Tiger Leaping Gorge day 1


The Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of the most famous scenery in China. Fortunately if you go there to hike it won't be crowded like other famous place in the country. I met other foreigners on the trail, but not a single Chinese tourist. They all take the bus and only go at the bottom of the gorge.
According to the legend, a long time ago a hunter was chasing a tiger. To escape, the animal has leaped over the river. Hence the name: Tiger Leaping Gorge.

To do this hike I first took the bullet train to go from Nanning to Kunming. I stayed one night in the capital of the Yunnan province. Kunming is at 1892 meters of altitude and thus the air was cooler. I found that this city had surprisingly a lot of character. It might be due to the diversity brought by all the ethnic minorities living in the province.
At the Kunming West Coach Station, I took a bus to Lijiang. The bus terminal is on the line 3 of the subway system. It took around 8 hours to reach this town in the mountains. We did a stop at a road eatery for lunch. It's better to book your bus ticket a day in advance. I went to Lijiang only because it was a good stop on my way to the gorge, but the town has a few interesting views as well. The old center is a historic town with old houses. It's a bit crowded and artificial (too many stuff remade), but it's still fun to see. I took a bus to the gorge in the terminal south of the old town. I got down at the town of Qiaotao. You need to pay the park entrance in the bus just before getting down.

I started hiking the upper trail (ask a map at your hostel in Lijiang or use the app MAPS.ME). The first few hours are the hardest because you need to climb a lot. The hike is not too dangerous, but there a few portions where you need to be careful. However, I would not recommend going on the trail when it's pouring. Landslides are common. After a day of walk, I stayed at the half-way guesthouse. We had a dorm with a stunning view on the mountains. At this guesthouse I bought my bus ticket for the next day, Tina's guesthouse (end of the trail) to Lijiang.
Read about the second day in my next post.

Jinsha river.




A kind of edelweiss.






A luxurious guesthouse in Lijiang. They had two pet peacocks.

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