Interested in luxury glamping on the Tibetan Plateau? WildChina is just the company to do it with. We’re the world’s leading travel experts for China and Tibet according to Travel and Leisure, Wendy Perrin, and Virtuoso, and we take all the hassle and stress out of planning and booking a trip.
On our Tibetan Camping Retreat, we love to partner with Norden Camp to provide the most luxurious glamping experience you could imagine. They provide the camp, and we provide the extra-special WildChina flourishes that make for life-changing memories you’ll never forget. Want to know more about Norden Camp? Here’s an in-depth look at one of our preferred partners in Gansu Province.
What is Norden Camp?
Norden Camp is a luxury Tibetan campsite founded and staffed by local Tibetan nomads. After having the opportunity to leave the plateau and travel the world, founder Yidam Kyap saw his homeland with fresh eyes. He determined to return back and share the unique traditions, culture and natural beauty found there with the world.
Together with his wife, Yidam Kyap has curated an experience that balances cultural immersion and sustainability with comfort. Norden Camp allows guests access to the peak of nature’s tranquility and harmony and an insight into Tibetan nomadic life.
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Where is Norden Camp?
Norden Camp is located within the Tibetan Autonomous Kanlho Prefecture (Gannan) of China’s Gansu Province, near the celebrated Labrang Monastery in Xiahe. At 3,200 meters above sea level, the campsite covers 11 hectares of pastoral grasslands that doubles as a grazing area for sheep and yaks during the winter.
At Norden Camp, guests will stay in untouched wilderness, Tibetan style; with winding rivers cutting through the green, fed by fresh snowmelt from the Himalayas. Tibetan Yak wander through the camp, foxes and Chiru (Tibetan gazelle) run free in the grasslands, and rare species of birds hide in pretty patchworks of summer flowers. Sightings of hares, marmots, gazelles, pheasants and other colorful birds are common.
What does WildChina love about Norden Camp?
There is no need to worry about anything when you stay at Norden Camp on a journey planned by WildChina. The campsite, perched upon the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau, is one of China’s best-kept secrets. Rolling grasslands of vibrant green spread as far as the eye can see, framed by snowcapped peaks and dotted with yak and sheep – these are the scenes that welcome WildChina guests who choose to camp in this quiet corner of the Middle Kingdom.
And camping here offers luxurious comfort. You’ll have the choice of staying in a yak wool tent or log cabin, living as the nomads do. Yet despite the simplicity of it all, you’ll fall asleep under hand woven yak wool blankets and kept cozy with a warm stove. This is the ideal place for couples to cuddle up together, or for the world-weary to simply get away from it all and rest in a place of supreme bliss.
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To lower the camp’s ecological footprint, all dishes served at Norden Camp are sustainably sourced, and simple yet delicious. Tibetan staples like wild mushrooms, highland barley and yak cheese are given a modern twist and make the perfect, hearty meal to end a busy day of exploring.
Another thing we love is that the region is home to nomadic communities. During your time exploring with your WildChina guide, you’ll be welcomed into their tents, and offered a bite of what’s stewing in the cooking pot – they treat travelers like old friends and your guide will be happy to translate any questions you have.
Once the day is done, stargazing into the infinite skies over the so-called “roof of the world” is simply breathtaking. Camping here means you’ll be admiring those same night skies that have remained completely unchanged for thousands of years, just like this place.
Why plan your trip to Norden Camp with WildChina?
When you book your stay at Norden Camp with WildChina, you’ll receive our signature luxury travel experience from the moment you step foot in the Middle Kingdom. We’ll help you to arrange the most comfortable transfers to and from Gansu Province and can provide the most unique and authentic experiences during your time there. We take regular survey trips to every destination we service to ensure the highest possible standards and can also help you to customize your itinerary. That way you can visit Norden Camp as part of a longer China trip.
But our real secret weapon? Our expert, local guides who’ll be with you every step of the way. Your guide will introduce you to local nomads and help to translate any questions you have into the local dialect. They’re there to provide you with insider information about the history and culture of the sights you’ll see.
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And whether it be getting crafty, learning to weave delicate yak wool fibers together at Norlha Textiles, or riding horseback through the plains, your WildChina guides will help you to stay flexible for those wild and wonderful moments that make travel in China so special. They will show you how to pay homage at the gleaming, golden-roofed Labrang Monastery, and can even organize a luncheon with a Tibetan monk’s family if you’d like.
