Off the beautiful, beaten track

Nam Co (Lake) is one of the biggest lakes in the Tibet autonomous region and the highest-altitude saltwater lake in the world. Provided to China Daily

Our drive continued and we finally reached the beach from where we could walk down till the water became partly frozen. We stood awestruck at our first sight of the lake.

Honestly, if someone had told me that it was an illusion and that I was just viewing a painting, I would have believed the person.

There are quite a few superlatives attached to Nam Co, which means "heavenly". The holy lake is the highest-altitude saltwater lake in the world.

With the snowy mountains in the background and chunks of ice still floating on the crystal-clear dazzling blue water, it was a scene straight from heaven - no wonder it's called that.

Colorfully decorated yaks stood obediently, posing for photographs with visitors. Hundreds of colored prayer flags, attached to the rugged, spiked cliffs facing the lake, fluttered in the strong wind. The ambience was truly serene.

There were quite a few restaurants in the parking area. We went into one for lunch and were shocked to see the high price for each dish. But we were hungry and the food tasted awesome. So we didn't mind paying so much, after all it was a tedious task to bring vegetables and meat up to that point.

The other most thrilling adventure for us in Tibet could have been a drive up to the Qomolangma base camp at a distance of almost 1,600 kilometers from Lhasa.

Spend the night there and wake up to see the world's highest peak, also known as Mount Everest.

But we had experienced Mount Everest, up close, from a flight in Kathmandu, in Nepal.

Contact the writer at features@chinadaily.com.cn

If you go

Lhasa is connected to Beijing via Sichuan Airlines and Air China via Chengdu in Sichuan province and by Tibet Airlines either via Xi'an in Shaanxi province or Chongqing.

Trips to Yamdrok Co and Nam Co can either be done by taxi or a local tour operator. It is advisable to carry bottles of drinking water and warm clothes.