Summary
Tiger Leaping Gorge has become a well-known hike for walkers visiting China, recently publicised by Michael Palin in his BBC "Himalaya" series. If you do the full route, it can take 2-3 days, but you can cut it short (like we did) and still get an appreciation of the grandeur of the scenery. It really is an awesome experience, and we didn't even get to the narrowest section! (but see the Two Sisters Story of the full hike)
- The most memorable aspect was the sheer size and depth of the gorge, with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain rising high above
- The worst bit were the precipitous edges to the path - although the path was safe
- It was a great walk for meeting other people from around the world
- A word of warning is set out early to avoid the midday heat, and take plenty of water
- I was surprised to find villages along the route, with a number of places to sleep and get food and drink
Read the full story of the walk with lots of photos
(it was 2 days of walking, and there are 2 pages of walking story and hiking pictures)
Contributed by: Andrew Llanwarne
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Entering the Gorge with contrasting headgear
Key Facts
| Location |
Near Lijiang, Yunnan, South-West China |
| When it was walked |
June 2005 |
| Walk type |
High hills and mountains |
| Difficulty |
Requires mountaineering skills and lots of stamina |
| Distance approx |
We did about 16 km (10 miles) to Halfway House and down to the road
Qiaotou to Walnut Grove around 28 km (17 miles) |
| Height climbed approx |
800m (2600 ft) |
| Time taken approx |
one-and-a-half days |
| Map used if any |
Lonely Planet sketch map, Sean's Guide Map |
| Source of info on walk |
Lonely Planet, talesofasia.com, Gorged Tiger Cafe (Qiaotou) |
| Getting there |
2 hrs 30 mins bus ride from Lijiang to Qiaotou |
| Places to stay |
Various guest houses in Qiaotou and along the trail. We stayed at Naxi Family Guest house at Nuoyu village |
| Places to eat/ buy food |
Qiaotou and guest houses |
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