My son was searching for great places to hike within Asia when Tiger Leaping Gorge came up. Tiger Leaping Gorge is considered one of China’s best hikes for its adventurous routes, fantastic views, flora and fauna, appealing geological features like waterfalls, and isolation.
After watching some YouTube videos of the hiking at this place, we decided to make a trip to Yunnan.
Yunnan, the “South of Colorful Clouds”, is the most southwestern province in China and is also the most diverse province in all China, both in its extraordinary mix of ethnic groups (Bai, Naxi, Tibetan, Yi etc.) and in the splendor of its landscapes. There are many attractions for travelers and photographers ranging from snow mountains and emerald lakes to deep gorges; from stone forest to karst caves; from Tibetan monastery to holy pagodas.
Since we have only 9 days, we did the classic itinerary for first timers to Yunnan that starts and end at Kunming, with sightseeing in Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La. Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China and has the most international flights in and out of Yunnan. Dali, Lijiang, and Shangri-La boast well preserved ancient towns and villages that used to be part of the ancient Tea Horse Road.
We had a private car with driver and guide for sightseeing at Kunming. Thereafter we travelled by high speed train to Dali. From there, we travelled by private car and driver for the rest of our trip at Dali, Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge and Shangri-La.
From Shangri-La, we took a late domestic flight back to Kunming, stayed at Kunming for the night before flying back home the next day.
Using a local tour agency
China is not a place where foreigners could easily make advance bookings for public transport or even admissions tickets to certain popular tourist attractions e.g. cable cars at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Furthermore, in some cities, the best way to get to the remote places or attractions is by private car.
Hence, we decided to let a local travel agency do the legwork even if it meant we have to pay more. In return, we get to travel more efficiently (i.e. see and do more at each city without wasting time on public transport) and also get personalised services from the local guides and driver.
Book a private tour
After some research, we decided to book a customised private tour for our group of 3 persons with China Highlights. This includes accommodations with daily breakfast, all transfers, tickets for all attractions, train and domestic flights, a private car with driver and guide at each city we visited. For meals at each location, our tour guide will recommend specific restaurants based on our interests and itinerary.
The planning with this agency was smooth and the tour consultant was very responsive. All transportation within Yunnan was taken care of. We just need to book our international flights to and from Kunming.
Getting to Kunming
We chose to fly by Thai Airways from Singapore to Kunming, with a short stopover at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport although there are direct and cheaper flights between Singapore and Kunming by the budget carrier Scoot. Scoot scheduled arrival at Kunming was 2 AM and scheduled departure from Kunming is at 3 AM! Definitely not the most convenient times for transfer to and from airport.
The cost of flights on the full service Thai Airway ended up cheaper than the budget airline Scoot if we were to include inflight meals and check-in luggage!
This was the itinerary for our Kunming adventure.
Day 1 (7 September 2024) – Arrival at Kunming
We departed Singapore at 8 AM on TG402 arriving at Bangkok after about 2 and half hours. After a stopover of about an hour, we boarded TG612 for Kunming. We arrived at Kunming as scheduled at 2 PM.
A person from the local tour agency was present to escort us to a waiting car and drove us to central Kunming. Our hotel in Kunming is the Cachet Boutique Hotel, located in the city centre. After checking into the hotel at about 4 PM, we had the rest of the day to explore the city.
We decided to visit Cui Hu Park (翠湖公园) and explore the city area on foot.
For meals, we had to chance to try the local cuisine like steam pot chicken Qiguoji (汽锅鸡) and Yiliang (宜良) roasted duck at Yi Ke Yin Kunming Old House Restaurant.
Trip report: Exploring Kunming city center – Green Lake Park, Moon and Chalice, Yike Yin restaurant and Nanping shopping street.
Accommodation in Kunming: Cachet Boutique Hotel.
The hotel is located in central Kunming and within walking distance to the Old Street and shopping areas.
Day 2 (8 September 2024) – Visit Jiuxiang Caves, Naigu Stone Forest and travel to Dali by train
Our plan for the day is to check out from our hotel in Kunming, travelled by private car to visit Jiuxiang Caves and Naigu Stone Forest. After the tour, we would travel by bullet train from Kunming Railway Station to Dali Railway Station. We will stay the next two nights in Dali.
Jiuxiang (九乡) Caves system and the Naigu Stone Forest (石林) are two key attractions in Kunming. Since both located about 90 km east of Kunming city and are about 30 km apart. This made it worthwhile to see both places on a day trip out from the city.
The Shilin Stone Forest is known for its remarkable karst formations with magnificent, strange, and unique natural scenery. The area is very large and consists of multiple places where visitors can go such as the Greater and Lesser Stone Forests and Naigu Stone Forest.
Our guide recommended that we go to the Naigu Stone Forest since it is less touristy and is often less crowded that the Greater and Lesser Stone Forests.
Trip report: Taking the bullet train from Kunming to Dali and evening in Dali Ancient Town
Accommodation in Dali: Dali Landscape Hotel.
The hotel is located in the Dali Ancient City of Dali, a short walk away from the Foreigner Street and close to the Three Pagodas of Cangshan and Erhai Lake. Its architectural style is based on Bai architectural culture. It is equipped with modern facilities, Bai nationality characteristic decoration and traditional Bai nationality courtyard garden.
Day 3 (9 September 2024) – Fun day in Dali
We have the whole day to see and experience the natural wonders of Dali and also experience some culture of the local Bai people.
The activities includes:
- Bike ride along the West shore of Erhai Lake which is the best way to enjoy views of the Cangshan Mountains and Erhai Lake. Starting from Caicun village which is near Dali Ancient Town, we cycled on the well-surfaced cycle way by Erhai Lake to the end point of the cycle way in Xiaguan District.
- Lunch at a traditional local restaurant.
- Try our hands at the Bai people traditional art called Tie-dyeing. The Bai ethnic minority art of tie-dyeing has a history of 2,000 years. We went to the house of one of these families in the Zhoucheng village to see the art of tie-dyeing. After learning the process, we had a chance to try it ourselves and tie-dye our own T-shirts.
- Visit the afternoon market in Zhoucheng village.
- Stop at a small square and take pictures of the landmark of Dali — The Three Pagodas.
The last activity for the day is to explore the Dali Ancient Town where our hotel is located. It is one of Yunnan's most popular tourist destinations with a history of 1,200 years.
We had time to do shop for silver and tea and explore the key sights in the old town such as the Foreigner Street, Wuhua Tower and the City Gates. For dinner, we enjoyed the Crossing-the-bridge noodles (过桥米线), one of the best-known dishes in Yunnan.
Trip report: Fun day at Dali
Accommodation in Dali: Dali Landscape Hotel
Day 4 (10 September 2024) - Travel from Dali to Lijiang
The plan for the day is the travel from Dali to Lijiang. On the way to Lijiang, we made a stopover at Xizhou village to visit the morning market.
Xizhou Old Village (喜洲古镇) is a town with a history of more than 1000 years. It is located just 18 km north of Dali Old Town in Dali City. It is hence worthwhile to pay this town a visit during our road trip from Dali to Lijiang.
Besides the morning market, we saw some preserved ancient Bai houses, visited an embroidery school for the local Bai minority women and tried the local Xizhou pancakes.
Once we arrived at Lijiang, we had lunch at a local restaurant, followed by a visit to the Lijiang Museum to see the Naxi Dongba Cultural Exhibition and the Black Dragon Pool.
We ended the day exploring Lijiang Ancient Town (丽江古城) where our hotel is located. Lijiang Ancient Town is indeed a famous city with long history and splendid culture. It was a former trading town and a stop for traders carrying goods on the historic Tea Horse Road. It is very rare in China that such well-preserved minority ancient city still exists.
With the guide, we visited the Sifang Street (四方街), Sanyan Well, Yican Well, the Water Wheel, several bridges and Lion Hill.
The old town was quite busy in the afternoon and evening with an active atmosphere of the lights and crowd. We had Lijiang Preserved Spare Ribs (腊排骨) Hotpot, one of the traditional delicacies in Lijiang, at the popular Sakura Restaurant.
Trip Report: Exploring Xizhou Viilage on our way from Dali to Lijiang.
Trip report: Black Dragon Pool and Lijiang Museum.
Trip report: Exploring Lijiang Ancient Town
Accommodation in Lijiang: Doof (also known as DuoFu) Resort Hotel.
The hotel is conveniently located next to the South Gate of Lijiang Ancient City. It is beautifully decorated like the rest of the ancient town.
Passageway leading to rooms on both sides. Day 5 ( 11 September 2024) – Day trip to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Blue Moon Valley and Baisha Village.
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is a spectacle of nature's beauty, with its 13 snow-capped peaks stretching across the horizon like a majestic white Chinese dragon. We ascended by cable car to the Glacier Park at 4506 meters above sea level.
We hiked about 40 minutes to an observation deck at 4680 meters. Unfortunately, the mountain top was cloudy during our visit.
After visiting the mountain, we took a shuttle bus to reach Blue Moon Valley, a beautiful valley next to the mountain. The water in the valley is from melting snow of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Amazing natural white water terraces are the highlights.
After a hot pot lunch, we made a stop at Baisha Village (白沙村) on our way back to Lijiang.
Our planned activity at the village is to see the famous Baisha Murals and visit a local Naxi family to experience making the Naxi pancakes.
Naxi pancake is a popular food for the Naxi nationality. It can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Locals call it Naxi baba. In the home of a local Naxi family, we experienced making our Naxi pancakes as the main dish, together with some other Naxi dishes for dinner.
We had time to explore Lijiang Ancient Town again in the evening.
Trip report: Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Blue Moon Valley.
Trip report: Visit Baisha Village near Lijiang.
Trip report: Evening in Lijiang Old Town.
Accommodation in Lijiang: Doof (also known as DuoFu) Resort Hotel.
Day 6 (12 September 2024) – Hiking at Tiger Leaping Gorge
We travelled from Lijiang to Tiger Leaping Gorge to start our 2D/1N hike at Tiger Leaping Gorge.
The plan for Day 1 is to hike from Qiaotou to Naxi Family Guest House to have lunch and on to Tea Horse Guesthouse where we will stay for the night.
The distance is about 15 km and approximately 5 hours and includes the steep 28-bends between Naxi Guesthouse and Tea Horse Guesthouse.
Trip Report: Day 1 of Tiger Leaping Gorge Hike from Qiaotou to Tea Horse Guesthouse.
Accommodation along the hike: Tea Horse Guesthouse.
Our original plan was to stay at Halfway Guesthouse but our local tour agency was unable to secure a room there for us. They booked us into Tea Horse Guesthouse instead. Because of that ,we had a slight change of plan and skipped the hike to Middle Gorge the next day due to shortage of time.
Tea Horse Guesthouse is a good place to stay on the Tiger Leaping Gorge trail. The rooms are basic but the views of the mountains from the guesthouse is fantastic.
Day 7 (13 September 2024) – Hiking at Tiger Leaping Gorge, see the Upper Gorge and travel to Shangri-La
Day 2 of our Tiger Leaping Gorge hike was to walk from Tea Horse Guesthouse to Tina's Guesthouse. The distance of our hike on this day is about 9.8 km and is mostly flat until towards the end where we descended the mountain to Tina’s Guesthouse.
The trail from Tea Horse Guesthouse to Halfway Guesthouse is extremely scenic and was best done in the morning.
Halfway Guesthouse is a good place to rest and have iced coffee and cakes. We could enjoy the excellent views from their roof terrace and even from the toilets!
From Halfway to Tina’s guesthouse, we passed through some pretty waterfalls and canyons on the way.
After lunch at Tina’s Guesthouse, we made a stopover at the Tiger Leaping Gorge Entrance to explore the Upper Gorge and see the roaring Jinsha River. This is the place where it is said that a tiger leaped across the river using the large rock in the middle.
It was late afternoon when we travelled from Tiger Leaping Gorge to Shangri-La. Our hotel in Shangri-La is the The 5th Meteorite Light-year Hotel which is conveniently located at the edge of the the Dukezong Ancient Town.
We have dinner at Dukezong Ancient Town and had some time to explore the town on our own.
Trip report: Day 2 of Tiger Leaping Gorge Hike from Tea Horse Guesthouse to Tina’s Guesthouse.
Trip report: Visiting the Upper Tiger Leaping Gorge.
Trip report: Evening in Shangri-La’s Dukezong Ancient Town.
Accommodation at Shangri-La: The 5th Meteorite Light-year Hotel.
Our hotel at Shangri-La is the 5th Meteorite Lightyear Hotel located in the northwest corner of Dukezong ancient city. It is convenientle located just next to the North gate which is the main gateway to the ancient city.
Day 8 (14 September 2024) – Explore attractions in Shangri-La and travel by air to Kunming
The activities for the day is to visit Potatso National Park, Songzanlin Monastery and Dukezong Old Town before taking the late flight our from Shangri-La to Kunming.
Potatso (also known as Pudacuo) National Park covers a total area of nearly 2,000 square kilometers. We only have time to see Lake Shudu. It is one of the largest fresh water lakes on the Diqing plateau.
At the Songzanlin Monastery, we had lunch in the home of a local Tibetan family before visiting the monastery.
Songzanlin Monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist lamasery in Yunnan Province. Occupying an area of 33.3 hectares, Songzanlin was built in the style of Potala Palace in Lhasa and represents the Tibetan culture, housing Buddhist statues and many precious cultural treasures.
We ended the day with a guide tour of Shangri-La’s Dukezong Old Town. This ancient town is filled with Tibetan style old houses. A must see attraction is the Giant Prayer Wheel located on top of Guishan Park.
We had dinner at the Three Brother's Cafe before transferring to the Diqing Airport to take a late flight (China Eastern Airlines MU5932) to Kunming city. 
Trip report: Pudacuo (also known as Potatso) National Park in Shangri-La.
Trip report: Lunch at a traditional Tibetan family's house in Conggulong Village.
Trip report: Our visit to Songzanlin Monastery.
Trip report: Guided tour and dinner at Shangri-La’s Dukezong Old Town.
Accommodation at Kunming: Cachet Boutique Hotel.
Day 9 (15 September 2024) – Morning in Kunming and travel back to Singapore.
We spent a lazy morning at Kunming Old Street, did some shopping (bought Yunnan’s popular flower cakes) before taking the 3.50PM TG 613 Thai Airways flight back to Singapore with a stopover at Bangkok.