Kanbula National Geopark

National Geopark And Forest Park In Qinghai; Danxia Rock Formations Above The Lijiaxia Reservoir On The Yellow River, Holding The Nanzong Nyingma Monastery And Nunnery · Jianzha, Qinghai

Kanbula is what happens when Danxia red sandstone meets a dammed Yellow River on the edge of the Tibetan plateau: towers, pillars and sheer walls of rust and ochre rock standing directly above water the colour of turquoise, with pine forest between them and snow peaks behind. The Lijiaxia reservoir supplies the colour, the geology supplies the shape, and the altitude - from about two thousand one hundred metres at the water to well over four thousand on the ridges - supplies the light. There is a second reason to come. The cliffs hold the Nanzong monastery and nunnery, an old Nyingma site of unusual importance, because this is where three monks are said to have fled in the ninth century when King Langdarma was suppressing Buddhism across Tibet, carrying the ordination lineage with them. From here it went back. It is also one of the few Tibetan sites where a nunnery and a monastery sit alongside each other.

Jianzha County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Jianzha, Qinghai, China

Open daily in season, generally around 8:00-17:30, with a geopark ticket and a SEPARATE, USUALLY COMPULSORY INTERNAL SHUTTLE. Reservoir boat trips are ticketed separately, run in daylight hours and are suspended in high wind. THE ROAD OVER THE PASS CLOSES FOR SNOW, ROUGHLY NOVEMBER TO APRIL, and parts of the park become unreachable in winter - check before travelling. ALTITUDE RUNS FROM ABOUT 2,100m AT THE WATER TO OVER 4,000m ON THE HIGH ROAD. Afternoon light is far better on the red cliffs than morning.

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