The Great Yunnan Loop · 13 Days

Kunming to Shangri-La

Green Lake · Dounan Flower Market · Erhai Lake · Shaxi caravan town · Lijiang Old Town · Jade Dragon Snow Mountain · Tiger Leaping Gorge · Sumtseling Monastery · Meili Snow Mountain — the complete Yunnan circle, from the Spring City to the foot of the sacred peaks.

Duration13 Days · 12 Nights
RouteKunming · Dali · Lijiang · Shangri-La · Meili
StylePrivate · Guided
Why This Journey

Journey Highlights

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Sacred Meili at Dawn Erhai Lake Slow Days The Tea-Horse Road Little Potala & the Gorge Rides in Comfort
01
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
Glacier cable car to 4,506 m — ice fields, summit panoramas and Blue Moon Valley’s turquoise terraces.
01 Jade Dragon →
02 Meili at Dawn →
03 Erhai Lake →
04 Tea-Horse Road →
05 Little Potala →
06 Rides in Comfort →
Day by Day

Your 13-Day Itinerary

01

Arrival in Kunming

Airport → Hotel
Arrival

Airport Pickup

Your English-speaking guide and chauffeur greet you at Kunming Changshui International Airport with a welcome sign. Private MPV transfer to your hotel in the city center.

Afternoon

Hotel Check-in & Rest

Settle into the Spring City — Kunming sits 1,900 m above sea level, with mild air and flowers blooming year-round. Take it easy today to acclimatise.

Evening

Free Time

Rest up, or take an easy stroll to the nearby Golden Horse & Jade Rooster archways. Your guide is on call for dinner recommendations — try a bowl of crossing-the-bridge rice noodles.

Guide with welcome sign at Kunming airport Private MPV transfer Comfortable MPV interior Golden Horse & Jade Rooster Archways
Kunming Kasion Hotel exterior Kunming Kasion Hotel deluxe room Kunming Kasion Hotel twin room Kunming Kasion Hotel breakfast restaurant

Kunming Kasion Hotel or similar (5-star)

02

Kunming Classics

Green Lake · Military Academy · Flower Market · Old Street
Morning

Green Lake Park & Yunnan Military Academy

A lazy loop around Green Lake, where locals practice tai chi and red-billed gulls swirl in from Siberia (Nov–Mar). Then the mustard-yellow Yunnan Military Academy, one of China’s best-preserved early-modern military schools.

Afternoon

Dounan Flower Market & Yunnan Provincial Museum

Dounan is Asia’s largest fresh-flower market — buckets of roses and orchids at prices you won’t believe. Continue to the Yunnan Provincial Museum for bronze-age treasures and dinosaur fossils.

Evening

Kunming Old Street

Wander the restored Qing-era lanes around Wenming Street, all wooden shopfronts and street snacks. Dinner recommendation from your guide.

Green Lake Park with red-billed gulls Yunnan Military Academy Dounan Flower Market Kunming Old Street
Kunming Kasion Hotel exterior Kunming Kasion Hotel deluxe room Kunming Kasion Hotel twin room Kunming Kasion Hotel breakfast restaurant

Kunming Kasion Hotel or similar (5-star)

03

Bullet Train to Dali

Kunming → Dali
Morning

High-Speed Rail: Kunming → Dali

A comfortable two-hour bullet train ride west into the mountains, arriving in Dali — ancient capital of the Bai kingdom on the western shore of Erhai Lake.

Afternoon

Chongsheng Temple Three Pagodas & Canger Avenue

The trio of 1,100-year-old pagodas that has anchored Dali’s skyline since the Nanzhao kingdom. Then the lakeside drive along Canger Avenue — the Cangshan range on one side, mirror-flat Erhai on the other.

Evening

Free Time

Sunset over the lake near your hotel; ask your guide for a rooftop dinner spot in the old town.

High-speed train through the mountains Chongsheng Temple Three Pagodas Canger Avenue along Erhai Lake Dali Ancient City
Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel exterior Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel lake-view room Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel twin room Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel restaurant

Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel or similar (5-star)

04

Erhai Lake West Bank

Longkan · Caicun · Panxi · Xizhou
Morning

Longkan Pier & Caicun Village

The west bank’s photogenic piers — Longkan’s mirror-flat water at first light, and the fishing boats and lakeside cafes of Caicun.

Afternoon

Panxi S-Bend, Haishe Park & Xizhou Ancient Town

The famous white boardwalk S-bend at Panxi, the green tongue of Haishe Peninsula, then Xizhou — Bai minority architecture, tie-dye workshops and golden rice paddies.

Evening

Free Time

Slow evening by the lake; your hotel sits right on the Erhai shoreline.

Sunrise at Longkan Pier The famous S-bend at Panxi Haishe Wetland Park Xizhou Ancient Town and rice paddies
Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel exterior Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel lake-view room Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel twin room Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel restaurant

Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel or similar (5-star)

05

Erhai East Bank & Cangshan

Wenbi · Xiaoputuo · Langqiao · Cangshan
Morning

Wenbi Village & Xiaoputuo Islet

Cross to the quieter east bank: the gentle lakeshore at Wenbi Village and tiny Xiaoputuo, a mini temple-islet that seems to float on the water.

Afternoon

Langqiao Bridge & Cangshan Mountain

The lakeside corridor bridge, then up the Cangshan cableway for alpine views — nineteen peaks, snow patches and the whole Erhai basin below.

Evening

Free Time

Farewell-to-Dali evening; the old town’s marble lanes and Foreigner Street are a short drive away.

Xiaoputuo islet temple on Erhai Wenbi Village lakeshore The corridor bridge on Erhai Cangshan Mountain above Dali
Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel exterior Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel lake-view room Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel twin room Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel restaurant

Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel or similar (5-star)

06

Shaxi Ancient Town

Dali → Shaxi
Morning

Drive to Shaxi

A scenic two-hour drive into the hills between Dali and Lijiang, to Shaxi — the best-preserved caravan town on the ancient Tea-Horse Road.

Afternoon

Sideng Square & the Caravan Past

The cobbled square, its theater stage, Xingjiao Temple and the 400-year-old locust trees look exactly as they did when horse caravans stopped here. Climb to Yujin Bridge for the classic view over the black-tiled roofs.

Evening

Free Time

Shaxi at night is lantern-lit and wonderfully quiet — no crowds, just starlight and birdsong. Overnight in a courtyard inn.

Sideng Square in Shaxi Ancient Town Winding lanes of old Shaxi Bai courtyard house in Shaxi
07

Lijiang Old Town

Black Dragon Pool · Mufu · Old Town
Morning

Drive to Lijiang · Black Dragon Pool

Over the hills to Lijiang. First the classic postcard: Black Dragon Pool, where Jade Dragon Snow Mountain reflects in spring water beneath the Moon-Embracing Pavilion.

Afternoon

Mufu & Lijiang Old Town

Mufu — the ‘Forbidden City’ of the Naxi chieftains — then the UNESCO-listed old town: canals, wooden bridges and Naxi courtyards radiating from Sifang Street.

Evening

Free Time

Lantern-lit lanes, Naxi music and street grills. Your guide will point you to the best quiet corners away from the crowds.

Black Dragon Pool with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Mufu, palace of the Naxi chieftains Lijiang Old Town canals Sifang Street at dusk
Lijiang International Hotel exterior Lijiang International Hotel deluxe room Lijiang International Hotel twin room Lijiang International Hotel restaurant

Lijiang International Hotel or similar (5-star)

08

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

Glacier Cable Car · Blue Moon Valley · Shuhe
Morning

Glacier Cable Car to 4,506 m

The big cable car lifts you to the glacier terrace at 4,506 m on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain — ice fields and summit panoramas over the Yangtze bends (oxygen canisters provided; the cable car skips the queues).

Afternoon

Blue Moon Valley & Impression Lijiang

The terraced turquoise pools of Blue Moon Valley below the peak, then Zhang Yimou’s open-air Impression Lijiang — 500 local performers with the mountain itself as the stage.

Evening

Shuhe Ancient Town

A quieter Naxi town of cobbles and streams for dinner and an easy wind-down.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain glacier Blue Moon Valley turquoise pools Impression Lijiang open-air show Shuhe Ancient Town
Lijiang International Hotel exterior Lijiang International Hotel deluxe room Lijiang International Hotel twin room Lijiang International Hotel restaurant

Lijiang International Hotel or similar (5-star)

09

Into Tibetan Kham

Sumtseling Monastery · Pudacuo National Park
Morning

Drive to Shangri-La · Ganden Sumtseling Monastery

North over the hills into Tibetan Kham. Sumtseling — the ‘Little Potala’ — is Yunnan’s largest monastery, home to some 700 Yellow-Hat monks, golden roofs above white-washed walls.

Afternoon

Pudacuo National Park

Boardwalks through Shudu Lake’s mirror waters and the old-growth forest around Bita Lake — yaks, azaleas and clean high-altitude air at 3,500 m.

Evening

Tusitan Banquet (optional, at own expense)

Optional Tibetan lord’s banquet tonight: song, barley wine and hotpot in a manor-house setting. Otherwise, free evening in Shangri-La old town.

Ganden Sumtseling Monastery Shudu Lake in Pudacuo National Park Bita Lake boardwalk Napahai grasslands with yaks
10

Tiger Leaping Gorge & Dukezong

Tiger Leaping Gorge · Dukezong Ancient Town
Morning

Tiger Leaping Gorge

One of the world’s deepest river canyons: the Jinsha (upper Yangtze) slams through a 30-metre gap beneath 5,000-metre peaks, with the legendary tiger-leap rock mid-stream.

Afternoon

Dukezong Ancient Town & the Great Prayer Wheel

The 1,300-year-old white-washed lanes and wooden homes of Dukezong, then climb Guishan Hill and give the 21-metre golden prayer wheel a push — the largest of its kind in the world — for good luck.

Evening

Free Time

High-plateau evening at 3,300 m; warm up with yak-butter tea or a hotpot dinner.

Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Jinsha River Dukezong Ancient Town The great prayer wheel at Guishan Hill Guishan Park above Dukezong
11

Pilgrimage to Meili

Shangri-La → Feilai Temple · Meili Snow Mountain
All Day

Baima Pass to the Foot of Meili

The pilgrimage day: drive over Baima Snow Mountain pass (4,292 m) to the Feilai Temple viewpoint facing the thirteen peaks of the Meili range. Kawagebo, the highest at 6,740 m, has never been summited — it is sacred to Tibetan Buddhists. Golden-hour light on the whole range, overnight in a valley lodge at the mountain’s feet.

Golden sunrise on Meili Snow Mountain Kawagebo, the unclimbed summit Feilai Temple viewpoint Tibetan stupas on the pilgrimage road
12

Return to Kunming

Sunrise at Meili · Shangri-La → Kunming
Morning

Sunrise over Meili & Return Drive

Catch first light setting the thirteen peaks alight (weather permitting), then the drive back over Baima pass to Shangri-La — yaks, prayer flags and alpine valleys the whole way.

Afternoon

High-Speed Rail: Shangri-La → Kunming

The new rail line winds back south and east to Kunming. Your driver meets you at the station for the late check-in.

Golden morning at Feilai Temple, facing Meili Shangri-La railway station Bullet train through the mountains Dianchi Lake, Kunming
Kunming Kasion Hotel exterior Kunming Kasion Hotel deluxe room Kunming Kasion Hotel twin room Kunming Kasion Hotel breakfast restaurant

Kunming Kasion Hotel or similar (5-star)

13

Departure

Hotel → Airport
All Day

Until We Meet Again

After breakfast, your driver will transfer you to Kunming Changshui Airport timed to your departure flight. Thirteen days from the Spring City to the foot of the sacred peaks — safe travels!

What's Included

Inclusions & Exclusions

  • 3 nights at Kunming Kasion Hotel with daily breakfast
  • 3 nights at Dali Erhai Lake KASION Hotel with daily breakfast
  • 2 nights at Lijiang International Hotel with daily breakfast
  • 4 nights at carefully selected local hotels in Shaxi, Shangri-La & Deqin (Meili) with daily breakfast
  • English-speaking private guide throughout
  • All entrance tickets: Three Pagodas, Cangshan cableway, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain glacier cable car, Blue Moon Valley, Impression Lijiang show, Ganden Sumtseling Monastery, Pudacuo National Park, Tiger Leaping Gorge
  • Private air-conditioned vehicle with professional driver
  • High-speed rail tickets: Kunming → Dali and Shangri-La → Kunming
  • All airport and train station transfers
  • Online trip-butler support (7–22h, China time)
  • Travel insurance
  • International flights to/from China
  • China visa fees
  • Lunches and dinners (guide will recommend local restaurants)
  • Tusitan (Tibetan lord’s) banquet in Shangri-La — optional, at your own expense
  • Personal expenses (laundry, phone calls, mini-bar)
  • Gratuities for guide and driver (recommended: $8–12/day per person)
Tour Price

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One seamless journey, one transparent price — hotels with breakfast, English-speaking guide, all entrance tickets, high-speed rail and private transfers included.

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