About one and a half hours' drive south of Daocheng,this stunningly beautiful reserve is the real reason to shlep all the way out here.You need to time your trip,as April and October see snowfalls and early May and October sees a flood of tourists during national holidays.September is a good time to visit.

The reserve is centred around the three peaks of Jambeyang(Yangmaiyong Shenshan;5958m) to the south,Chana Dorje(Xiari Duoji Shenshan;5958m) and Chenresig(Xiannairi Shenshan;6032m).The mountains are named after the Rigsum Gompo,the Tibetan Buddhist trinity of bodhisattvas.None have ever been climbed.THe reserve is a strong contender as the inspiration for James Hiltons novel Shangri-La.

The region was once part of the old kingdom of Muli and was visited by the fifth Dalai Lama in the 17th century.Joseph Rock,National Geographic's 'man in China',who counted the corpulent King of Muli as a close personal friend,visited in the 1930s and described the famed 'Bandit Monastery',whose 400 monks would regularly head out on plundering expeditions before returning to prayer and contemplation.

En route to the reserve you'll pass Rewu Monastery on the other side of the valley and then,after a high pass,Konkaling Monastery(Gongling Si),the largest in the region,before reaching the town of Riwa.Sixty kilometres from Daocheng,Riwa has accommodation.