Tiger Leaping Gorge   (虎跳峡)

A couple of hours drive north-west of Lijiang is one of China’s most stunning natural wonders. Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of the deepest river canyons in the world. Here the mighty Yangtze River (known in Yunnan Province as the Jinsha River) gushes between two colossal mountains as it makes its long journey to the East China Sea. The peaks of Yulong Snow Mountain on one side and Haba Mountain on the other soar to well over 5000 meters and are coated in snow year round. Down in the canyon, the mountainsides are a sea of greenery most of the year. This is the setting of Tiger Leaping Gorge: snow-capped peaks against a deep blue sky and soaring mountains plummeting into a green valley where one of the world’s great rivers surges between towering cliff-faces.

Tiger Leaping Gorge has been officially opened to foreign tourists in 1993. Since then there has been much development and a road now runs through the gorge making it very easy to visit. But while the scenery is wonderful, Tiger Leaping Gorge has achieved its fame due to the trek you can do through it. The hike is a wonderful experience. Most travelers do it in two days with an overnight stay at one of the many guesthouses along the trail.

Tiger Leaping Gorge is a must-see for anyone visiting Lijiang or, indeed, anyone visiting Yunnan Province. And any able-bodied person should really do the hike rather than just taking a car out there. It’s well worth the time and effort.

Where: Two hours drive north-west of Lijiang. Admission: ¥50

 

Route Variations: The most common route people take is starting the trek from the town of Qiaotou and finishing in Walnut Garden. This walk is described in detail below. From Walnut Garden you can take a minivan back to Qiaotou for ¥80 per car. Alternatively, you could take a car from Qiaotou to Walnut Garden and do the trek in reverse. The advantage of this is that you go downhill through the steepest part of the trek.

Some people also add on the four hour stretch from Walnut Garden to the town of Daju as part of the trek. The scenery in this stretch isn’t as dramatic, but you do get to cross the river by ferry. From Daju there is a daily bus back to Lijiang.

A more interesting extension is to the limestone terraces of Baishuitan via the village of Haba. This trek takes about 7 hours and most people do it in two days, staying overnight in Haba. From Baishuitan you can take a bus onwards to Zhongdian or back to Daju. Ask at Sean’s Guesthouse for more information on this route.

It is also possible to do an additional hiking circuit from the Walnut Garden area to the Haba Mountain peak or the bamboo forest. Seek good advice on this from somewhere like Sean’s Guesthouse before you set off as these trails are not marked as clearly. You might even need to hire a guide.

 

High Trail v Low Trail: In various literature about the Tiger Leaping Gorge trek, you’ll hear a lot of talk about a low trail. This is misleading as the ‘low trail’ is just a road. You can walk along it if you like, but walking along a road kind of defeats the point of hiking – you might as well just take a taxi. The ‘high trail’ is, in reality, the only hiking trail.

 

Qiaotou to Walnut Garden: This route is about 23km and should take anywhere between six hours and ten hours to walk. The walking times listed in the description below assume an 8 hour total walk. Starting at the Qiaotou ticket office, the first place you will see is Margo’s Gorged Tiger Cafe. Margo is an Australian woman who makes a habit of giving hikers advice when they get off the bus (as long as she’s not out leading a tour). You can leave your bags here for a fee. Otherwise you can leave them at Jane’s Guesthouse, a few hundred meters down the road.

Continue up the road about 200 meters from Margo’s, walking along the brick wall and looking for the small path on your left. There will be painted arrows on the wall to guide you. These red and yellow arrows, marked out by the owners of guesthouses along the route, will assist you throughout the trek. There are a few confusing forks at the start of the trail, but there are enough locals around at this point that someone will be able to point you in the right direction. Otherwise, there shouldn’t be any real trouble following the path throughout the hike.

The first landmark of note is the Naxi Family Guesthouse, around two hours walk from Qiaotou. They make some great food here, so if you’re in need of a meal it’s highly recommended. Around this area is where the really magical gorge scenery begins. It’s also where the hard part of the trek starts.

Not far beyond here is the 28 Bends: a steep, zig-zagging section of the trail that takes you up to the highest point of the trek at 2660m. It’s not all that taxing a walk, though the less fit will need to stop to catch their breath regularly. Touts with horses will probably follow you from the Naxi Family Guesthouse, telling you how steep it is and how you should use their horse. It can be incredibly irritating and they’re unlikely to leave you alone no matter how many times you tell them you’re not interested. They generally won’t persist if you haven’t caved before you’re halfway up the 28 Bends.

There are some lovely views once you have reached the top. But at the best vantage point of the trail, where you can see down the gorge in both directions, some random wanker asks you to pay to take photos. It’s unclear what authority he has to do this, but snapping away without paying him off is bound to cause a scene.

Soon afterwards the trail starts a descent and the next landmark you reach is the Tea Horse Guesthouse. Total walking time between the Naxi Family Guesthouse and here is around 2 hours (3 hours if you struggle through the 28 Bends). This is basically the halfway point of the journey. It’s a further two hours walk to the village of Bendiwan. The first guesthouse you will encounter here is Halfway House, which has amazing views but ordinary service. About five to ten minutes further on are Forest Inn and Five Fingers Guesthouse.

Once you have passed Bendiwan you are in the home stretch. Within 1.5 to 2 hours you descend to the ‘low trail’ (ie. the road), where Tina’s Guesthouse is located. During this stretch you need to walk through a waterfall. Usually the flow is weak enough that this isn’t such a big problem. It’s a 30 minute walk along the road from Tina’s Guesthouse to Walnut Garden where Sean’s Guesthouse and Chateau de Woody are located.

Between Tina’s Guesthouse and Walnut Garden there are several places where you can descend to the Middle Rapids of Tiger Leaping Gorge. The first is from Teacher Zhou’s Guesthouse, which is about 15-20 minutes before Tina’s (you’ll see a sign or two pointing to it). You can use this trail for free if you stay there. The next is the ‘Sky Ladder’ from Sandy’s Guesthouse, which is just over the bridge from Tina’s. Again, you can use the trail for free if you stay there, otherwise it is ¥10. About 10 minutes further along the road from Sandy’s is the ‘Ray of Sunshine’ (Wan Deng Guo) path. It also costs ¥10 and is around a 20 minute walk down and a steep, hard 30 minute climb back up. Both the ‘Sky Ladder’ and the ‘Ray of Sunshine’ lead to the exact same spot, just above the river. The final ignominy is having someone at the bottom charge you more money to take you out to a rock on the river (under what authority is anyone’s guess). A better option is to use the trail down to the river from Sean’s Guesthouse. It’s an easier walk and it doesn’t cost a thing.

Any of the guesthouses along the road (from Tina’s to Sean’s) can organize a taxi back to Qiaotou. The ride costs around ¥80 for the whole minivan and you will usually share it with several other people.

 

Safety and Difficulty: A lot of information sources make the trek out to be much more challenging than it really is. People you talk to will often carry on about the difficulty of the 28 Bends, but it’s really not that big a deal. Young and fit people won’t even break a sweat. Less fit people will need to stop regularly to catch their breath.

Another myth is that the path is precariously narrow in parts. Again, there is nothing that would really cause concern. The scariest part of the trek is having to cross a waterfall where your shoes might get a bit wet. Probably the biggest danger in doing the trek is that you become distracted by the amazing scenery and take a wrong step.

There are a couple of things that need mentioning though. If you’re doing the trek within a day or so of flying into Lijiang, then you could be suffering from mild altitude sickness and the exertion of the trek could make you quite ill (headaches and nausea). However, most people do not suffer altitude sickness at Lijiang’s elevation (around 2500m). Also, during periods of heavy rain there is a danger of the path being blocked by landslides. Seek advice before setting off at these times. Note that this is only after prolonged heavy rain – light rain shouldn’t cause any problems.

 

When to Visit: The trek can be done at any time of year as Tiger Leaping Gorge is surprisingly temperate in winter (5-15 degrees Celsius) and never has snow. However, during the rainy season (late summer and early autumn) there is some risk that paths could be blocked due to landslides.

 

How long: Most people take two days to do the trek, staying overnight at one of the guesthouses. You could theoretically do it in one day but you would need to arrive in Qiaotou very early.

If you only have one day to spare, then it would be best to forego the hike and just take a taxi from Qiaotou to Tina’s or Walnut Garden and explore a bit from there.

There are plenty of options for extending the trek if you want to spend longer in the area.

 

Getting There: Minibuses from the New Bus Station in Lijiang leave regularly for Qiaotou (桥头) in the morning and early afternoon. The 90km journey (the road takes a roundabout route) takes about two hours and costs around ¥25. The buses stop right at the ticket office (outside Margo’s Gorged Tiger Cafe).

Buses to Zhongdian (Shangri-La) stop at Qiaotou on the way. The last bus to Zhongdian (中甸) leaves Lijiang at 5:30pm. If you’re coming from Zhongdian, buses to Lijiang will stop at Qiaotou.

Leaving from Qiaotou, you should be able to pick up a bus in either direction (to Lijiang or Zhongdian). But in the late afternoon they can be infrequent. The alternative is to group together with other people and hire a minivan back to Lijiang (a number of minivan drivers lurk not far from Margo’s). Aim to bargain them down to a price of ¥200 for the whole minivan, though you will probably have to pay more.

 

Where to Stay: Where to stay depends on what time you start the trek and how far you want to walk in one day. It’s a good idea to support the Naxi Family Guesthouse and Sean’s Guesthouse if possible as they put out helpful information about the hike (their trek maps circulate through cafes in Lijiang). Sean’s Guesthouse also has a very helpful website (www.tigerleapinggorge.com).

You don’t need to book accommodation in advance. But at the height of peak season when rooms are a bit more scarce, you might want to aim to spend the night either in Bendiwan, near Tina’s, or at Walnut Garden as there are numerous guesthouses clustered in these areas.

Average prices are ¥100-¥150 for a double or twin room with private bathroom while dorm beds (when available) start at ¥20.