8 Days Kunming Dali Lijiang Shangri-La Speed Train Tour
For this 8 Days Kunming Dali Lijiang Shangri-La High Speed Train Tour, you will visit the highlights of Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La. This is also a minority discovery tour, because you will find minority diversity during your trip, the minorities such as Yis, Bais, Naxis and Tibetan. Moreover, the Tiger Leaping Gorge will be the most impressive part of your trip, you could be shocked by the ruggedness and magnificence of Tiger Leaping Gorge and the mountains around when you are there. This part can not be missed.
Highlights:
- Visit the highlights of Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La.
- Step into ethnic villages to meet colorful and mysterious ethnic cultures.
- Hiking along the Tiger Leaping Gorge to feel the grotesque and raging rapids of the magnificent gorge.
Brief Itinerary
- Day 1: Kunming Arrival
- Day 2: Kunming
- Day 3: Kunming-Dali
- Day 4: Dali-Lijiang
- Day 5: Lijiang
- Day 6: Lijiang-Tiger Leaping Gorge-Shangri-La
- Day 7: Shangri-La
- Day 8: Shangri-La Departure
Google Map
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive in Kunming
Sightseeing and Activities:Arrive in Kunming
Accommodation:Kunming
Meals:None
You’ll begin your journey to the diverse and captivating province of Yunnan from the capital city, Kunming. Upon arrival at the Kunming International Airport, meet your local guide and transfer to the hotel.
Day 2 Kunming
Sightseeing and Activities:the Stone Forest, the Green Lake, Flowers and Birds Market
Accommodation:Kunming
Meals:Breakfast and Lunch
You will drive 86 km to the Stone Forest. An old local saying says that ‘If you have visited Kunming without seeing the Stone Forest, you have wasted your time.’ Truly, the Stone Forest is one of the most important attractions of Yunnan.
After lunch, drive back to Kunming to visit the Green Lake and then enjoy a 20-minute walk to visit the Flowers and Birds Market in downtown area.
Day 3 Kunming-Dali High Speed Train
Sightseeing and Activities:Three Pagodas, cruise in Erhai Lake, Dali Old Town, Foreigner’s Street, Ancient City Wall
Accommodation:Dali
Meals:Breakfast and Lunch
Get up in the early morning. Transfer to train station. Take a high speed train from Kunming to Dali.
Arrive at Dali train station. Meet your local guide in Dali. Then visit Three Pagodas in Chongshen Monastery which has a history of over 1,800 years located at the foot of Cangshan Mountain facing to the Erhai Lake. Three Pagodas are made of three ancient independent pagodas forming a symmetrical triangle.
Then you’ll cruise in Erhai Lake by the small boat to the Jinsuo Islet in the east Erhai Lake. There are 200 Bai ethnic families around 1000 people in Jinsuo Island.In Erhai Lake cruise, you will enjoy the green Cangshan Mountain and the Three Pagodas from a far as well as lots of birds and seagulls flying over the lake.
In the late afternoon, take a walk in Dali Old Town. Visit Foreigner’s Street and ancient city wall.
Day 4 Dali-Lijiang
Sightseeing and Activities:Xizhou Town, Zhoucheng Village, Lijiang Old Town
Accommodation:Lijiang
Meals:Breakfast and Lunch
In the morning, head for Xizhou Town to fully appreciate Bai-style traditional architectural courtyards, taste their fragrant Three-Course Tea and explore their distinctive culture.
Transfer to visit Zhoucheng Village and the Bai people’s Tie-dying cloth workshop where you can take some special souvenir with the Bai ethnic style.
After lunch, drive to Lijiang. You will be relaxed around Lijiang Old Town, a well-preserved old city of ethnic minorities with brilliant culture, is a central town of the Lijiang Autonomous County of the Naxi Ethnic Minority in Yunnan Province. Located on the plateau which is 2,400 meters above the sea level and embraced by the tree-covered Lion Mountain in the west, Elephant and Golden Row Mountains in the north, vast fertile fields in the southeast and crystal clear water running through, the old town looks like a big jade ink slab, therefore got the alias the Town of Big Ink Slab (Dayanzhen).
Day 5 Lijiang
Sightseeing and Activities:Ganhaizi Meadow, Baishuihe River,Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Spruce Meadow, Blue Moon Valley, Impression Lijiang Ethnic Show, Baisha Old Town, Baisha Murals
Accommodation:Lijiang
Meals:Breakfast and Lunch
Drive about 30KM to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Scenic Area. You will firstly reach Ganhaizi Meadow(3100M). Then you will take the sightseeig bus for a short visiting through the Baishuihe River. Take cable car to Spruce Meadow and hike around 30 minutes in the forest. Then take a battery cart to Blue Moon Valley.
After lunch, you will enjoy the Impression Lijiang Ethnic Show directed by Zhang Yimou. It is held in Ganhaizi Meadow about 3100M above the sea level.
And then, you can stroll through Baisha Old Town, which is an enchanting traditional Naxi style old town. Visit the Baisha Murals about 600 years old, which is one part of the World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO 1997.
Day 6 Lijiang-100KM-Tiger Leaping Gorge-100KM-Shangri-La
Sightseeing and Activities:the First Bend of Yangtze River, Iron Chain Bridge, Red Army’s Long March Memorial Monument, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Dukezong Ancient Town, Guishan Hill
Accommodation:Shangri-La
Meals:Breakfast and Lunch
From Lijiang, you’ll drive about 60KM to the First Bend of the Yangtze River with imposing gorge scenery, visit the Iron Chain Bridge ,the Red Army’s Long March Memorial Monument in the Shigu Old Town. The town of Stone Drum got its name from a large, cylindrical, marble tablet shaped like a drum. The scenery is magnificent as the road running through the Lijiang valley which is filled with wheat fields and drying haystacks.
Visit the Tiger Leaping Gorge, the deepest gorge in the world. With 34 rapids of the Yangtze River, it is called the Jinsha in this area because you can find gold in the river.
Then you will enter the Tibetan cultural area and a landscape of barley fields and yaks scattered in the valleys. Walk around Dukezong Ancient Town, an important town of the Ancient Tea-horse Trade Caravan from Yunnan to Tibet and India. Walk up to the top of Guishan Hill or Tortoise Hill, you will see the largest Prayer Wheel of the world and have a panoramic view of shangrila county and Dukezong Ancient Town.
Day 7 Shangri-La
Sightseeing and Activities:Songzanlin Monastery,Tibetan Family, Shudu Lake in Pudacuo National Park
Accommodation:Shangri-La
Meals:Breakfast and Lunch
Today, visit the Songzanlin Monastery, the largest Tibetan monastery in Yunnan. Songzanlin Monastery has another alias – ‘the little Potala Palace ‘, so named because the whole monastery is in the traditional style with mysterious atmosphere.
After that, pay a visit to a Tibetan Family and have Yak Butter lunch in the family.
And afterwards you’ll visit the tranquil Shudu Lake in Pudacuo National Park. Pudacuo National Park is located in one of the most biologically-diverse regions of the world. While the region comprises only 0.7 percent of China’s land area, it contains more than 20 percent of the country’s plant species, about one-third of its mammal and bird species and almost 100 endangered species.
Day 8 Departure from Shangri-La
Sightseeing and Activities:Departure from Shangri-La
Accommodation:None
Meals:Breakfast
Today the tour guide and driver will take you to Shangri-La airport and then depature.
Recommended Hotels
| Destination | 5 Star | 4 Star | 3 Star | Hostel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kunming | Softel Hotel | Wenhui Hotel | Jinhua Hotel | T&T Story Hotel |
| Dali | Hilton Dali Resort & Spa | Shouyi Boutique Hotel | Dali Taihe Boutique Inn | Dali Fengxue Gucheng |
| Lijiang | Pullman Hotel | Wangfu Hotel | Liwang Hotel | Baisha Holiday Resort |
| Shangri-La | Shangri-La Hotel | Shangri-La Old Town Hotel | Moon City Hotel | Guzang Xiangbala Wu Fu Diannan Boutique Inn |
Service Included:
- Admission fees for all of the sightseeing spots listed in the itinerary;
- Meals as listed in the itinerary;
- Hotels as listed in the itinerary;
- Private English-speaking tour guide;
- Private vehicle for transfers & sightseeing with skilled driver;
- Service charge & government taxes;
- Luggage transfers between airports and hotels;
- High speed train tickets from Kunming to Dali (2nd class seats).
Service Excluded:
- Any arrival and departure international airfares or train tickets;
- Chinese visa fees;
- Excess baggage charged by Airlines;
- Single room supplement;
- Tips to guides and drivers;
- Personal expenses and gratuities to service staff;
- Personal travel accident insurance;
- All optional programs.
After Having experienced the mesmerizing and enchanting 8 days tour of various Yunnan attraction sites. I must say that it’s worth every penny. To begin with, I was amazed at how remarkable the whole speed train system works in China and how efficient and smooth the working crew in your agency handles everything, ranging from local tour guide, transportation to accommodation. I feel like I’m being pampered by your 5 star hotel service arrangement which saved me a lot of fatigue and worries during the whole tour. As far as the details of the tour goes, the Day 6 travel definitely shined alluring light to my world and brought the best out of me regarding with the striking view and my physical potential.Another thing worth mentioning is that your chauffeurs really know how to drive. I even tipped them a great sum. All in all, the package deal of the whole tour is a real bargain!
I’d been longing for going to Lijiang for several years, it was lucky that one of my friends introduced Yunnan Exploration to me, it was such an amazing experience that I not only tried Yunnan Cross Bridge Rice Noodle, but also saw the fantastic use of flowers in food. And most importantly, I’d like to thank the agency for taking care of the whole trip that I didn’t have to worry about the transportation and accommodation, so I could spend all my energy enjoying the landscape and experience the unique Naxi culture!
Hey guys. This is an 8-day tour package in Yunnan, China, by high-speed train, which, I think, is highly recommended. The tour covers four cities: Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, and Shangri-La. It highlights the natural scenery, ethnic culture, and historical sites of Yunnan. Some of the attractions include the Stone Forest, the Three Pagodas, the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the Tiger Leaping Gorge, and the Songzanlin Monastery. During the trip, I also got the chance to visit local villages, markets, and families to experience the lifestyle and customs of the ethnic minorities in Yunnan, which was awesome. What’s more, I also want to say something about the Yunnan Exploration Travel Agency. The high-quality and sweet service they provided was, to be frank, one of the kind I had ever received here in China. I just love Wenhui Hotel and Shangri-La Hotel, quiet and cozy. Oh, you must want to come and try the resaurants which our tour guide took us to. Those are the true, delicious Chinese food. What have I eaten back in UK, I just cannot believe it:( All in all, the tour is suitable for travelers who want to explore the diversity and beauty of Yunnan in a comfortable and convenient way.