Such an amazing experience to see one of the deepest and most impressive gorge in the world! The high trail will offer you the best view to fully absorb its magnificence. I was truly impressed. I highly recommend this great experience.
This was my first trek and I absolutely love it! I was so excited when I planned this trip, my friend have been there and she was happy she did it. Although, I do a lot of hikes in Hong Kong for leisure and fitness during weekends; also it is kind of escape from the busy city lifestyle. Still, I anticipated that it would be challenging especially the much talked 28 bends you need to tackle. My friend did it in 3 days, they wanted to take their time and relax instead of pushing their limit. We did in 2 days, we wanted to make most of our time and there's so much to explore in Yunnan Province, China. So we planned it very well and my companions were quite experienced hikers.
So here's my guide how we did it, thanks in advance for reading my blog and please like.
There are two ways to see the gorge; The easy flat artificial walking street along the river OR worth the hard work high trail which will be discussed here. But actually, you will be able to see both ways if you take the high trail.
So to start..... Tiger leaping gorge hiking high way thus into ...... (more of this funny translation along the way)
Ok let's start seriously. We went to Lijiang in April 2014, weather was still cool and dry, perfect time for trek in my opinion. We flew from Hong Kong with China Eastern, its supposed direct flight but it stops in Kunming for less than an hour, I think for immigration purposes. We landed in Lijiang around 10PM, supposed earlier but expect delays when traveling to China or anywhere actually. Point is, it is ideal to arrive in Lijiang at night, have a good sleep to recover from the flight and regain strength for the hike. Some likes to spend their night in Lijiang and go to Qiaotou (hike starting point) the next day. But the most efficient way, personal opinion, is to head straight to Qiaotou and this is what we did. To sleep in Qiaotou, I highly recommend Jane's Tibetan Guesthouse, it is where we stayed. Their beds are heated, spacious and comfy; hot shower; yummy breakfast and you can arrange pick up service from the airport for around 300RMB negotiable, there were four of us, so worth it. Note: you must arrange taxi or van to pick you up from the airport, there was no transportation when we arrived. The ride from Lijiang to Qiaotou takes approximately 2 hours, we arrived at the guesthouse at midnight, just perfect. Another advantage landing and going there at night is, we avoided the entrance fee to the trail which is 65RMB, the ticket booth was close!
Day 1
Jane's guest house is pretty much at the starting point of the trail, so we didn't need to wake up very early, alarm was set at 8AM. We made sure to have had hearty breakfast although we packed some snacks to refuel on the trail. Also at the guesthouse, you can leave your heavy stuff for a small fee, they will keep it for you and you can pick up on the way back. But because we didn't want to risk losing time on our way back, coz of our next destination: Shangri la. We hiked with our heavy stuff, 10kg on my back with one stick all the way for two days and I can say it's manageable. So, we started, set foot at 10AM.
From the guesthouse, walk down pass the school and look for the blue sign along the road (see photo posted above). Once your on the trail, there'll be funny sign along the path to follow. Also some locals on their horses are hanging along the trail waiting for hikers. When they spot you, they will discourage and persuade you to hire their service especially to tackle 28 bends. One guy kept on following us but we tried and didn't give up! Also before the 28 bends and after there will be refueling station where vendors sell water, fruits, snack, and souvenirs. So don't worry, you can recharge your energy if it goes low. Be careful some vendor would force you to buy something and some insists that they wont let you pass. We bought snack at every vendor, prices are reasonable and it keeps them happy instead of yelling at you, also you can ask them to take your photo.
After the 28 bends, we stopped at Tea Horse Guest House for lunch and rested a bit. The view at their rooftop is breath taking. It felt so nice looking at those mountains, I was really glad I did it.
We carried on walking towards Half Way Guest house, where we spent our second night. We didn't book our rooms coz they don't take reservation. But the place is quite big and can accommodate big crowds. The hike from Tea horse to Half way was just like a long walk, trail was much easier along the side of the mountain. We reached Half Way at 6PM, it was perfect. We didn't hike fast, didn't rush, we stopped couple of times to take photos. Total 8 hours including few breaks, proper lunch and photo taking. Our rooms at the guest house was quite comfy, heated bed and amazing view of the mountains. Their shared toilets was disgusting (expected in China), some are broken, their showers are mostly broken. The receptionist speaks pretty well in English and food was average. The rooftop view is great especially for the sunrise. They definitely need some improvements but it was a good stay and we recovered well.
Day 2
We woke up early for the sunrise, had a good breakfast, settled our bills and started hike at 10:30AM. Going down from Half Way to Tina's Guest house was about 2 hours. The trail on the slope was a bit slippery because the ground was so dry, dusty and steep. We reached Tina's GH at 12:30PM, booked our bus to Shangri la straight away to secure seats. We left our heavy stuff at the reception and went down to see the gorge. To go down Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge and back up takes about 2hours, so give it at least 3 hours to enjoy the view. From Tina's GH, walk down pass the bridge and look for the entrance along the road next to ..forgot the name of the guest house but there's 10 yuan fee. Going down was easier, quick; some bits can only be access by ladder and the path is so steep. Going back up is really challenging, I took the long ladder back up as short cut but I was really scared half way but made it! We got back at Tina's and had lunch then waited for our bus ride to Shangri la, our next adventure!
Here are some photos of the Gorge:
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| this way to go down the Gorge |
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| This is scary!! |
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