Zanda Dirt Forest

Starting from the foot of Mount Kailash and after hours of travel, crossing a pass nearly 5000 meters above sea level, I witnessed the most spectacular scenery of this trip to Ali—and perhaps of my life so far:

Before us stretched an expanse of earth forest extending for dozens of kilometers, with the snow-covered mountains that remain snow-capped year-round in the distance.

Later, I measured the distance; the mountains were a full 80 kilometers away from us. It was hard for me to describe my awe at that moment, as I had never seen such a vast landscape with my naked eyes. Previously, seeing something over 20 kilometers away was considered incredibly high visibility. If I had to make a comparison, it felt a bit like looking at the ground from an airplane.