First leg to the unknown. I couldn't leave the Himalaya without visiting Tibet, and Potala Palace at Lhasa, so I planned carefully a leg over there. However, I cannot fully stop there (airport not available at FSEconomy), so I decided to plan a temporary stop there to rest for few minutes and then continue towards India.
Since the trip is long and there are no airstrips nearby, I decided to be cautious with the fuel, so I fly at 2400 rpm at LOP.
The departure from Paro was awesome, that valley is so beautiful. I climbed quickly up to FL195, to pass the Himalaya and head north across Tibet.
Flying at FL195 over a huge plateau at 15,000 ft always amazes me. I even have to surround some mountain chains to avoid flying over the critical altitud. After several lakes, I reach Yarlung Zambo river and, after a stunning visual approach, I land at Lhasa Gonggar Airport.
This airport is actually far from Lhasa. So I takeoff after few minutes and follow the river till this incredible city. Honestly, I expected it to be smaller, so I was surprised to see how many people live up there (about half a million people). Somehow I also expected the Potala Palace to be next to the mountains, but no, it is located right in the center of the city.
From here I climbed the mountains to return to the river and follow it towards the East, for about 100 nm. It's a very long corridor that narrows as I approach India, where more mountains (and snow) wait for my arrival.
Now a final descent, very steep, towards Mechuka, a small village on a location that is getting some tourism in the last years due to both landscapes and monasteries. And a very soft landing.
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SHINGKARAP JOMOLHARI DUOQINGCUO PU-MOYONGCUO ZULS LHASA YARLUNG-ZAMBO
VQPR 261100Z 17011KT 9999 SCT040 SCT070 27/13 Q1014
N/A
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