Tiger Leaping Gorge: Two Days, One of the Best Walks in Asia

Tiger Leaping Gorge cuts between Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Haba Snow Mountain in northwest Yunnan, about 60 kilometres north of Lijiang. The Yangtze River (called the Jinsha in this section) drops around 200 metres over 16 kilometres. The gorge is deep enough that standing at the rim, the river looks like a thin silver thread far below. At its narrowest point, the walls rise 3,000 metres on both sides. The high trail along the gorge - not the road at the bottom - is one of the best two-day walks in China, and it’s a walk that most travellers planning China trips don’t know about.

The High Trail

The hike runs 22 kilometres point-to-point from Qiaotou village to Walnut Garden, with a night at one of the family guesthouses there, then the final section down to the road. Total time: two days, 8-9 hours of walking.

The first day’s most demanding section is the 28 Bends - 90 minutes of relentless uphill switchbacks in the first third. There is no shortcut and no point at which it becomes flat. What is on the other side: snow-capped peaks on both sides, the gorge dropping away below, a quality of exposure and scale that is difficult to anticipate from photographs.

The second day is shorter (3-4 hours) with a scramble down to the riverbank at the gorge’s narrowest point. The Tiger Leaping Stone is somewhat anticlimactic as an object; the experience of standing in that specific slot between two enormous mountain masses with the river churning five metres away is not.

Guesthouses and Logistics

The family guesthouses in Walnut Garden are simple: wooden rooms, basic food, squat toilets in most cases. Naxi Family Guesthouse and Tea Horse Guesthouse are the most established. Cost: 80-150 RMB per night. Book ahead in spring (March-May) and autumn (September-October) when the trail is busiest.

From Lijiang, buses to Qiaotou run roughly every hour from the main bus station (about 1.5 hours, around 30 RMB). The gorge entry fee is currently around 95 RMB, paid at the ticket office in Qiaotou before starting. Return from the gorge end involves local minibuses or taxi to Qiaotou or directly to Lijiang; agree a price in advance.

Lijiang

Lijiang Old Town, 30 minutes south of the gorge, is where most visitors base themselves. The UNESCO-listed old quarter has been substantially commercialised - souvenir shops, bars, tourist performance venues - but the canal network and mountain backdrop are genuinely attractive. The better restaurants are in lanes away from the central square.

When to Go

April-May and September-October are the ideal windows: temperatures are good, the trail is dry, and visibility is clear. Summer (June-August) brings monsoon rain and reduced views. Winter is cold but clear and far less crowded. The trail tops out at around 2,600 metres - not high enough for serious altitude sickness for most visitors, but drink plenty of water and take the 28 Bends slowly if you’ve come directly from sea level.