Yunnan province is located in southern China. Parts of Yunnan are very tropical but also, it shares a border with Tibet, meaning that some other parts of it are at a high altitude and thus much colder. We went for a ten day trip through Yunnan in late September, with the following itinerary from Beijing:

  • Flight from Beijing to Kunming, from where we directly continued to Dali by long-distance bus.
  • Three nights in Dali.
  • Two nights in Lijiang
  • One day in Tiger Leaping Gorge.
  • Three nights in Shangri-La.
  • Going by bus back to Lijiang and afterwards taking the night-train from Lijiang to Kunming.
  • Flight back from Kunming to Beijing.

Kunming

Called the city of spring, we found Kunming to be somewhat uninteresting. Admittedly, the weather was rather dull but also it just seems to be just like any other larger Chinese city. The stone forest is supposed to be crowded with tourists and quite expensive, too. We just went to Dali by long-distance bus from the western bus station right away. The shuttle bus from the airport to the bus station takes about one and a half hours.

Dali

We stayed at the Dragonfly Hostel for three nights. It has a wonderful roof-top terrace from which you have a beautiful panorama of the clouds that get caught in the mountains.

Dali is outside of what people call Dali City (which actually has a different name that I cannot remember), so taking a taxi to get there will cost you around 80 Yuan. Make sure your driver knows where to go and doesn’t just drop you off at the entrance of town (sweet memories).

Things to see and do:

  • Three pagodas (impressive enough from the outside, without paying 120 Yuan entrance per person).
  • Villages at the lakes; rent a bike and make sure that the gears work properly, streets are steep.
  • Hiking in the mountains (we couldn’t do that because of the rain).
  • Eat Dali-style noodles with fermented vegetables, whaaat, so delicious!

Lijiang

It takes only a few hours by bus to get from Dali to Lijiang. Lijiang Old Town was destroyed by an earth quake some years ago and you can tell that it has been reconstructed recently. You also have to pay 80 Yuan “preservation fee” per person in order to enter the Old Town. It is crowded with tourists and shops that all sell the same cheap drums that are advertise with the same, hypnotizing tune. They are literally at every corner of the Old Town! I don’t think it is worth the money.

We stayed at Timeless Hostel. The owner River is very nice and it is located just outside of Old Town, so you don’t have to pay the “preservation fee”. Instead of spending too much time in Lijiang Old Town, we went on a day trip to a village called Bashang, just north of Lijiang. It has a few very nice cafés and restaurants and you can also find hostels here. It is much quieter and there are only very few tourists. We’d definitely stay here if we were to go again.

You may experience some effects of the higher altitude now, so staying here for two nights is not a bad idea before you continue to Shangri-La.

Tiger Leaping Gorge

River helped us organize a day-trip to Tiger Leaping Gorge, which you under no circumstances should leave out! We took a bus to Tina’s guest house at the middle of the gorge, where we left our luggage. The bus trip alone would have been worth it already! From there, we walked down to the river and to the rock, from which the tiger allegedly leapt. It is by far the most impressive scenery I have ever seen. You have to pay a few Yuan to the locals who maintain the paths. Hiking down and up again takes around three hours and is totally worth it! We even climbed the thirty-somewhat meter ladders, totally safe according to the locals.

Going to Tina’s also has the neat side-effect of skipping the tourist crowds, who get dropped of in large quantities by busses at the entrance of the gorge. Of course, you could also hike the different paths here for a few days, which also keep you far away from the crowds.

After returning to Tina’s, we took another bus that brought us to Shangri-La.

Shangri-La

Shangri-La is the last larger city before the border to Tibet. It is located at around 3500m altitude and you can certainly feel the thin air. You can buy bottled oxygen in many places, but after one day you should have adjusted. You’ll notice however that you quickly get out of breath, for instance when you get out of bed in the morning or unpack your luggage.

We stayed at the Tavern 47 Hostel, which is one of the few buildings that did not burn down in a large fire a few years before. It is rather basic, but apparently so are all hostels in Shangri-La. When we were there, the old parts of the city were under full reconstruction.

Instead, we went and visited the buddhist monastery which is build into a mountain. Monks are keeping the place busy with rituals and prayers. Prayer flags are hanging everywhere and you are instructed to walk the halls in clock-wise direction, which is important in buddhistic believe. It makes for a great day trip and there is plenty of free-roaming cattle and other livestock that you can hang out with.

Close to our hostel was the so-called Chicken Temple, a small buddhist temple on top of a hill. It’s quite an ascend in this thin air but your reward is a wonderful view over the area and you can even see the golden rooftops of the monastery shining in the sunlight on the other side of the valley. When it is dark, you can find a nice spot to watch the stars from here.

Another highlight is of course Napa Lake (NapaHai). We rented bikes from our hostel and took a ride around the lake, which gives you a whole different impression of the area. I’d recommend to cycle around the lake in counter-clockwise direction, because then the steep sections come first. Take the time to explore the villages at the lake and to hang out with some Yaks!

Three days were clearly not enough time. If you go during the warmer months, you can go on longer hikes in the mountains north of Shangri-La, which are at a even higher altitude. Some travelers we met at the hostel continued to Tibet, but that of course requires special visa and also that you can re-enter China.

Going Back

Sadly, we had to leave at some point. We took a bus back to Lijiang, where we spent another afternoon; it was raining and River let us hang out at the hostel even though we weren’t technically his guests anymore. We then took the overnight train back to Kunming, which was surprisingly comfy. We shared a compartment with a mom and her daughter and a younger man. The daughter was a huge fan of Frozen and played the song from seven in the morning in five different languages (and sang along to all of them).

We did not really explore Kunming any further as we had to carry all of our luggage, so after having coffee at Sandro’s café, we went to the airport and killed the remaining time there.

In Hindsight

Ten days were clearly not enough. Especially Shangri-La really wants you to spend your time hiking in the nearby mountains. When you go, stay for two weeks at least! Skip Lijiang’s old town, spend a two nights or so in the area around Lijiang instead and then go for a long hike in the Tiger Leaping Gorge. I’d spend a week in Shangri-La and go on two-day hikes in the mountains.

My conclusion: Yunnan is pretty awesome.