Overview
Five days from the Naxi old town of Lijiang up into Tibetan country: the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the Tiger Leaping Gorge, and the Songzanlin Monastery of Shangri-La at 3,280 metres.
Lijiang is a UNESCO-listed town of cobbled lanes, running water channels and Naxi architecture, set below a 5,596-metre glacier. This trip gives it two days — the old town, the Black Dragon Pool's famous reflection and the Baisha murals, where Tibetan, Han and Naxi artists worked side by side in the fifteenth century.
Then the road climbs. The Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of the deepest river gorges on earth, where the Yangtze drops around 3,900 metres in 16 kilometres, and you walk part of it with the water coming through far below. Beyond it, Shangri-La sits on the edge of the Tibetan plateau with the largest monastery in Yunnan and the cobblestone lanes of Dukezong old town.
It is a trip of two halves — the refined architecture of the Naxi south and the wide, cold valleys of the Tibetan north — and the transition between them happens in a single day's drive.
- Jade Dragon Snow Mountain cable car
- Tiger Leaping Gorge hike
- Tibetan Shangri-La monastery
- Small group, maximum 14 travellers
Itinerary
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1 Arrival in Lijiang
Fly or train into Lijiang and transfer to the hotel. Evening free to wander the UNESCO-listed old town and its canals.
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2 Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
Cable car up the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the Glacier Park and the Impression Lijiang outdoor show, then return to town.
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3 Tiger Leaping Gorge
A scenic drive to Tiger Leaping Gorge for an easy hike along the high trail with the roaring Yangtze far below.
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4 Shangri-La (Zhongdian)
Transfer to Tibetan Shangri-La, visit the Songzanlin Monastery and a grassland viewpoint over the plateau.
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5 Departure
Morning at a local Tibetan village, then transfer to the airport for your departure.
Gallery
What's included
- 4 nights handpicked hotels
- Daily breakfast
- English-speaking local guide
- Private transport & mountain cable car
- All listed entrance fees
- Airport or station transfers
Not included
- Flights to/from Yunnan
- Lunches and dinners
- Travel insurance
- Tips for guide and driver
- Personal expenses
