Tiger Leaping Gorge trek

Understand

Climate Tiger Leaping Gorge weather is generally mild, with abundant rainfall and plenty of sunshine. Summer is the rainy season. It has an average annual temperature between 13°C (55 F) and 20°C (68 F), without too much change from spring to winter. In summer, the temperature just falls between 10 - 26°C (50 - 79 F) because of the continuous rain. In winter, the high mountains block the cold air from northern China, so it is still as warm as spring for most of the days. Tiger Leaping Gorge hike can be undertaken at any time around the year as it enjoys a mild climate even in winter (5-15 degrees Celsius), but the temperature difference of a day is great. Most of the days are sunny and dry, however, it rains a lot during the rainy season from July to September and there is some risk that paths could be blocked due to landslides. Check the Tiger Leaping Gorge Weather Forecast before you visit. Spring: March and April are best months to hike in Tiger Leaping Gorge for the comfortable weather with temperatures up to 20°C. Take a light jacket. May is even warmer than April and there are more blooming flowers. Summer: June to September is the rainy season. The heavy rain may result in the gorge being closed on certain days. Autumn: The scenery from mid-autumn to November is also excellent. Usually dry and sunny, bring a light sweater and a coat. Winter: A good time to hike the gorge for the sunny weather, dry and clear. It's cold at night and chilly at morning.

Ticket An open ended ticket to the trail is ¥45 (as of Feb 2024) (reduced for students under 25, half-price for seniors over 60) purchased from the ticket booths at either end of the trail. There are travelers saying that each side of the Gorge requires different tickets. Some trekkers have avoided the entry fee by setting off early before the ticket booth opens or sneaking past when the guard is out.

Prepare

Almost everything on the way can be paid with Alipay / WeChat, so money is not really needed. There are a few ATMs in Qiaotou; however, they are only likely to take Chinese bank cards.

Get in

From Lijiang: Morning buses to Qiaotou (桥头), ¥30, 2 hr, leave from the bus station southwest of outside the Old Town, stopping to pick up passengers at the new Southern Bus station down the road. As usual, you would need your Passport to make the purchase. There are busses leaving to Qiaotou every 30-60 minutes, ¥24-33 (different price for different time). The journey takes about 2.5 hours. Get to Bus station from city centre by bus no.13. Make sure you only pay for going to Qiaotou if you plan to hike the upper gorge. They might sell you a more expensive ticket to "Tiger Leaping Gorge" but that would take you past the start of the trail. From Lijiang Train Station: If you are arriving in Lijiang by train, it is only a ¥15 taxi ride to get to the main bus station from the train station. The public bus is also an option but requires transferring onto another bus. Avoid the private minivans waiting in the train station parking lot that will ask for ¥400-500 to drive you directly to Qiaotou. From Shangrila: You can pick any bus to Kunming, Lijiang and Dali, there is a bus at least every hour. About ¥30. If you are heading north to Zhongdian (Shangrila) or coming from there, there is an alternative road via Haba. It is a longer but quieter with fantastic mountain landscapes. The tarmac is very good for bikes. You can think about doing some camping along this road. If you want to avoid any hassles of figuring out your own transportation and directions you can go with a guide and a group from Lijiang for about ¥500 (covers transport, one night lodging, and any fees; no food).

Watch the gorge without hiking

If you prefer to visit without any (strenuous) hiking, a road along the south side of the gorge enters from the west and goes for a couple kilometers before stopping at a parking lot. After that there is a fairly level paved trail to Upper Tiger Leaping Stone. Tours can be arranged in Lijiang or you can try to hire a driver to take you as a day trip from Lijiang, though drivers from Lijiang are not allowed to cross the river as that's outside their allowed territory. If you prefer to see the Tiger Leaping Stone, you can take the special bus from Lijiang Bus Terminal, southwest of outside the Old Town. There are two morning buses at 08:30 or 09:30 for ¥24-33 (different price for different time). You will be driven to the ticket counter, and then dropped on the parking lot of the Tiger Leaping Stone. You still need to take the stairs a little bit to the gorge, but everything is furnished with wood planks and stone steps. The same bus is going back to Lijiang at 14:30 and 15:30, costing ¥50 (as of Mar 2019).

Walk the Tiger Leaping Gorge Trail

Typically the hike is spread over two days (one and half to three days) but a slower pace will afford you to time contemplate the natural surrounds and unwind in the villages quietude. The trail stretches between Changsheng Village (former: Qiaotou) and Walnut Grove. The more adventuresome types can continue to Daju or Baishuitai. Maps showing distances and guesthouse locations are available from the ticket office.

Starting Points for the High Trail 1 Qiaotou (former starting point of the trek). There has been a lot of construction work in Qiaotou where the trail once started. Now there is a wide street going up the hill and leading to the newly built highway. If you only find transportation to Qiaotou you may hitchhike the 3 km to Changsheng Village where the hiking trail now starts. (updated Feb 2024) 2 Tiger Leaping Trek Starting Point, Changsheng Village 长胜村. Here is where the trail now starts. Right at the start of the trail there is a newly built guesthouse called “Trekking Tour Starting Point Family House” (高路徒步起点民居). From there it is a roughly 1 1/2 hours hike (300m in height) to the first village where Naxi Guesthouse is located. (updated Feb 2024) 3 Start from Naxi Guesthouse. Some people also start from the village where Naxi guesthouse is located, may be just because they were brought there by their driver. If starting here, you will miss the first part of the trail with less people and a nice view to the wide valley before the gorge. Also the two new bridges for highway and train are really impressive. Shortly after the guesthouse there is the ticket office. (updated Feb 2024)

End of the high trail 4 End of the high trail. After about 20 km or 7 hours this is more or less where Tina's Guesthouse is located and where you cross the street which goes through the gorge. On one hand this is a convenient place to go back to Lijiang or further. One the other hand, this is not the end of trail because you did not yet walk down to the gorge. If you have enough time proceed to Walnut Garden! (updated Feb 2024) You can also go down to the gorge and come back up to Tina's two ways - Tianti (the heavenly ladder), or Teacher Zhang's trail - or take a trail

Cope

Some locals in Lijiang will insist that this hike is dangerous, especially in rainy season. You probably will not want to go when it is pouring, or if there has been a huge amount of recent rain due to the threat of landslides, but if it hasn't been that wet lately, and you find a couple of dry days and are reasonably experienced at hiking, the worst that will happen is that you will get muddy and have to ford a couple of swollen cascades. On the trail there are endless efforts of varying legitimacy to help you part with your cash. At regular intervals old women, young girls and sundry others will demand small fees for using optional parts of the path. Some, such as the descent to the river below Tina's guest house, are particularly annoying, as you'll be asked for money at what seems like every step of the way, with an elaborate story to explain the cost. There is a 10 Yuan fee to hike down to the Tiger Leaping Stone, and another 10 Yuan fee if you choose to take the ladder trail back up. Locals will attempt to charge you fees to use the rocks as photo ops, but ignore them and take the trail