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This morning we left Lhasa and were out of town by the time the solar eclipse was due to start at about 9. Unfortunately it was really cloudy but we managed to get a glimpse of the crescent sun through occasional gaps. It didn't go on for long. We drove through some grassy plains with rolling hills around. We were heading generally north and then turned off the highway after lunch towards Lake Namtso, which is the highest lake in the world at about 4700m (actually there is one higher in Western Tibet but we're not counting that one). It cost ¥80 per person to get into the area. The lake is massive and we had to drive up a long valley and over a 5100m pass to get to it. It's ringed by mountains, some of which are snowy, and when the sky is clear the lake is a bright blue colour. We stopped at a small village next to a hermitage by the lake and had a look around. Shane and Lee decided to go for a swim even though the water was freezing - so now Shane has the not-quite-highest lake in the world to add to his collection. Once everyone was done looking around we drove up a short distance back up the road and camped on green grassy plains near the lake.

Being back up at altitude has knocked us around a bit again but we are a lot better acclimatised now.