11-Days China Yunnan Shangri-La Community Based Trek

Introduction: Shangri-La – A Trekker’s Paradise

Tiger Leaping Gorge
Tiger Leaping Gorge is a canyon on the Yangtze River - locally called the Golden Sands River , located 60 km north of Lijiang City, Yunnan in southwestern China. Around 15 km in length, the gorge is located where the river passes between 5,596 metre Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and 5,396 m Haba Xueshan in a series of rapids under steep 2000 metre cliffs. Legend says that in order to escape from a hunter; a tiger jumped across the river at the narrowest point (still 25 metres wide), hence the name. Tiger Leaping Gorge is a contender for the world's deepest river canyon, depending on the exact definition used. The inhabitants of the gorge are primarily the indigenous Naxi people, who live in a handful of small hamlets. Their primary subsistence comes from grain production and foreign hikers.

The hiking path ("the high Trail") is well-maintained and is used by the Naxi as part of everyday life before 1958. It features a surprising variety of micro ecosystems, waterfalls and a fair number of guesthouses for trekkers.

From the gorge we will continue to hike uphill to Haba Village and Baishuitai (white water terrace).

Napa & Shika range
The Shika range, a mountainous ridge between the Drichu (Yangtze) and the Gyalthang plateau, is the “Protector Mountain” of many settlements in the Gyalthang region. It offers wondrous treks of two to seven days. It is said that when Gyalthang traders got lonesome or “revealed the donkey inside” (i. e. went bankrupt) in some far-off land, they remembered the "white rocky mountains" standing sentinel over their hometown.

The Shikha range boasts spectacular wildlife, forests, alpine lakes, and the aroma of rhododendrons, azaleas, and wild irises. If you are lucky, you may see the fabled blue poppy in bloom.

Shortly after harvest and right until spring, the marsh-land at the foot of Mt. Shikha welcomes back the endangered Black-neck crane. For centuries, the bird has come to nest here in the winter at the end of a long journey that starts south of the Himalayas as far as Bhutan's Gangten valley.

Treks, combined with visits to Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge and savouring warmnesss by the fireside at the Tibetan Guesthouse in Napa Village will give visitors an intimate glimpse into people's lifestyles in this frontier region.