Hiking through Tiger Leaping Gorge in Yunnan, China

Tiger Leaping Gorge is hands down my favorite hike that I've done in China so far. It can be done in either 1 or 2 days, depending on how fast you can hike at that elevation and how much of the gorge you want to see. If you do it as a 2 day hike, you can easily find a place to sleep for the night along the trail and catch a bus back to civilization the next day. The views along the trail were absolutely stunning, and I was more than happy to spend 2 days of our summer vacation there. 

I am obsessed with hiking, and unfortunately for me, it can be difficult to find hiking in China that is well maintained and not insanely crowded. Likewise a lot of the good multi-day hiking requires you to join a tour group, something I'm not a big fan of. So, if you are looking for a great multi-day hike that you can do completely without a guide and without horrible crowds, Tiger Leaping Gorge is for you.

It's a good idea to spend a day in Lijiang doing some sight-seeing before coming to the Gorge. There are a couple reasons for this: one, so that you can ask your hostel staff to book you a bus to the gorge that leaves early in the morning; and two, because the upper trail in the gorge is at an elevation of 2650 meters. That's high enough that you might feel a little light-headed or short of breath the first few hours of the hike before you begin to adjust. I don't think canned oxygen is necessary for most people, however; just give yourself a day in Lijiang at an elevation of 2,400 meters, and then take breaks along the trail if you start to feel the effects of the height. Of course, remember to bring plenty of water!

Trail map for Tiger Leaping Gorge (source: Wikitravel)

We stayed at October Inn Hostel in Lijiang, and our host there reserved seats on an early morning bus for us (I believe it left Lijiang around 6 or 7 am). We got off the bus at Qiaotou, a very tiny town near the start of the gorge. from there, you walk down the road a while until you find a dirt trail leading upward; you will see lots of signs along the trail advertising the inns you can stay in, so just follow those to stay on the trail.

The climb up was tough at the beginning while we were still adjusting to the elevation, but we took lots of short breaks, drank water, and we were both fine. The "bends", a series of switchbacks leading to the upper trail, are supposed to be the toughest part, and you'll find people on various blogs complaining about them, but I didn't find them all that bad. There were a few old ladies along this section of the trail selling water, snacks, and marijuana of all things, but we packed everything in ourselves.

The first part of the trail has some nice views, but it's really towards the end of the day when you start to see the most dramatic scenery. Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of the deepest gorges in the world, with a maximum depth of 3,790 meters. The river passes between the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (5,596 meters) and the Haba Snow Mountain (5,396 meters). Along the trail were local people herding horses and goats, villages growing their crops next to staggering cliffs, waterfalls, and a very international crowd of hikers. 

The trail is mostly well-marked, but there was at least one point where we ran into a fork that was not clearly labelled, went the wrong direction, and ended up backtracking a ways. Also, be careful if you plan to hike in the summer during the rainy season, as landslides might cause the trail to be closed. You can try calling a hostel you plan to stay at for information about the trail, or at the hostel talk with other travelers about the conditions.

We made it to the Halfway Lodge probably around 4pm and it was already crowded there with other people arriving from the trail. It's one of the more popular guesthouses, so if you plan to stay there try to arrive a little early to get a room (although it probably isn't necessary to make a reservation - we didn't). We paid a little extra to have a private room (about 120 RMB), and it was pretty nice, with its own bathroom including a shower with hot water. The lodge has a nice patio area with beautiful views of the gorge, which is where we ate dinner, had some beers and watched the sunset. In the morning it was equally beautiful in the mist, which slowly burned off as the sun rose.

We took the trail down to Tina's Guesthouse, where you can get buses back to Lijiang or toward the city of Shangri-la, as we did. We bought our bus tickets first, dropped our backpacks off at Tina's, and then did the lower trail. It has some really spectacular views of the river, so be sure not to miss it if you have the time! At about halfway through the lower trail you will have to pay a fee to continue on, but we were concerned about missing our bus so we turned back at that point. If you continue past that point, the trail will eventually lead you back up to the road near Tina's.

For more information about the trail, Wikitravel was really helpful.