Tiger Leaping Gorge

Tiger Leaping Gorge

After making its first turn at Shigu the mighty Yangtze River (at this point known as Jinsha Jiang) surges between Haba Shan and Yulong Xueshan, through one of the deepest gorges in the world. The entire gorge measures 16km, and it’s a giddy 3900m from the waters to the snowcapped mountaintops. The best time to come is May and the start of June, when the hills are afire with plant and flower life.

This hike through the gorge has gone from obscure adventure to the can’t miss experience of northern Yunnan, but you’ll still probably only encounter several other travelers on the trail (unless it’s peak season, in late summer). All up, plan on three to four days away from Lijiang doing the hike. You can do the walk in two days – one maniac walked it in a day – although some travelers, enchanted with Walnut Grove, have lengthened the hike to over a week.

The first thing to do is to check with cafes in Lijiang for the latest gossip on the mini-trek, particularly the weather and its possibly lethal effects on the trail. Most cafes give away hand-drawn maps of the trek. They show paths, walking times and some places to stay but remember that they aren’t to scale.

Transport is easier than it once was. Finishing in Qiaotou allows for quicker transport back to Lijiang, but heading towards Daju gives you the option of continuing north to Baishuitai or combining a visit to the gorge with a trip to Baoshan. Most people take a Zhongdian-bound bus early in the morning, hop off in Qiaotou, and hike quickly to stay overnight in Walnut Grove.
Development is taking its toll on the gorge. After three years of Herculean blasting and building, a road now leads all the way through the gorge from Qiaotou to Walnut Grove and a dirt track swings north to Baishuitai, joining the road to Zhongdian. Tour buses shuttle up and down the gorge and kitschy stop-off points are being constructed. Buses currently only reach as far as the upper rapids, about halfway through the gorge, but you can expect the fuss to slowly head downstream. This currently isn’t too much of an annoyance for trekkers as the high path climbs way above all the activity.