Kunming Changshui International Airport (Google Map)
Dali Airport (Google Map)
Day 1 Arrive at Kunming (-/-/-)
Transfer via: TBA flight – on your own arrangement
Meet you at Kunming Changshui airport and transfer you to your hotel for checking-in. After a short break, drive you to pay a visit at Birds & Flowers Market.
Bird & Flower Market One of the more interesting attractions within the central downtown area of Kunming, and a great place to shop for a lot of different things like clothes, name chops, dice, outdoor equipment, camping and hunting gear, birds, flowers, live baby turtles, pirated movies, music, games or dried lizards on sticks. It’s open roughly from 9am-6pm, but all of the individual shopkeepers keep whatever hours they like.
Day 2 Kunming / Lijiang (B/L/-)
Full day Stone Forest tour.
Today you are going to visit Stone Forest. It takes about 2 hours from Kunming to Stone Forest.
Stone Forest Located in the southeast of Kunming, is 86km away from the city center. With the process of erosion, it was created and shaped an art gallery of stone sculpture. Stone Forest is known as the “First Wonder of the World”. There is a local saying “It”s a waste of time without being in the stone Forest when you travel in Kunming.
After the trip, drive back to Kunming and take an overnight soft-sleeper train to Lijiang.
Day 3 Lijiang (B/L/-)
Meet you at Lijiang railway station and then transfer to have a full day trip to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Yufeng Lamasery and Baisha Murals,and Yushui Zhai.
Yufeng Temple:It is known in English as Jade Peak Temple. The temple shows distinctive architectural style of Han Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism and the local Naxi Dongba Religion as a result of the cultural fusion between different minoritiesin the Qing Dynasty.
Baisha Mural Paintings Located in Baisha Township, 8km north of Lijiang, Baisha Mural Paintings have 53 groups of mural paintings in different temples with fine and smooth lines, bright colors, vivid patterns and harmonious composition. Baisha Mural Paintings is the combination of Naxi, Tibetan, Bai and Han artistic designs. Most of the murals vividly describe the religious stories of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is the southernmost glacier in the Northern Hemisphere. It stretches a length of 35 kilometers and a width of 20 kilometers. Looking from Lijiang Ancient Town in the south, the snow-covered and fog-enlaced mountain resembles a jade dragon laying in the clouds, hence, the name Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. And then you also can pay a visit to Yak Meadow (Maoniuping), where Part of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, where the Yi and Zang Minority Ethnic Tribes live.
Day 4 Lijiang / Shangri-La (B/L/-)
Drive you to Shangri-La in the morning. You will pay a visit at Tiger Leaping Gorge and the First Bend of the Yangtze River on the way to Shangri-la. Then transfer you to your hotel for check-in.
Tiger Leaping Gorge is 60km away from Lijiang city, overall length is 16km, which is eastward Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and westward Baha Snow Mountain in a series of rapids under steep 2000 meter cliffs. It’s one of the deepest gorges in the world.
Day 5 Shangri-La (B/L/-)
Today we will have a full day to explore the wonderful place-Shangri-La. After breakfast, we will visit the famous Pudacuo National Park which well-known as its plants, lakes, unique animals and birds. And then go to visit Songzanlin Monastery which called “little Potala Palace”. In the evening, you will have your free time to explore the ancient town of Shangri-La.
Pudacuo National Park , established in June, 2007 as the first in a planned series of parks designed to meet the meet the exacting standards set by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It contains endemic species of fish found nowhere else in the world, rare and beautiful orchids, black-necked cranes, and taxus yunnanensis, a yew whose extracts are indispensable to the creation of many cancer-treating drugs.
Songzanlin Monastery Located 4 km north of Zhongdian County, Songzanlin Monastery is a miniature version of the Tibetan Lhasa Potala Monastery with its own statues and paintings of deities and lamas. The large prayer hall is able to accommodate more than 1000 people. There are monks chanting and offer blessing to visitors, very peaceful and serene. You can experience this beautiful sense during the tour.
Day 6 Shangri-La / Lijiang(B/L/-)
This morning, we’ll drive back to Lijiang. Upon arrival, pay a visit to the Ancient Town of Lijiang and Black Dragon Pool Park.
Lijiang Ancient Town was built in the Southern Song Dynasty, dated back to more than eight hundred years ago. It covers an area of 3.8 aquare kilometers. It’s a place of combination of Chinese culture and Western culture, ancient culture and modern culture. When in Lijiang ancient town, you will not only experience the ancient Naxi Culture, but also can enjoy in the modern bar at you leisure.
Black Dragon Pool Park located at the foot of Elephant hill north of Lijiang city. Black Dragon Pool is the main headwater of the Yushui River which goes through the Old Town of Lijiang. It is just like the bright eyes of the town, shining with the wisdom. For many locals, it’s a place to relax, to enjoy the view and the sun, to play games, to practice the famous Naxi orchestra.
Day 7 Lijiang / Dali (B/L/-)
This morning, we will drive to Xizhou Village to visit the Bai people’s dwellings. Then we go ahead to Dali. After arrive Dali, have an Erhai Lake cruise and visit the Three Pagodas and explore Dali Ancient Town.
Erhai Lake , Chinese meaning is “ear-shaped sea”, is situated at 1,972 m above sea level. In size, the North-South length of the lake is 40 km and the East-West width is roughly 7-8 km. Its area is 250 km², making it the second largest highland lake of China, after Dianchi Lake. When you arrive at there, you can have an Erhai Lake cruise to explore the beautiful scenery.
Three Pagodas are one kilometer away from north of Dali. The styles of the three pagodas are similar. The main pagoda is “Qianxun Pagoda”. It is a square pagoda and it is 69.13 meters high. Its molding and style were imitated the Small Wild Goose Pagoda in Xian and the Song Yue Monastery Pagoda in Henan Province.
Dali Ancient Town is a magical fascinating place with an international flair. It attracts lots of tourists from all over the world annual. Far-reaching Dali history, it’s known as “literature of the state” good reputation. Due to its long history, there are lots of cultural relics.
Xizhou Bai Minority Village is located 18 kilometres north of Dali. The green mountains, winding creeks and fertile land make for a lyrical and carefree life. The old houses and streets are well preserved. Visitors may still find traces of past glory.
Day 8 Dali / Nujiang (B/L/-)
After breakfast, we will drive to Nujiang, on the way, you will enjoy the beautiful and amazing view of the rivers, high mountains and valleys, in the end, we will reach the very beautiful Bingzhongluo Tea-Horse Road, with many small waterfalls around.
Remark: Since the road to Nujiang is tough, we will need to cross some of the mountain road, we will use 4X4 vehicles instead of normal cars, but no worries, the trip is very safe!
Day 9 Nujiang / Dali / Departure (B/-/-)
Transfer via: TBA flight – arranged by you
This morning, we will drive back to Dali and it’s your free time to enjoy in Dali Ancient Town until be transferred to the Dali Airport for catching your flights.
