Yunnan – Shangrila – Lijiang, 11 Day Bike Tour

This 11-day bicycle tour begins and ends in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province known as the "Spring City" and the gateway to China's largest concentration of ethnic minorities. This tour is designed as a relatively easy-going ride. Average daily cycling mileage will be about 35 kilometers. On most days we will use vehicle transport to supplement the cycling to get us to the next destination. Riders will carry their own daily use items while the support vehicle carries the rest of the luggage. This tour will visit both well-known and little-known sights and will appeal to those who have cultural, social and geographical interests.

Day 1

The group will meet before the day. We will stay in a three star hotel. On the first day, there will be a warm-up tour of the city where we will visit the Yuantong Temple, Cuihu (Green Lake) Park and the East/West Pagodas.

Day 2

The following morning, the group will fly to Xiaguan and get transport to Old Dali. Old Dali still has some of that small town charm and ideally located between the Cangshan Mountains and Erhai Lake. In the afternoon we will visit the Three Pagodas and Chongsheng.

Day 3

On the third day we will cycle half way around Erhai Lake, visiting several villages, temples and Jinsuo Island before returning to Dali via boat.

Day 4

Next the group will head north to Jianchuan cycling along the old Dali-Lijiang road where numerous minorities can be seen along the road in traditional dress. In Jianchuan we will have an opportunity to visit the Jinhuashan Precipice Bas-relief Grottos.

Day 5

Continuing north will we cycle along side the Yangzi River and view the First Bend (where the river makes a U-turn and heads north) on the way to Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the deepest and most dramatic gorges in the world.

Day 6

The following day we will spend the day hiking in this magnificent gorge and view the raw power of the Yangzi as it plunge through the narrowest points in the river. We will visit the narrow spot of the gorge where it takes it name. It is a powerful spot with the whole of the Yangzi River confined to a 20-meter (70-foot) width. The group will spend the night here in simple lodgings.

Day 7

Continuing northwest the group will cycle to Baishuitai where some amazing limestone terraces grace the side of the mountains which was form in 200 thousands and 300 thousands years before by people said.

Day 8

On the following day there is a scenic and challenging section that leads to Shangri-La (Zhongdian) as the road crosses four passes.

Day 9

Shangri-La (Zhongdian) is a predominately Tibetan town and we will visit the Songzanlin Tibetan Monastery and some hot springs.

Day 10

The next day the group heads to Lijiang, the center of the creative Naxi minority group spending two days to explore the city and view several temples and the Baisha Frescoes.

Day 11

At the last day morning, everyone try to hunt to streets by you to feel the ancient town. After lunch, transport to the air port and fly to Kunming. The trip ends.