Visiting the Upper Tiger Leaping Gorge

13 September 2024

Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of Yunnan’s must see sights located between Haba Snow Mountain (5,396 meters) in Shangri-La and Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (5,596 meters) in Lijiang. Around 15 kilometers in length, the gorge is located where the Jinsha River passes between the two mountains in a series of rapids under steep 2,000 meters cliffs.

Tiger Leaping Gorge has three sections: the Upper Gorge, Middle Gorge, and Lower Gorge. The Upper Gorge and Middle Gorge are recommended for their stunning landscapes. The Lower Gorge is usually not recommended due to its plain scenery.

The Upper gorge area offers glorious view of the rapids, torrential current of the Jinsha River as the water squeezes it way through the narrow pathway between the two mountains. Legend says that in order to escape from a hunter, a tiger jumped across the river at the narrowest point at the Upper Gorge area, hence giving the gorge its name.

Statue of a tiger, next to the roaring Jinsha River, can be seen at the Upper Gorge Area. In fact, there are a couple of statues of tiger at this area.

Because it is a tourist site built by the authorities with available road, wooden steps down to the river, secure guardrails and take about 2 hours to visit, most visitors will visit this area when they travel between Lijiang and Shangri-la or visit this as a day trip from either city.

For us, we came to Tiger Leaping Gorge to experience one of China’s best hikes on the high mountain trail on the Haba Snow Mountain side of the gorge. We did the 2D/1N hike from Qiaotou (Upper Gorge) to Tina’s Guesthouse (Middle Gorge).

See these posts for our 2D/1N hiking adventure:

Day 1 of Tiger Leaping Gorge Hike

Day 2 of Tiger Leaping Gorge Hike

We were initially planning to do the half day challenging hike from Tina’s Guesthouse down to the Jinsha River at the Middle Gorge. But plans change and we had to go with Plan B which was to come to the touristy Upper Gorge area to experience the roaring Jinsha River.

Our driver drove us from Tina’s Guesthouse after we completed our hike and alighted us at the large car park as seen in the photo below.

View of the Jinsha River at the Upper Gorge area as seen from the high mountain trail on Day 1 of our hike.

To get from the entrance at higher ground down to the river, we had to walk down about 1,000 steps on a wooden pathway. Getting back up later from the river to the entrance may be a struggle for some. For those who wants to avoid the stairs, there are 2-way escalator tickets available for sale.                         

Preview of the Jinsha River as we walked down the stairs. We could hear the roar of the rapids as we made our descend.

Our guide told us the bridge and road on the opposite bank is now unused and reconstruction is taking place.

There are well built observation decks with safety barriers along the river bank that allow visitors to get close to the roaring river.

This is the narrowest part of the river and start of the rapids. The river was quieter and smooth flowing further upriver.

The Upper Tiger Leaping Gorge is the narrowest section, and in the center of the river is a huge rock called Tiger Leaping Rock.

Imagining how the tiger could have made it across the river using the big rock in the middle.   

Like most tourist places, there are stalls selling drinks, snacks, souvenirs and also amulets that visitors can buy to hang on racks next to the river. There are also people offering photography (for a fee) with the tiger statue.

Amulets that visitors can buy to leave their wishes.

Observation decks on the shores of the roaring river.  

The noisy turbulent water forcing its way over the large obstructing boulders in this deep gorge is a breath-taking sight!

Another statue of a tiger on the opposite bank.

Although this place is a little more touristy, it was definitely worth a visit to marvel at the beauty and power of nature. A good way to complete our hike and visit to Tiger Leaping Gorge.