2-Day tour of Shaxi and Tiger Leaping Gorge from Dali/Lijiang

Your guide will sign your name and meet you at your hotel lobby at 09:00am then transfer to Shibaoshan Mountain and need 2hrs driving, 120KM.

At Shibaoshan mountain, you can visit the Shibao Shan rock carvings and Baoxiang Temple. The Shibao Shan rock carvings are over 1300 years old and evidence of the spread of Mahayana Buddhism into Yunnan from Tibet. Representations of the bodhisattva Guanyin and other Buddhist images are carved into the rocky mountainside. Spend a day at the grottoes or just hike around the temples through the lush forest — perhaps you will be lucky enough to come across a group of monkeys.

Next, go to the Shaxi old town and walk around the Shaxi Old Town, stage in the quare and some ancient coutyards with local people. Shaxi once played an important role as a bustling trade station on the Tea and Horse Caravan Road, an important branch of the Silk Road. Just over one thousand years ago, this ancient trade route connected Tibet with Eastern China. In exchange for teas from Yunnan, Tibetans traded their famous breed of horse to Song Dynasty officials in eastern China, who were busy defending their territory from invaders from the north. Thus the Tea and Horse Caravan was born. Shaxi became the main trade station along this route. Though today Tibet and China don’t trade along this route, Shaxi still has that border-town feel. Old cobble-stoned alleyways still look like they did a thousand years ago. And different minorities, including the Yi and Bai, still clash every Friday during the Sideng Market when mountain villagers come down from the hills to trade their goods.

In the morning, your guide will meet you at 9am or any time before 12:00pm then transfer to Lijiang Tiger Leaping Gorge area and need 2hrs driving, 120KM.

Today, you will visit the first section of the Gorge which is nearby Lijiang area. The Tiger Leaping Gorge, with its glorious view of the rapids, torrential current of the Jinsha River, was created through constant erosion by the waters between the Jade Dragon Mountain and Haba Snow Mountain. About 16 kilometres long, the gorge drops is around 300 metres in a series of 18 rapids. The water surface is about 1,800 metres above sea level and the Snow Mountains on both sides soar as high as 5,600 metres.

Afterwards, take the private car to the Lijiang old town and then the rest day is free for you and end of your tour services. The old town of Lijiang is surely one of Yunnan’s most charming ancient cities. Although largely destroyed in 1996 following an earthquake, it quickly rebuilt, thanks in part to its UNESCO World Heritage designation. Lijiang is the center of the Naxi minority, with its very specific culture, including its religion and writing of more than 1,000 pictograms. The culture of Lijiang and its old town is a nice place to relax and hang out for a few days.