Karsts and Caving Adventures in Yangshuo

Cycling around the incredible Yangshuo countryside

Close to my current home here in Nanning, China, is Guilin county, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. Most people come for the small town of Yangshuo and the surrounding countryside, which is made up of wide rivers, bright rice fields and hundreds of karst peaks in every direction you turn.

I've visited Yangshuo twice so far, once in May and once in June. It was absolutely worth the second trip, and probably even a third or fourth in the future. 

Colorful nights in Yangshuo

Beautiful even on a rainy day

One of many canals in Yangshuo

The town itself is charming in a very much developed to appeal to tourists kind of way. But nevertheless, the little winding streets, canals, and hidden cafes and restaurants make it a fun place to spend a day. There is plenty of good food, including both Chinese and more International cuisine. One popular spot among foreign travelers is a German restaurant in the heart of the nightlife area which offers decent sausages, beer and German style Mac'n'Cheese (Kaiser Spaetzle). Ganga Impression was also great for Indian food, and although the reviews of the food at Lucy's Cafe are pretty mixed, the drinks there were pretty decent and a bit cheaper than most other places. Yangshuo also has some fun rooftop bars that are worth checking out.

The German food inexplicably comes with giant stuffed animals...

The real reason to visit Yangshuo is not for the town itself but for the gorgeous landscape around it and the many adventure sports available. The most popular things to do are rock climbing, caving, boat or raft trips, and cycling. Cycling is probably my favorite so far, since it is the best way to really get out and explore the countryside. The bicycles are a rip-off compared to the normal price for an OFO bike but still pretty cheap (about 15rmb for a day to rent an okay-quality bike; it's also possible to get mountain bikes for a much higher price.) Most places that rent bikes can provide a simple map or you could just use Baidu maps or Maps.me. Along the cycle route are endless restaurants, cafes, caves, parks, etc., so there will be plenty of opportunities to hop off for a break, but the cycling is not strenuous, as the area is fairly flat.

Headed out of town

Not too shabby scenery for cycling

The stunning garden at a small hotel in the countryside we stopped at for lunch

I also highly recommend one of the caving or rock climbing tours. I did a caving tour with a group of friends on my last visit to Yangshuo in June that was amazing. I've done a decent amount of non-technical caving and I recently visited some of the most beautiful caves in the world on my trip to Vietnam, but the tour I did in Yangshuo is still one of the best cave experiences I've ever had. I traveled with a large group of friends, but it's also possible to do the tour with a much smaller group.

Our guide took us to an off-the-beaten-path cave in a pretty rural area. We walked through rice fields to the entrance, where a small river that runs through the cave empties out into a pool that the local children like to swim in. Our guide provided helmets, head lamps and shoes. To enter the cave, we hopped on a boat that took us a short way in, where we could walk through the knee-high stream and start the trail.

On our way into the cave

Ready for adventure! And much cleaner than we would be 2 hours later...

The hike through the cave wasn't particularly challenging, but it did require some crawling through narrow parts, climbing over large rocks, and wading through sometimes waist high water and mud. There were huge numbers of bats that flew overhead through some parts, and one even got close enough to brush my ear on its way by. It was amazing to see them in their natural habitat. Our guide spoke good English and took the time to explain some of the geology of the cave to us, as well as some information about the local area and culture.

After the hike in the cave, we returned to the starting point and went for a swim in the pool. It was a great way to wash off the cave mud and to escape the summer heat outside the cave. Most caves in Asia are lit up with neon LED lights and stuffed full of tourists touching everything in sight and damaging the natural environment of the cave, which is what makes the tour we did so much better. Our guide encouraged us to touch the cave walls as little as possible and to be careful to carry everything out with us. I can't recommend this tour enough! It's provided by Blue Sky Climbing, which has stellar reviews on Trip Advisor, and they also offer climbing tours that my friend said were fantastic.

Mud bath! It's supposed to be good for your skin, but let's be honest, it's probably 90% bat guano

Climbing up some slippery rocks

The cave wall

Victorious

I still haven't done one of the many boat tours from Yangshuo, but they are also one of the main draws. I may come back and update this post later, as I'm sure I'll be making another Yangshuo trip in the future, and a trip down the river is definitely next on my agenda.

Getting There

It's pretty easy to get to Yangshuo, as it's a major tourist destination. You can get a high speed train from Nanning to Guilin and then catch a bus or taxi in Guilin to Yangshuo. This should take around 4 or 5 hours. It's incredibly easy to find a bus or taxi, since there will be dozens of people hawking tickets on the streets around Guilin train station. It's a good idea to haggle the price down if it's more than about 25rmb. I haven't taken the taxi option, so I don't know the typical price for one.

It's also possible to get a bus directly from Nanning to Yangshuo, but it's slower than the former option. If you'd prefer to do that (or if the train tickets are sold out due to a holiday), you can catch a bus from the Langdong Bus Station in Nanning which is on the main subway line.