Majestic and steep, quite challenging

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Scenery on the way

The 32-day self-driving tour in Yunnan has come to a successful conclusion and returned smoothly. This self-driving tour visited many scenic spots in Yunnan, one of the most memorable and one of the biggest highlights is the Tiger Leaping Gorge hiking tour in Shangri-La. It impresses people with its grandeur, precipitousness and challenges.

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge - on the way

Jinsha River Tiger Leaping Gorge is famous all over the world for its "dangerousness". It is famous all over the world for its high mountains and deep valleys. It is one of the deepest canyons in China. It ranks second only to the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon. The tiger leaping gorge is extremely narrow, the river is swift, the boulders are overgrown, and the waterfalls are rushing down. It is dangerous, majestic and thrilling. Tiger Leaping Gorge includes upper, middle and lower Tiger Leaping Gorge. Among them, Shanghu Leaping Gorge is a national AAAA-level tourist scenic spot. It is already a very mature scenic spot, and it is full of tourists every day. The middle and lower Tiger Leaping Gorge and the high road trekking trails are undeveloped and relatively dangerous areas. The geological structure in the gorge is complex, the terrain is steep, and many places are still in a primitive and semi-primitive state, and rockfall occurs from time to time. Because of this, the high-road trekking route, among which the Tiger Leaping Gorge trekking route is known as "one of the world's top ten classic hiking routes", mainly consists of two major parts: the Gaolu trekking route and the Zhonghu Leaping Gorge trekking route.

The road section from Shanghu Leaping Gorge Scenic Area to Zhonghu Leaping Gorge belongs to the Shangri-La East Ring Road. The road is built along the river (Jinsha River), with high mountains and deep valleys, sharp curves and steep slopes, narrow roads, and some road sections are potholed or piled up on the roadside The falling rocks on the mountain belong to dangerous road sections and areas. Driving on such road sections and areas is really frightening. It is precisely because of these objective factors that few people choose to travel here, so there are very few vehicles along the way.

According to the situation introduced on the Internet, considering age, physical fitness, time and many other factors, we chose the Zhonghu Leaping Gorge hiking route with moderate intensity and short time. It is said that this hiking route usually only takes more than 3 hours to and fro, but in fact we spent nearly 5 hours before and after.

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Scenery on the way

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Scenery on the way

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge - on the way

On the morning of May 24th, we set off from Shuanglang Town in Dali. After visiting Dayan Ancient Town and Baisha Ancient Town along the way, we took a short section of Xiangli Expressway in Lijiang, and then turned into National Highway 214, and arrived at Tiger Leaping. When you are in Xia Town, turn into the Shangri-La East Ring Road. After walking about 10 kilometers, we came to the entrance of the Shangri-La Tiger Leaping Gorge (Shanghu Leaping Gorge) scenic spot. At this time, management personnel came to stop the vehicles. Whether you are passing by or want to enter the scenic spot, you must buy tickets to let them pass.

I have been to Lijiang before, and I have also visited the Tiger Leaping Gorge scenic spot on the Lijiang side. So this time there was no arrangement to visit the Tiger Leaping Gorge Scenic Area. Since you have to spend money to buy tickets to let you pass, you will also visit the scenic spot by the way. It is understood that the Jinsha River is the boundary river between Lijiang and Shangri-La. One side of the river is the territory of Lijiang, and the other side of the river is the territory of Shangri-La. There are two attractions belonging to two places. It's just that due to the impact of the construction of high-speed railways and expressways, the scenic spots on the Lijiang side were closed.

After a journey of about 270 kilometers, I also visited several scenic spots in the middle. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I arrived at the accommodation for the night, near the Zhuoma Inn in the Tiger Leaping Gorge. After checking into the inn, take a good rest, refresh yourself, and prepare for the high-intensity hiking activities on the second day.

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Scenery on the way

Shangri-La-Zhonghu Leaping Gorge-the "ladder" passed by on the way to hike

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge - on the way

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge

At 8 o'clock in the morning on May 25th, after breakfast, the owner of the inn drove our group of 4 people to a hiking starting point about 3 kilometers away. Nearly 9 o'clock, after paying the road construction fee of 15 yuan per person to the villagers (there is no developed scenic spot, the road is built by the nearby villagers, it is still necessary to pay some road fees), the long-awaited Zhonghu Leaping Gorge hike officially started .

There are two main characteristics of Zhonghu Leaping Gorge hiking, one is steep slopes and deep valleys, and the terrain is steep. The foot of the mountain is a steep cliff, and the peaks on the west bank are more than 3000 meters above the river. From the roadside entrance to the riverside, the vertical distance is more than 1000 meters. The mountain road is high and low, twists and turns, all the way down, and in some places, it has to pass through an almost vertical "ladder". With the cliff above the head and the torrent at the feet, it is frightening; the second is that going down is not easy, and going up is even more difficult. The mountain paths are rugged, and in some places a few rickety boards or tree trunks are built. The steps are primitive and semi-primitive and very steep, which is particularly laborious to walk. Whether you are going down or climbing up, you often need to use your hands and feet, be careful not to slip, and the two ladders need to climb up.

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge - on the way

Today's hiking trip caught up with the fine weather, the sun was shining in the sky, and the temperature was neither too hot nor too cold. It was around 20 degrees in the morning and nearly 30 degrees at noon, but the wind was a little stronger. Walking, climbing, resting and taking pictures, it took more than 2 hours to reach the riverside at the bottom of the canyon. It took another half an hour to rest, enjoy the scenery and take pictures, and I didn't go back until after 12 noon.

It is said that "most of the beautiful scenery is in the dangerous distance". Although the process of hiking is strenuous, the scenery along the way is picturesque. The same Jinsha River, the same Tiger Leaping Gorge, the visual effects of viewing from high to low and far and near are quite different. Especially when you go down to the bottom of the canyon and come to the riverside, you can hear the roaring and roaring roar of the waterfall all the way, which is shocking! Although you have gone through untold hardships, when you come to the riverside and see the reefs in the Zhonghutiaoxia River, the canine teeth are intertwined, the dangerous beaches are densely covered, the waterfalls are gathered, and the majestic appearance, you will feel that all the efforts are worthwhile. . When you are on the scene, its turbulent momentum not only makes you amazed, but also a real spiritual shock. You will be amazed by the wonders of nature! You'll be glad you got to visit, too! And the meaning of this walking tour is not only that, but to challenge yourself and enjoy the whole process!

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Scenery on the way

Shangri-La-Zhonghu Leaping Gorge-the "ladder" passed by on the way to hike

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge - on the way

Zhonghu Leaping Gorge trekking, the trail is relatively primitive, foreign friends especially like this trekking route. During the nearly 5-hour walking journey, I did not meet a single Chinese, but met several groups of foreigners, in twos and threes, both men and women. Looking at their natural and unrestrained, confident voices, smiles and vigorous figures when walking and climbing, I have a lot of feelings. Foreigners are keen on hiking and other outdoor activities, and love the original ecological natural environment.

Walking back is just climbing and resting. There are two or three breaks in the middle that are a little longer. It took just over an hour to climb up to the entrance when we came, and called the store to drive us back to the inn. So far, the Tiger Leaping Gorge hike, which took nearly 5 hours, came to a successful conclusion. After a short rest at the inn and a late lunch, we set off again and continued along the Shangri-La East Ring Road to the next stop 70 kilometers away, the Baishuitai Scenic Spot in Sanba Naxi Township, Shangri-La.

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Scenery on the way

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge - on the way

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge

tips

1. Shangri-La East Ring Road has steep terrain, high mountains and deep valleys, steep curves and steep slopes, narrow roads and average road conditions. When entering this road section and area by self-driving, you must control your speed, concentrate and drive carefully. The innkeeper's repeated advice to "slow down on the curve, honk the horn, and go your own way" does work. In addition, do not drive at night, for safety reasons.

2. There are also many inns to choose from when staying in Zhonghu Leaping Gorge. It usually takes one night to hike here.

3. You don’t need to bring too much water and food, and it’s quite tiring and hard to carry a load. During the hike, there are two or three places where the villagers sell water and some snacks. If you are tired or hungry, you can rest your feet. It is very convenient to buy a can of Red Bull drink, a bottle of mineral water or a bucket of noodles.

4. It is said that Tiger Leaping Gorge has already been selected by a large company and is planning to make large-scale investment next year to build tourist facilities such as plank roads and cable cars, making it another tourist attraction. If true, this world-famous hiking route will disappear in the future. When everything is in the past, if you miss it, you will miss it, and it will never be there again.

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Scenery on the way

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge

Shangri-La-Zhonghu Leaping Gorge-Villagers selling water and snacks during the trek

Shangri-La - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Scenery on the way