The city of Lijiang dates back at least 800 years and maybe even more. So no Wonder the city is famous for its UNESCO Heritage Site the "Old Town of Lijiang".
How did we get here: after a two and a half hour bus ride we
arrived to the old part of Lijiang where we got completely lost for two hours until we found a guest house. Do yourself a favor and book ahead or get a SIM card so you can find your self because the old town is big and easy to get lost.
Sleep: We found a cute little guest house that is run by two sisters Mina-Do (186 rmb per night)
Eat: Su Xin Zhai-8 rmb all you can eat vegetarian buffet.
Tian He Canting- serves nice chinese food.
Did: Black Dragon pool park (80 rmb "protection fee") - That you can get an amazing photo with: snowy mountains, lake and a pagoda the background of your picture. But, the pagoda was under renovation and there were clouds so we didn't get to see the snowy mountain. But we did go up to Xiang Shan (Elephant hill) that is located in the park and we got some nice views of the city.
We also went to Lion hill (50 rmb entrance fee) Scenic area that is OK.
Bottom line: Dali's old city is much nicer a bit less crowded and a more much unique. So if you're not planning on going to Tiger leaping Gorge i recommend skipping Lijiang.
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| The roof tops of the old town |
The Tiger Leaping Gorge trek
How did we get here:We booked a seat in a mini bus that belongs to Tina's guesthouse in the gorge that takes you from Lijiang old city to the starting point of the track. (40 rmb per person) they even offer you a free service of taking your excess luggage to Tina's GH that is located at the end of the trek.
Sleep: we stopt for the night during the trek at halfway guesthouse (90 rmb for a double room with no toilet)
Food and drinks: Stock up at Lijiang for snacks and water it's cheaper. you can find along the way a few small shops that sell you water, snacks and pot!?!?. We ate at: Tiger leaping gorge GH that is located at the start of the trail that serves OK food but overcharges on the water. Tina GH- serves OK dishes and halfway GH-has really good dishes.
Tip: if you go on Tina's mini bus you get a map of the track for free.
Did: the trek along the gorge (65 rmb entrance fee) for us the track took 6 hours for the first day and another 1.45 for the next day.
Once we finished the trek at Tina's guest house we went for another walk to the Tiger leaping stone that is located at the bottom of the gorge to get to the stone itself its a 10rmb entrance fee. If you take the long walk to there it's 10 rmb entrance fee and if you want to go back up throw the a steep walk that involves a few ladders it's an additional 15 rmb.
Bottom line: Wow, really its just a breathtaking trek and it's not that hard. If you are a good walker you can finish the trek in one day but do yourself a favour and stop for a night at the gorge.
A few signs along the path of Tiger Leaping Gorge, :):
I enjoy tremendously following all your travels on your wonderful blog, both the specific and precise narrative (packed to the brim with useful, practical specs and money-saving numbers; thanx)and the pics of you two love-birds. Thank you very much for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteI wonder which blog entry will come next... Israel? I am very much looking fwd. to this.
Matt you will always be our motivator and inspiration for our blog :) Thanks for your kind words.
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