Hiking Travel Tips from Tiger Leaping Gorge to Baoshan Stone Town and Lugu Lake

This is one of the most wonderful hiking tour in Yunnan Province, the most beautiful attractions including the First Bend of Yangtze River, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Daju Town, Baoshan Stone Town, Naxi ethnic villages, the scenery of Yangtze River,  Zhamei Monastery and Lugu Lake. Trekking along the trail and follow the steps of Joseph Rock, you will find where is the real Shangrila.
Baoshan Stone Town is not a town made of stone as it is named, but a big village built on a huge stone. The mighty nature mother brought along a heavy stone, and the diligent Naxi People turned it into a wonderland under heaven. This tour combines trekking the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge with walking through remote farm villages to experience village life in China today. You will need to be reasonably fit to walk between 4 and 8 hours each day with some steep climbs. You will also need a sense of adventure as some of the facilities in rural China are basic. You will be rewarded with spectacular views, authentic local food, great guides and a real appreciation of life in rural China. 
Day 1: Lijiang – Nuoyu Village – Bendiwan Village
Get up early to take the shuttle bus which is from the Lijiang Passenger Center Station to the Shangri-la, costs 15 RMB. You will get off the bus at the Tiger Leaping Gorge Town. Then there are two ways from the town to our destination: one is driving road. You can take a car to the destination and you will get through the upstream of the Tiger Leaping Gorge. The total distance is 23 kilometers.
Another one is walking road. You should turn to right after walking out the Tiger Leaping Gorge Town and go through the bridge. You will arrive at the Ticket Office. The ticket is 30 RMB for a person. You will see a sign to point out that you should go on the road after walking forward several minutes. Thus your tired but colorful journey will start from the road.
You will finish the trekking of Tiger Leaping Gorge in Bendiwan Village and stay at Halfway Guesthouse in the first day.

Tips of today:
1.There is much excellent scenery on the walking road, so remember to bring enough roll films.
2. Watch out when you ride a horse.

Day 2: Bendiwan Village – Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge – Xincun Village – Daju Town
Get up early to pass the road of Mr Zhang. You have to pay 10 RMB for the road toll unless you spend the night at his home, because the road belongs to Mr Zhang. You can enjoy the scenery while walking, but you have to watch your steps because the road is rugged and slippery on raining days.

You will arrive at the exciting and steep Tiger Leaping Gorge of the midstream in one hour. There is a small house where is a good place to listen to the sound of water and take photos. Walk forward, you will see two roads to the highway. If you like adventure, you can climb the High Ladder to the highway, which will cost 10 RMB, or you can pass through the Yixiantian to the Walnut Garden Village, which takes 2 hours. There are 2 inns in the village: the Shanquan Inn and the Shanbailian Inn. The owner of Shanquan Inn has a foreign wife who can speak English.  It will take 2 hours from the Walnut Garden Village to the Old Ferry. Its distance is 10 kilometers. If you spend 10 RMB to take a car, you will not be very tired. But you have to get off at the end of the Xincun Village.

Then you will walk 20 minutes to the ferry. If you could not see the owner of the boat, you can shout loudly. The fee is 10 RMB for each person. If he asks 20, you have to refuse it. Walk along the path of the Piaopiao Inn after crossing the river, which will take 5 minutes to arrive at the inn. On the way you will meet a man asking 5 RMB as the road toll. You have to say no. He is a swindler. At there the Piaopiao Inn is the most wonderful one. One night is 15 RMB. You can appreciate the beautiful scenery of the Jade Snow Mountain and Haba Snow Mountain while sitting at the bar. The Naxi cultural yard is a CCTV shooting place. The east of the inn is the finest spring-Yan Walong Pool.

Tips of today: 1. Take care of skidding in the path. 2. Never talk to strangers at the Old Ferry. They are swindlers.

Day 3: Daju – Changsong Village
Get up early and start the journey from the Piaopiao Inn. You will arrive at the Baimai Village after going over the east mountain of the inn, which will cost 4 hours. There is no inn, so you would better take enough food. If you ask food from the local farmers, you should give them money. Then you will walk through th Da Pingba primitive forest. You will see the Ling Gongduan road stele. Then it will take 4 hours to walk along the valley to the Changsong Village. There are seldom residential houses on the road, which will make the day be difficult.

Tips of toady: 1. Find a guide to help you walk through the guidepost-less and people-less roads. 2. Prepare a sleeping bag. 3. Have a good preparation for camping.

Day 4: Changsong Village –  Baoshan Stone Town
Get up early and go through the Changsong slope, you will see Baoshan Stone Town standing at the Jinsha River side. It will take 3 hours to walk to the town. All of the roads are on the steep slopes. From an altitude of 3,000 meters to 1,700 meters, the temperature rises from 22 to 39 degrees. There are 5 to 6 inns outside the city, but you’d better live in the inside where has a good inn which is a good place to have a panoramic view of the Jinsha River and the Stone Town. After settling down, you can walk along the town to experience the quite and simple life of the people.

Day 5 Baoshan Stone Town – Fenglian Village
Start from the Stone Town against the Jinsha River, crossing the Taiziguan Pass at an altitude of 3,500 meters. There is a post road on the middle of the Taiziguan Mountain. And miraculously there are two pieces of the tunnel, 60 meters and 90 meters. They are the passageways for the Baoshan to connect with other places. At there you will experience the grandness uniqueness and steepness of the mountain and the roaring waves of the Jinsha River. Walk forward you will arrive at the second largest pass of the Jinsha River-Taizixia Pass. Next, you will arrive at the Kegong Town. The walk from the Stone Town to the Taizixia Pass is uphill all the way, so you will be very tired. After walking 5 hours, you will arrive at the Fenglian Village in the Keong Town where you can have a good rest.

Day 6:  Fenglian Village – Zhuangzi village
You should spend 10 RMB crossing the Jinsha River again from the Genabg ferry to get to the Ninglang Labo Town. It is a Mosuo autonomous town. The villagers are not good at speaking mandarin, so you should have a guide. Next, you will go through a primitive forest. After crossing the Jinsha River, you should climb the mountain. You will see a highway. Walk along it to the Gewa Village, which need 30 minutes. Then you will arrive at the destination Zhangzi Village after walking 2 hours which is inhabited Yi ethnic group and Lisu ethnic group. The only place you can have a rest is the house of Yang Chengzhi. The house is wooden structure and has two stories. The owner will not ask for the money, but you can leave some at tomorrow morning.

Day 7: Zhuangzi Village – Yongning – Lugu Lake
Then cross a primitive forest. You will arrive at the top og the mountain with an altitude of 300 meters that you can see the Lugu Lake. At the foot of the mountain, there is a village called Yangpi Village. Then you will walk 2 hours to the Yongning Town that has 20 kilometers to the Lugu Lake. You can take a bus to there. It will take 30 minutes and 10 RMB. After getting off the bus, you can go to the Ligedao Village or the Luoshui Village. Both of them are OK. At night you can go to the bar to enjoy yourself.

Day 8 Lugu Lake – Lijiang
After taking the experience the charming of the Lugu Lake and the beauty of the nature, you will come back to Lijiang from the lake.     
Tour Itinerary of the Hiking Tour from Tiger Leaping Gorge to Baoshan Stone Town and Lugu Lake
徒步穿越宝山石头城、泸沽湖7天行程
　　线路安排
　　第一天：丽江–玉龙雪山景区–宝山石头城 住石头城木家客栈
　　第二天：宝山石头城–翻越太子关–柳青行政村3社 住和医生家或自带帐篷
　　第三天：柳青–奉科 住奉科忽必烈客栈
　　第四天：奉科–拉伯行政村–三家村住村民家
　　第五天：三家村–格瓦–庄子村住杨成志家
　　第六天：庄子村–翻越垭口–羊坪村–永宁 可住永宁或直接到泸沽湖里格岛第
　　七天：泸沽湖–回丽江 
　　线路贴士
　　1，每年7、8、9月因山路泥泞、路滑险情较大，不宜进山。
　　2，该地移动有信号，联通无信号，未通程控电话，无法上网。 
　　3，由于现在在路过的地方出奉科乡外，其他地方没有客栈，所以需自己带睡袋。
　　流行指数
　　现在基本上都是老外在走，太难了。但走过后你觉得不会后悔，特别是可以看到很多的少数民族。