Start in: Shanghai
End in: Shanghai
An In-depth Journey Through Exotic Yunnan
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 Shanghai/Kunming
Transfer via: Flight-arranged by ourselves
Upon your arrival at Kunming,"the Spring and Flower City", our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Stone Forest
Transfer via: Overnight soft seat train (21:10-05:17 next morning)arranged by ourselves
Today, you will have city tour to the Stone Forest which is about 90km to the south of Kunming. In the evening, our local guide will our local guide meet and escort you to take the evening train to Dali.
- Stone Forest: a 270-million-year-old limestone karst formation of tightly bundled gray rocky outcrops, a natural wonder acknowledged as "World Karst Landscape Museum", the Stone Forest shows a variety of unique shapes, such as sword, mushrooms, tower, pillar and castle, representing the greatest miracle that nature can present to human beings.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Three Pagodas,Dali Ancient Town,Xizhou Bai Minority Village,Erhai Lake
Upon your arrival, our local guide will meet and escort you to the hotel.The visit today in thisd lovely city includes cruise on Erhai, Xizhou Bai Minority Village, Three Pagodas and the Dali Ancient Town.
- Three Pagodas: at the foot of the Zhonghe Peak of the Cang Mountain, part of Chongshen Monastery, they are an emblem of the city's venerated history. The tallest of the trio, which is 69.13 metres tall, was built in 836 AD, while two smaller ones were built during a later period. No visit to Dali is complete without a call at these three pagodas.
- Dali Ancient Town: first established in 1382 AD, with a moat surrounding it. This old town has a typical layout like a chessboard, old-timey roofed buildings with dark blue tiles and the white and gray tall walls.
- Xizhou Bai Minority Village: a photogenic village 20km north of Dali, where Bai minority people are living and where you will can get some ideas of the Bais' flair for architecture and elegant living.
- Erhai Lake: shaped like a human ear this lake covers over 250 square kilometers. With its vast pool of water shining under the sun like a sheet of vivid green and the snow mantles of the Cang Mountain reflecting quiveringly in it, it is known poetically as "Silver Cang Mountain and Jade-like Erhai".
Meals: B
Sightseeing: First Bend of the Yangtze River
Transfer via: Private car arranged by us!
In the morning, drive to Lijiang (3-hour drive).Upon your arrival at Lijiang County,"an UNESCO World Cultural Heritage" site, after our local guide and the driver meet you, head for Qiaotou at 2070m altitude which is 83km away from Lijiang, along the way, have a trip to see the First Bend of the Yangtze River and Iron Chain Bridge in the Shigu (Stone Drum) Town. Overnight at Qiaotou.
- First Bend of the Yangtze River: formed by the Yangtze River rushing down from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with a sharp turn of 45 degrees at Shigu (Stone Drum) Town before the river continues running on to northeast.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Tiger Leaping Gorge
Drive 9km to the Upper Tiger Leaping Gorge in the morning first to visit the Tiger Leaping Gorge which is descending through more than 400 steps down to the river bed to the gorge, where you can see the very rock in the legend and hear the roaring sound of the river. Then continue hiking for another 5 to 6 hours from Upper Tiger Leaping Gorge, pass 28 bends till you get to Half Way Guesthouse by walking on the small path (the high trail) with peaks of two Snow Mountains: Jade Dragon Mountain (5596m) and Mt.Haba (5396m) on either side, you will experience the gorge's grandness and steepness, the hospitality of minority and enjoy the stunning scenery along the way today. Overnight at Half Way Guesthouse.
- Tiger Leaping Gorge: This gorge is located 92 km north of Lijiang County, between peaks of over 3,000 meters above the Jinsha River (upper course of Yangtze River). The legend goes that tigers often leap to the other side of the river by a huge rock lying in the middle of the river at the entrance of the Gorge, hence the name. This 17-kilometer-long Gorge is honored as the deepest and one of the most marvelous gorges on the earth.
Meals: B
Try to get up early in the morning to breathe the fresh air of the gorge. Continue hiking for about 5 hours on small path (high trail) from Half Way Guesthouse, pass Tina's House, Teacher Zhang's House to the Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge, and then trough the Heaven's Stairs till you get to the Hetaoyuan (Walnut Grove). Stay at No. 1 Woody's house (Guesthouse) at 2175m altitude that has a platform, from which you can enjoy a spectacular view of the river and the gorge. （If you think you are energetic enough, you can choose to take another path called "Heaven of One Thread" from the Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge to the Hetaoyuan (Walnut Grove), which will take you one more hour than the previous route.)
Meals: B
Try to get up early in the morning to breathe the fresh air of the gorge. Continue hiking for about 5 hours on small path (high trail) from Half Way Guesthouse, pass Tina's House, Teacher Zhang's House to the Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge, and then trough the Heaven's Stairs till you get to the Hetaoyuan (Walnut Grove). Stay at No. 1 Woody's house (Guesthouse) at 2175m altitude that has a platform, from which you can enjoy a spectacular view of the river and the gorge. (If think you are energetic enough, you can choose to take another path called "eaven of One Thread"from the Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge to the Hetaoyuan (Walnut Grove), which will take you one more hour than the previous route.)
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Lion Hill,Black Dragon Pool Park,Museum of Naxi Dongba Culture,Lijiang Ancient Town
In the morning, you will have an excursion to Lion Hill inside the Ancient Town, and the Black Dragon Pool Park and Museum of Naxi Dongba Culture inside the park. Enjoy a free afternoon wandering around the Ancient Town all by yourself.
- Lion Hill: the name is derived from its resemblance of a lion playing a ball. The mountain is best known for its vast and green pines and cypresses planted mostly in Ming Dynasty with over 500 years old. From the Tower of Eternity (Wangoulou) on the top of the mountain, you can enjoy a bird's eye view of the ancient town and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain far away.
- Black Dragon Pool Park: where you can see the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain from afar and the reflection of the mountain in the pool in a clear day. This park is the source of the water system of the Old Lijiang Town as the clean spring from Jade Dragon Snow Mountain gathers here.
- Museum of Naxi Dongba Culture: where you will see the exhibitions of Naxi culture and dress, Dongba script, information on Lijiang's old town and so on.
- Lijiang Ancient Town: also called Dayan Town, built in the late Song dynasty and the early Yuan dynasty with a history of more than 800 years. This ancient town consists of clean streams flowing freely through the road network, the colorful cobbled streets, age-old swaying willow trees, age-old buildings and stone bridges. There are over 22 different ethnic minorities making Lijiang their home. Now and then you may see local folks in their own tradtional dress. Strolling around this charming ancient town, you will be attracted by the unique atmosphere and surprised by its ancient yet simple sense of "Harmony of Heaven and Man."
Meals: B
Today our local guide will escort you to the Zhongdian, the Zhongdian guide pick you up and excort you to explore Shangelila valley in the afternoon.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Bita Lake,Napa Lake,The Songzanlin Lamasery
The excursion today will bring you to Bita Lake, Napa Lake, Gedan Songzanlin Monastery. In the evening, pay a visit to a Tibet family, where you will enjoy a local Singing and Dancing Show with some special snacks.
- Bita Lake: 35km away from the County, meaning "the place where roburs become felts", it is a lake surrounded by mountains with clear water and abundant fish resources. Due to the road condition, you need to walk 7km on your own or ride a horse before you can get to the lake.
- Napa Lake: 8km away from the County, meaning "the lake beside the forest", it is a lake on the plateau in the depths of the Yila Grass with mirror-like water and lots of precious fowls.
- The Songzanlin Lamasery: the most important Lamasery of Tibetan Buddhism in Yunnan province.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Baimang Snow Mountain Nature Reserve
In the morning, drive 5 to 7 hours to Deqin County(3400m altitude) which is 187km away from Zhongdian through Baimang Snow Mountain Nature Reserve, you will be able to view Baimang Snow Mountain if the weather is clear, pass the toppest part of today at 4292m altitude at 156km. The view along the way is fantastic with different kinds of trees, streams down the valley, prayer flags and stupas, and Tibetan villages.
- Baimang Snow Mountain Nature Reserve: one of four National Nature Reserves and the biggest reserve with the highest altitude in Yunnan. The difference between its highest peak and lowest place is 3380m, thus it features with different climate, animals and vegetations depending on the altitude. With stretching ranges, Baimang Snow Mountain is taken as the holy symbol by Tibetans.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Meili Snow Mountain,Mingyong Glaciers,Feilai Monastery
Try to get up early in the morning, drive 10km to Feilai Monastery to view the magic sunrise of Meili Snow Mountain. Then drive another 1.5-hour to Mingyong village, where you will walk on the trails for about 4km to the bottom of Mingyong Glaciers, walk another one hour or so, you will get to Tibetan Taizi Monastery-another good spot to view the magnificent Mingyong Glaciers. (You can choose to hire a horse to go up to the glacier on your own expense in order to save your energy.) After the tour, get back to Deqin County.
- Meili Snow Mountain: located on the border of Yunnan and Tibet, one of the eight holy Tibetan Buddhist mountains, legend says that the snow mountain is a god guarding Tibetan Buddhism, every year, thousands upon thousands of pilgrims from Tibet, Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu come here to pay homage to the mountain. Meili Snow Mountain consists of 13 peaks, of which the sharp Kawa Karpo Peak is the highest peak in Yunnan, and famed as "the most beautiful peak in the world", due to its precipitous cliffs, frequent avalanches, thick fog and cloud, heavy rain and storms, the peak remains a "virgin peak".
- Mingyong Glaciers: one 12km-long glacier of Kawa Karpo Peak snaking from 5500m high down to an altitude of 2700m into the forest in winter, a glacier of this size is rarely seen at such low altitude. For thousands of years, the mountain and glacier has been a pilgrimage site for Tibetan Buddhists.
- Feilai Monastery: builit in Ming Dynasty, located 10km away from Deqin County, it is one of the best spots to view Meili Snow Mountain.
Meals: B
Transfer via: Flight-arranged by ourselves
After breakfast, head back to Zhongdian for your flight to Kunming. Upon your arrival at Kunming, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel.
Meals: B
Transfer via: Flight-arranged by ourselves
Free in the day until our local guide escorts you to the airport for your flight to your next destination--Shanghai.the rest of the time is free by you own.
China domestic flights as specified in the itinerary 
Accommodations for 13 nights, including
13 meals, including 13 full breakfasts, 0 lunches and 0 dinners
Round-trip transfers---between airports, hotels and scenic spots in each city by private air-conditioned motor coaches with experienced drivers
A local English-speaking guide in each city
Entrance fees to scenic spots listed in the itinerary
Luggage transfers between airports and hotels
China Life Tourist Accident/Casualty insurance
Government taxes and service charges except tips for tour guides and drivers
Click here to send us a quick inquiry. You will get our prompt reply in 24 hours.
Or read the Customer's Article : Ordering a package tour on the Internet
If you are interested in booking a tour with us, please tell us your name, group size and travel dates.
