A vast land, Tibet has an extensive but sparsely populated grassland to the north while to the south lie valleys of barley surrounded by great mountain ranges and deep rivers, where winding tracks are most in evidence. Transport and communications were very poor in the past, but since liberation highways have been built year after year, and motorized traffic is becoming more and more common. Nevertheless, traditional local transport is still widely used in the vast rural, pastoral and forest regions of Tibet.

Horses and Donkeys

Tibet抯 high-altitude rarefied air makes traveling on foot for any distance highly exhausting. Consequently, people ride everywhere to save their breath, while loads are carried on pack donkeys and horses.

Yak Caravans

A caravan of tens to hundreds of pack yak will be loaded up with salt, wool or hides when the nomads decide to set off on a bartering trip. Pack yaks truly deserve their name of 搒hips of the plateau?for they are able to cross towering passes four to five thousand meters high and withstand temperatures of ?0 to 30? while carrying loads of over fifty kilograms. Yaks may be slow but they are indefatigable and can undertake journeys of a week or more. Nomads when accompanying their caravans are accustomed to camping out in all weathers, tethering the animals and building a cooking fire when night approaches. When they reach the agricultural areas, they barter their salt for grain and then slaughter most of their pack yaks, selling their meat and hides on the spot, only sparing a few for the return journey.

Porters

The strategically situated border regions of Legpo, Dam and Minling are notoriously difficult terrain where traffic is often blocked and even pack animal caravans find the going difficult. But vital trade routes pass through these regions to neighboring countries such as India, Nepal and Bhutan, and so traders mostly employ porters to carry their goods. Porters can carry a thirty to forty kilogram load each with the support of a staff, and make their way over high passes seeking their own paths. For many, portering is a way of life and a means of earning their livelihood.

Yak-skin Coracles

Yak-skin coracles are a commonly seen method of water transportation in Tibet. The Tibetan plateau is crisscrossed with fast-flowing rivers and rapids, and to suit their environment the Tibetans have devised the yak-skin coracle. Made of a frame of tough boughs enveloped in well-stitched yak-skins, these coracles can carry from three to ten people, depending on their size. They only require a single steersman. Yak-skin be-comes flexible when wet and so does not tear or break when the coracle runs up on shoals. Its small size and light loading capacity means that a coracle can be used in both deep and shallow waters. Coracles are light enough to be carried by one person, which makes them a very convenient mode of transport. Along the Tsangpo River fishermen can be seen casting their nets from yak-skin coracles, while they are also used for trans-porting grain and other goods down the Nyangchu River, and ferry boatmen ply their trade from bank to bank in coracles large and small.