How high the route actually goes
The Grand Loop is a high-to-low journey. Xining sits at about 2,200 metres, Qinghai Lake and Chaka sit around 3,100 to 3,200 metres, and once you cross into Gansu the towns of Zhangye, Jiayuguan and Dunhuang are much lower. The hardest days for altitude therefore come early, before your body has had time to settle.
Whether that becomes a problem depends on the person. Many travellers feel nothing at all. Others notice a mild headache, tiredness or a poor night's sleep for a day or two, and then recover as the route descends towards the corridor.
What we do to make it easier
We deliberately keep the first two days light. There are no early starts and no packed schedules, so your body can adjust before the busiest part of the trip. We carry oxygen in the vehicle as a matter of course, and the pace is yours to set: if you want to slow down, we slow down.
- Arrive slowly: skip alcohol and heavy meals on the first evening and sleep early
- Drink warm water through the day and eat regular meals rather than skipping them
- Walk and talk at an easy pace, and take short breaks on any climb
- Tell your guide at once about a lasting headache, nausea or breathlessness
Common misunderstandings
People often assume that youth or fitness guarantees an easy time at altitude. It does not work that way; how quickly you climb, how well you slept and how you feel that day matter far more than how fit you are.
The opposite fear is also misplaced. Most guests on this route experience nothing worse than a mild headache, and the descent into Gansu usually settles it. What we do not do is give medical advice: whether to take altitude medication is a decision for you and your doctor.
What we do if you have a health concern
If you have heart, blood-pressure, respiratory or other ongoing conditions, please see your doctor before you book and tell us what they advise. With that information we can adjust the hotel floors we use, the density of each day and the amount of rest built into the schedule.
The same applies when you travel with children or older parents. Tell us in advance and we will leave more slack in the pace and the driving, so nobody has to push through a hard day.
This question comes from Qinghai–Gansu Grand Loop
