Napa Lake Nature Reserve Area

Discover Yading-  " the last pure land on the blue plant !  " 

The land road trip will start in Lijiang, then Shangrila, then to Yading natural reserve.

Day 1, Arrive Lijiang Private pick up at Lijiang airport and transfer to Lijiang hotel. Check in and relax.   

Day 2,  Jade dargon mountain tour, over night at Lijiang.

-Visit Jade dragon mountain by cable car, Blue moon valley and Lijiang old town.   

Day 3,  Lijiang to Shangrila Via tiger leaping gorge , over night at shangrila.

-Drive to Tiger leaping gorge, visit one of the deepest gorge the world. Drive to shangrila check in hotel at Shangrila old town. Enjoy the cozy time explore shangrila old town. Turtle hill park and the biggest prayer wheel in the world. 

Day 4, Drive from Shangrila to Riwa

-Enjoy view of Napa lake, and snow mountain on the way to Riwa. Total driving time today is ~8hours.     

Day 5, Tour Yading nature reserve

-Tour Pearl lake and Chonggu moastery. Night at Yading.   

Day 6, Tour Yading nature reserve 

-5 color lake, milk lake and Luorong pasture, Stay at Yading . 

Day 7,  Yading to Benzilan,   Enjoy scenery on the way to Benzilan,   Check in hotel and relax.

Day 8,  Benzilan- Shangrila,  over night at Shangrila.

-Visit Songzanlin monastery,  Tibetan home visit,  Shika snow mountain.   

Day 9, Departure from Shangrila airport 

  Day 1 Arrive in Kunming, and tour around Kunming city if time allows.

  Day 2 Visit the Stone Forest, which is about 2 hrs drive from Kunming

city. Then can enjoy the amazing Ethnique Performance called Dynamic

Yunnan in the Grand Yunnann Theatre, at 8-9:30pm.

  Day 3 Fly to Dali. Then Dali Old Town, hike to the Tea Plantation on

Cangshan Mt., then bike along part of the Erhai Lake if interested.

  Day 4 Visit Xizhou morning market, then drive 2 hrs to Shaxi, and

visit the Hnaging Temple and grotos in the Shibao Mt., Shaxi old town

in the evening.

  Day 5 Drive 1.5-2 hrs from Shaxi to Lijiang. Can check out the horse

riding and boating activities around Lashi Lake if interested. Then

visit Lijiang old town and Black Dragon Pool Park.

  Day 6 Explore the interesting villages around Lijiang. Visit a hidden

village where has the best view over Lijiang Basin, with cows and goats

wondering around. Can also visit a local Naxi family here if

interested. Then Baisha Village and Shuhe old town.

  Day 7 Visit Jade Dragon Snow Mt., take cable car up to the Spruce

Meadow, where has the best view of the main peaks of the snow mountain,

and you can take beautiful walks through the forest to the meadow,

where has horses and sheep around. Then Blue Moon Valley where the

glacier water is naturally blue and green. Can also enjoy the show at

the foot of the snow mountain, called Impression Lijiang.

  Day 8 Drive 1.5 hrs to Tiger Leaping Gorge, visit the upper gorge

where most tourists go but also very grand and beautiful. Then hire a

local mini van up to somewhere near Tea Horse G.H., and hike about 1.5

-2 hrs to Halfway G.H., then take the minivan down to visit the tourist

part of the Upper Tiger Gorge, if interested. Then 2 hrs further up to

Shangrila, with a stop for beautiful mountain views.

  Day 9 Visit the interesting villages and temples around Shangrila.

First drive to Dabaoji Palace Temple, where local people still go and

pray even it is a quite small and hidden temple. We can also pay a

visit to some local Tibetan family around here. Then the famous

Songzanlin Lamasery. Then Napa Lake area where has lots of yaks,,

horse, piggs wondering, with lovely Tibetan villages around.

  Day 10 Departure flight from Shangrila (Diqing Airport).

Day 1: Kunming

You'll begin your journey to diverse and captivating Yunnan Province from the capital city, Kunming. Upon your arrival at the Kunming International Airport, meet your local guide who'll bring you to the hotel by private vehicle. If you have time, take a leisurely stroll along the Green Lake, a charming area of tea houses and small boutiques selling handicrafts and beautiful local paintings. If you have enough time, you can visit the interesting Kunming City Museum (9:30—17:00), where you can get informed about Kunming’s history and specifically on its role in the past decades (WWII).

Option for the evening: if you like you can visit the Dynamic Yunnan Show in Kunming's Art Theatre – an original ethnic dance musical. It was directed by Yang Liping and has been an outstanding gain to the Chinese stages in recent years. Primitive, unsophisticated folk dances and a fresh artistic concept converge in the program, giving audiences a unique "Yunnan Impression." The show starts at 20:00h and lasts for 1.5 hours. It is highly recommended by Wonders Of Yunnan Traveland tripadvisor. For people interested in minority culture, this is a must-see and not to be missed when in Kunming!

Day 2: Kunming - Stone Forest - Dali

Your guide picks you up from your hotel lobby in the morning at 9am. First, we will drive you to Stone Forest (about 90 km, 1.5 hours, mostly highway), and enjoy a local Yunnan lunch before we enter the scenic area. According to an old saying it is a pity not visiting the Stone Forest while you are in Kunming. After lunch, we will have a full afternoon to visit this wonderful landscape. Enjoy the beautiful views of the sight and spend about 2-3 hours in the park.

Afterwards you are driven back to Kunming and dropped off at Kunming train station from where the overnight train is leaving to Dali.

Day 3: Dali

Upon your arrival in the early morning, your local Dali tour guide and driver meet you at the train station and take you to have breakfast first. We enjoy the beautiful view from the outside of the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Monasteryafterwards which are the symbols of Dali. Check into your comfortable hotel and take a rest. After having enjoyed a traditional Dali lunch we will visit Dali Old Town, climb the City Wall and stroll through the souvenir roads which are very famous in Dali. You are free to explore the lively Dali street culture, shop for souvenirs or whatever you are up to.

Travelers visit Dali Old Town for its traditional architecture, minority cultures (mostly Bai but also with many Yi and Hui nationalities) and simply to relax. 

Day 4: Dali - Lijiang

Today, we take you to the morning market of Xizhou Town to experience traditional local life. We will visit Bai-style traditional architectural courtyards, taste the typical fragrant Three-Course Tea and explore the Bai's distinctive culture. Xizhou is 19 kilometers north of Dali Old town and lies between Erhai Lake and the Cangshan Mountain Range. It is famous for Bai culture with its old and well-preserved folk houses. But it's not only a historically famous city but also a typical commercial center of Bai Ethnic Nationality. The Bai minority are very present at Xizhou. With a more mixed population and cosmopolitan background, it is considered a must for travelers. Here, you can enjoy lovely local clothes, decorative architectures and wonderful handicrafts.

Afterwards we are going on a cruise on close Erhai Lake to Jinsuo Island – a local fishing village. Enjoy the green Cangshan Mountain Range and the Three Pagodas from far as well as lots of birds flying over the lake.

After lunch, get driven to Lijiang (about 170 km, 2.5 hours, mostly highway), check in your hotel and enjoy your free and easy evening in Lijiang.

Day 5: Lijiang

The next morning starts with a visit at the Black Dragon Pool and Dongba Museum to explore the rich Naxi minority culture. Then we'll visit to the Jade Lake Village (Yuhu Village): from here, you will enjoy a fantastic view over the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. We visit the museum dedicated to the life of Joseph Rock, an explorer and biologist who lived in the area in the early 20th century.

We then have the opportunity to join a 2-hour guided horse trek leading you along the mountain slopes. The trek passes ancient Naxi deer farms, the ruins of Jujian Temple, the King Ranch of the Naxi, ancient tree populations, stone inscriptions and many other nice and interesting places. We meet our driver again afterwards and get driven back to the hotel.

Day 6: Lijiang - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Shangri-La

Today after breakfast, we'll drive about 60 km to the First Bend of the Yangtze River, which is close to Shigu and can be marveled at before we head further north to the Tiger Leaping Gorge with an imposing gorge scenery (about 88 km, 1.5 hours, partly highway, partly country roads). It's one of the deepest gorges in the world with 34 rapids. The gorge measures 16 km long and a steep 3900m from the waters of Jinsha River to the snow-capped mountain tops of Haba Snow Mountain to the north-west and Yulong (or Jade Dragon) Snow Mountain to the south-east. The inhabitants of the gorge are primarily the indigenous Naxi people, who live in a handful of small hamlets. The Tiger Leaping Gorge is another top attraction of Yunnan!

Later in the afternoon the tour proceeds to Shangri-La (102 km, 2.5 hours), the former Zhongdian which is well-known as the paradise destination for every traveler. Upon arrival in Shangri-La, you will have entered the Tibetan cultural area and a landscape of barley fields and yaks scattered in the valleys.

Day 7: Shangri-La

After the breakfast we go to see the Ganden Songzanlin Monastery, the largest Tibetan monastery in Yunnan. Then we’ll visit a local family and get close to the real life of Tibetans.

After lunch we have a closer look at Baiji Temple which is very close to west of the Dukezong Ancient town, from where a great view over the city can be enjoyed. 

We then invite you to a relaxed break in Shangri-La’s High Mountain Resort to enjoy a cup of coffee, facing beautifulNapa Lake and enjoy great views into the local nature. Spend a free and easy evening around Dukezong Ancient Town.

Day 8: Shangri-La (Departure)

Have breakfast in your hotel. Your driver is already waiting for you to take you wherever in town you need to be brought to this morning (Shangri-La Airport, bus terminal, etc.). This tour comes to an end and we’d be happy welcoming you in Yunnan again!

  Hire a local minivan, and drive 20 minutes out of town, to Shika Snow Mt.. Shika Snow Mt. has got 2 levels of cable cars. First one takes you up to 3600 meter above sea level, where has a big wide grassland for yaks, and you can walk radomly, saying hi to yks, and listen to the sound of silence, feel the sun beam on your skin. Then continueing up by taking another cable car from here, you find yourself 4000 meters above sea level, from you see can see the whole plain of Shangri-La and Napa Lake, and can see 8 snow mountains in the very far distance, if it's a clear day. Then cable cars down again.
  Then drive around Napa Lake (at the foot of the Shika Snow Mt.), where has beautiful Tibetan villages, and we can take an easy walk through the village, and even visit one or two Tibetan families if interested. These people on the highland are super friendly, with an open heart directly facing the sky and the nature. The drive around the lake is the lovely, that it is often the highlight of Shangri-La for many of my customers. Then you can also try a horse ride on the plain, through the wondering yaks, sheep, and even pigs.
  After Napa Lake, drive 25 minutes back to downtown, lunch in lovely tasty Noa Cafe, then drive 10-15 minutes to visit Songzanlinsi Lamasery, where you can thoroughly learn about Tibetan culture and religion. About 1 hour here, then we drive further out to Dabaoji Temple area, where Banyan Tree Resort is along the river, and really lovely plain with animals and Tibetan houses around. You can walk a bit around the villages, then we can take a pleasant climbing through the spruce forest to the top of a hill, where the Dabaoji Temple is. It's a really simple quiet place, but nice to be.

June 29,  Arrive dali and visit xizhou morning market, bai traditional courtyards and cormorant fishing on Erhai lake, Enjoy view of 3 pagoda from outside of the 3 pagoda park , visit dali old town and the famous foreiner’s street.  Stay over night at Dali Jade Emu International Guesthous.

June 30,  visit zhoucheng morning market, Drive to shibaoshan mountain, visit 1000 year old buddhism temple and the monkey forest if you are lucky, you can see many wild monkey in the forest.  visit shaxi old town, over night at shaxi old town

July 1, Visit the ancient Theater stage and the square market,  shaxi to lijiang,visit black dragon pool park,  Mu’s palace and lijiang old town  over night at Lijiang old town.

July 2,watch impression lijiang show,go to spruce meadow by cable car,visit blue moon vally and baisha village . Over night at  Lijiang old town.

July 3, lijiang to tiger leaping gorge then to shangrila, Visit the deepest gorge in the world at a deepth of 3900m.
Optional tour: visit Lashi lake on the way . You can ride Yunnan horse on the lashi wetland.

July 4, visit Songzanlin monastery and Tibetan village and family, you can try the Yak butter Tea at Tibetan family, visit the biggest prayer wheel in the world and drive back to lijiang, catch night train to kunming.