Along the Yangtze

During this tour, you will visit Lake Erhai and Mt. Cangshan in Dali where Bai people live, visit the thousand year old grottoes in Shibaoshan, travel around Mt. Jade Dragon. Meet up with the people of Bai, Naxi, Yi and Mosou. The trek along the Yangtze river from Tiger Leaping Gorge to Lake Lugu will bring you closer to the people and nature.

Itinerary

Day 1, Arrive in Kunming and transfer to Hotel

Day 2, Stone Forest
Free morning in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, with mild temperature throughout the year, named as Spring City. Drive to Stone Forest and visit the outside part of Stone Forest with some walks in the fields at sunset when there aren’t any tourists.

Day 3, Drive to Dali
Visit the major part of the Stone Forest in the morning before tourists arrive, and six hours drive to Dali via Kunming and Chuxiong.

Day 4, Three Pagodas & Cable car to Cangshan
Visit the thousand-year-old Three Pagodas and Congsheng Temple which is the biggest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia, with hundreds of Buddhist images. Take a cable car up to  the Cangshan Mountain at 2550m, visiting Zhonghe Temple and taking a walk on the Clouds Road for a couple of hours ,where you can have a bird’s eye view of Dali and Lake Erhai.

Day 5, Visit Xizhou and drive to Shaxi
Visit Xizhou morning market where people sells food, vegetables and daily uses, walking into the village to visit some traditional old houses of Bai people and meeting up with locals. Drive to visit Shaxi Square Marketmwhich used to be an important stop on the Tea and Horse Trail. Time has gone but we can still see the remains of the history. All the houses are well protected.

Day 6, Visit Shibaoshan and drive to Qiaotou
One and half hour walk from Shadengqing up the hill to Stone Bell Temple, visiting the  thousand year-old grottoes which were carved out during the period of Nanzhao and Dali Kingdoms. Visit Baixia Temple which was built on a cliff , with some walks. Drive to Qiaotou via the First Bend of the Yangtze where the Red Army crossed the Yangtze by ferries during the Long March. Prepare for the trek.

Day 7, Trek the Tiger Leaping Gorge
Today we start with our seven day trek from the Tiger Leaping Gorge to Lugu Lake. Start from Qiaotou at 1980m and trek up the hill on zigzags called 28 Bends via villages, terraces, with great views of the Gorge and Jade Dragon Snow Mountain on the other side, and reach the top at 2640m within five hours, taking a rest. Another two hours walk in the forest and bushes to Bendiwan.

Day 8, Continue the trek in the Gorge
Six hours trek in the Gorge via waterfalls and down the hill to the main road at middle of the Gorge. One and half hours walk on the main road to Walnut Grove, with fantastic view of the Gorge. Another hour walk on the road and then get down to the Yangtze. Cross the river by ferry and climb up to the parking lot on zigzags. Our bus will meet us here with drinks, and we can take the bus to Daju or another hour and half walk if you like to. O/n Daju, Guesthouse

Day 9, Drive and trek to Stone City Baoshan
Two and half hours drive to Yangzi Laoke at 3200m, and you will see the different faces of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain during the drive and also see the Haba Mountain on the other side of the Yangtze. We will make stops in the Yi villages along the road for photos. Six hours trek in a valley to Baoshan Stone City via forests and terraces on the way. Baoshan is a remote Naxi village built on a huge rock near the Yangtze, with beautiful terraces around the village. O/n Farm house.

Day 10, Trek to Liuqing
Seven hours trek along the Yangtze to the north direction to Liuqing, passing by a couple of Naxi village and going through two tunnels in the Taiziguang Mountain, with great views of the Yangtze in all directions. After coming out the tunnels, there is another two easy walk, and then we will arrive at Liuqing. O/n Farm house

Day 11, Trek to Labao
Continue trekking to the north for two and half hours on a path, and then turn right through a village to the Yangtze. Go through terraces and villages within an hour and half, and then take a ferry to cross the Yangtze. Another three hours walk along the Yangtze to Labo village. O/n Farm house.

Day 12, Trek to Zhuangzi
Seven hours’ climbing up to Zhuangzi, Today, we will see the changes of vegetations. At the beginning, it’s hot and dry near the Yangtze, as we climb up, we start to see bushes and then grassland. Enter the pine forests and it’s getting cooler. Trees get bigger and bigger as we climb up. O/n Guesthouse

Day 13, Trek to Yongning
Eight hours’ trek to Yongning. We start with a big tree to walk through the forests, climbing up to a pass at 3560m and then trekking down to Yongning. On the way, we will pass by a couple of Yi and Mousou villages and see the changes of the plants and flowers growing here. Bus will meet up at the end of the trek, and drive us to Lugu Lake.

Day 14, Tour of Lugu Lake
Take a boat trip on Lake Lugu to visit an island with a temple, travelling around the Lake to explore Mosou villages to learn about the life of Mosou people. Mosou is a branch of the Naxi minority. They still live in matriarchal society. The oldest women has the power in the family and makes the decisions, with the property passed down to the daughters only. People don’t get married but men will come to stay with their lovers at night and leave the next morning. Children don’t know their fathers but men help their sisters to take care of their children. People take care of each other and live in a harmony way.

Day 15, Drive to Lijiang
Drive to Lijiang via Ninglan with visits to see some Yi villages along the way. Yi is the biggest ethnic group which lives in Yunnan: more than three millions in Yunnan, and there are many sub tribes of Yi. Hopefully, we will see a market of Yi people somewhere during the journey. Visit the old town of Lijaing.

Day 16, Villages and Monasteries
Drive to Puji village where we start to walk. Climb up the hill through pine forest for an hour before we arrive at Puji Monastery. Puji monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery which was built three hundred years ago, with copper roofs. Not many people come here but we can meet a few lamas and locals who take care of the Monastery. After visiting the Monastery, we drive to Yuhu village where the explorer Dr. Rock used to live for his research. It is a very beautiful Naxi village in front of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Visit the village and meet up with people. Visit Ziyuan Monastery and listen to lama chatting. Evening flight to Kunming

Seasonality: April to October

Departure:
Oct.10th – Oct.25th, 2010
Apr.15th - Apr.30th, 2011

Price:
US$ 1,650.00 Per person
US$ 320.00 Single Supplement

The price includes:
Flight: Lijiang/Kunming
Hotels with breakfasts
Meals during the trek
Sightseeing Programs & entry fees
English Speaking Guides
Porters during the trek: Baoshan/Lugu Lake
Transfers and transportation by private vehicles

Group Size: 06 -12

You may prefer a different date and time frame for this tour, or wish to adjust the itinerary to suit your interests. We will do all we can to meet your preferences. Please note that tours of less than six persons may cost more per person, and other expenses may increase as a result of customization of your tour. In all cases, however, we are committed to providing the best value for your experience.