Gyantse Karola Glacier is about 300 meters from the main road which makes it the closest glacier to the main road in the entire Tibetan cultural area.
Location
It is located at the junction of Langkartse and Gyantse county, about 70 kilometers from Gyantse county. Departure from Yamdrok Lake, reaching this glacier after driving over Simila pass.
It is approximately 30 minutes drive from the kangbala pass (5,050 meters) by Yamdrok Lake. Karola Glacier has a total of almost 10 square kilometers, with length of 5 kilometers or slightly less. The glacier which can be seen is at around 5200 meters high.
Brief
The front “Ice tongue” is about 5,560 meters above sea level, and the spot for view the flacier is about 5,000 meters above sea level. Karola Glacier is thought to be the lowest glacier in the central Tibet. The lowest Glacier across the whole Tibetan Plateau is located in the east Tibet of Kham, called “Hailuogou Glacier“
There is only one road passing through this glacier connecting Yamdrok lake to Lang Kartse county or further to Gyantse county. The road winds through the mountains and valleys with snow peaks on both side till Si-Mi-La Pass (4330 meters). A parking lot is right next to the Glacier view platform
How to get there
By local vehicle
From Lhasa to Gyantse, after descending from Kangbala pass, driving along the road descending all the way to the bottom of the valley and drive follow the main road to this glacier
By bus
To take bus either way from Gyantse to Lhasa OR Lhasa to Gyantse, to tell the driver stop by at Karola glacier
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