Midui Glacier · the Parlung Tsangpo
Follow the Parlung Tsangpo down a green glacier valley, with a side trip to Midui Glacier — one of China’s most beautiful low-altitude glaciers — into the forest town of Bomi.
Plan the day
Rawu to Bomi — the road, food, lodging and gear for this stage.
Road & riding
A glorious descent along the Parlung Tsangpo past Midui Glacier into Bomi (2,750 m), the "little Jiangnan of Tibet" — green, lush and noticeably warmer.
Food & resupply
Bomi is well supplied — Sichuan restaurants, fruit and hotpot; enjoy real meals as the altitude drops.
Sleeping
Plenty of hotels and guesthouses in Bomi — a comfortable, warmer, oxygen-rich night.
Gear & body
Warmer and wetter forest climate: pack the rain shell again, lighter layers by day.
Landmarks
Rawu Lake
A long turquoise barrier lake at the day's start, a chief source of the Parlung Tsangpo.
Anmu Co
The lower, northwest basin of the Rawu lake system, fringed by reeds and marsh below snow peaks.
Midui Glacier
A spectacular low-altitude glacier tumbling almost into the forest.
Yupu Township
The valley township that holds Midui Glacier, where the highway turnoff climbs to it.
Songzong
A forested highway town in the Parlung gorge, watched over by sacred Armor Mountain (Kuijia).
Parlung Tsangpo
A milky glacial river the road follows through deep green valleys.
Guxiang
A green riverside township famed for the 1953 debris flow that reshaped its valley.
Guxiang Lake
A milky lake born from a 1950s debris flow, mirroring forest and snow.
Bomi Peach Valley
Wild peach blossoms flooding the Bomi valley each spring — a famous April spectacle.
Bomi
A forested valley town near 2,750 m, sometimes called Tibet’s "little Switzerland."
Questions about this day
What is Midui Glacier?
One of China’s most beautiful low-altitude glaciers, tumbling at around 3,900 m almost down into the forest. Day 15 follows the Parlung Tsangpo down a green glacier valley to the forest town of Bomi.
Why is Bomi called Tibet’s little Switzerland?
Bomi sits near 2,750 m in a lush, forested valley — green, mild and full of trees, a softer world after the high passes. The plateau really starts to relax here.
How does the scenery change after the high passes?
The bare high plateau gives way to glacier valleys and deep forest — the milky Parlung Tsangpo, snow above and green below. In the game it’s a visible shift in mood from the windswept grasslands to the green deep.
Ride your own 318
Cycling 318 turns the road to Lhasa into a daily, cozy ride. Check in at the landmarks, collect a postcard from each, and fill your 318 passport.
Download on the App Store