu Daily account follows the valley road in from the mouth of the Lagar ravine, reached 3 km up the Bailong river from Zhandan village past a wooden gate carrying the mountain's name. A short way in, it describes a stone gorge walled on three sides, with a waterfall falling from the left-hand cliff, and further on a great rock face inscribed with the characters 赤壁神窟 above a dozen or more natural caves in the reddish stone. Higher up the village of Lagar lies on the hillside, spread in a line across a narrow, gently sloping hollow, with houses all of two-storey timber-and-tile construction and old water mills turning by the stream, and farmhouse guesthouses have grown up around it. On the mountain's western side a boulder on a summit is likened to a warrior of Gesar seated on watch, with an ancient tree beside it that local people call the demon-subduing staff; below the southern peak a small lake, which the account says is clear to the bottom and warm in winter and cool in summer, is known locally as the Sacred Water Lake, with timber cabins and movable tents set up for visitors. A white stupa stands on the hilltop opposite the village, and stone-paved steps climb the mountain beside the winding road, under tall trees.

What to look for

• The village of Lagar on the hillside, which the Gansu Daily account describes as a line of two-storey timber-and-tile houses in a narrow hollow, with old water mills turning by the stream
• The stone gorge inside the ravine, with the waterfall falling from the left-hand cliff and the reddish rock face carrying the characters 赤壁神窟 above more than ten natural caves
• The Sacred Water Lake below the southern peak, which the account describes as clear to the bottom and warm in winter and cool in summer
• The white stupa on the hilltop opposite the village
• The stone-paved steps that climb the mountain beside the road, through the pines

Location & getting there

Getting to Laga Mountain

Check weather, trail access and the last return service. A mountain or forest area is not one entrance, and a map’s central pin may be far from the trailhead.

• Search for 拉尕山 with 甘南藏族自治州 and 舟曲县.