Overview

We did the hike in January 2019 so this was in winter! Temperatures were cold but far from unbearable; on average, the temperature ranged from 0 – 20 Degrees Celsius give or take. For the most part of the day, a shirt was fine since there were plenty of sun and the exercise kept you warm!

I hope this blog post will help fellow hikers out there!

Resources

Some really useful resources, be sure to read!

iOS applications

These are some must have iOS applications for the hike! If possible, install them before travelling to China in case you have issues with app availabilities.

Before starting

Here’s some random snippets of information before you decide to commit to the hike:

Two-day agenda

Day 1

Day 2

The Hike

Preparations

We stayed in the Lijiang Old Town before the hike and enjoyed the beautiful fresh air and blue skies! In hindsight, I wish I had a few more days where I could walk and go to the different old towns in Lijiang – but we only had a day before the hike and I wanted to avoid tiring myself too much. Actually, the first day I woke up feeling very light-headed which only dissipated by midday. Whether this was due to the high altitude or not, I caution other hikers to rest at Lijiang if you are not accustomed to high altitude.

Since we stayed in the Lijiang Old Town, reaching the Lijiang Bus Station wasn’t a problem for us. Simply come prepared at the ticket office – I simply showed the Topchina travel website I listed above where it has Chinese and English! The officer was really helpful and the tickets 50 RMB per person.

Beautiful weather!

Day One

We walked to the Lijiang Bus Station with our 40L+ packs – unfortunately, we didn’t know there was a place where you could leave your heavy packs near the ticket station of the Tiger Leaping Gorge Hike. We only discovered this on the bus back to Lijiang when some hikers got off the bus to retrieve them from a random-looking shop/garage – some arrangement was obviously made with that owner.

The bus station was not a fun experience. First, you need to show your passport and tickets, then go through security and finally a waiting room. Unfortunately, as with most places in China, there is minimal or no no English at all. Luckily, I was able to ask one of the travel assistants what the bus license plate was since the drivers were yelling in Chinese.

Once on the bus and boarded by 07:40, it was a smooth ride with one brief stop to Hutiaoxia County. We retrieved our packs; and using Apple Maps whilst looking around for some signage of the Tiger Leaping Gorge starting point, we managed to find the ticket office. Tickets were 65 RMB as stated from multiple sources.

The Start

Finding the start of the hike wasn’t too bad but before the real starting point of the hike - it’s pretty unpleasant. You will have to walk alongside huge mining trucks and cars on a dusty road for around 1 hour – it was terrible. Once you reach the “real” part of the hike, things get gradually better as you quickly ascend above the mining and noise.

It was pretty harsh under the sun as there was very little foliage to shelter under and it was a steep incline for a good hour. Adjacent to the hike, you’ll see the mining operations so it was nether very scenic or peaceful but it gets better as you go!

Naxi Guesthouse

When reached the Naxi Guesthouse at ~12:30, we were definitely hungry! They had English menus and the fried rice was an excellent meal for the rest of the journey. I suggest not to rush out of the GH since the most strenuous part of the hike is coming up – the 28 bends. Take your time to rest your feet and enjoy the serenity of the village.

28 bends

In my opinion, it wasn’t that hard for me but my sister found it very difficult. It’s basically long windy, stone-carved steps to the “top”. There is no harm taking it slowly and breathing properly since at this point, you’re quite high up!

After the 28 bends, it’s a relatively easy walk to the Halfway Guest House - we reached there at ~18:30. In the same village, there are plenty of alternatives like the Tea Horse and ComeInn GH (it isn’t open during winter). When we arrived and checked in – we were so glad to shed our backpacks and rest our feet. With all hikes of 6+ hours, feet soreness can be a factor! The Halfway GH offers different tiers of rooms; some in the “newer” building and thereafter on different floor levels. We were simply glad we had hot showers and electric blankets!

Day Two

In winter, it wasn’t until around 08:45 that there was sufficient sunlight before we could set off – it didn’t help when it was around 1 Degrees Celsius outside! The next 3 hours was perhaps the most beautiful section of the hike. There were even some local farmers with their goats along the way!

For the last 1 hour, you begin to descend quite rapidly; sometimes on stone steps and other times on rough walking tracks. Depending on your knees and ankles by this stage, you may experience some discomfort. At the end of this descent, you will reach Tina’s GH which is readily visible when the track terminates on the road. At Tina’s, you will be readily greeted (by Tina?) and having lunch there before visiting the Gorge is an excellent choice.

Spectacular views

Tina’s Guesthouse

You should also purchase the bus tickets for the 15:30 return to Lijiang if that is your destination at Tina’s. They will also drive you to the start of the hike down to the Gorge for free! If they don’t offer the car ride, you can simply exit Tina’s and follow the road over the bridge and you’ll see two entrances – the first you pass is really the “exit” when you hike back up from the Gorge and the second entrance will be the one you want to descend.

To the Gorge

You’ll need to pay a nominal fee to the family who claim to maintain the hike. It takes less than an hour to the Gorge and once again; this is all downhill so if you have sore ankles at the start of the day… The Gorge is mostly a ferocious river where you can hop to the large rocks and be as close to the water as you want. Depending if you take some more adventurous paths/rocks, you may need to pay a nominal fee as stated in the Wiki. I can’t say this part of the hike was my favorite but it was pleasant to reach the very bottom!

I had little difficulty hiking back up to Tina’s although some consider it to be very tough. Depending on how fit or accustomed you are with “stairs”, it may take up to 2 hours. I reached Tina’s in around an hour comfortably and didn’t feel too exhausted – at least not until I was on the bus back to Lijiang!

Summing it all up

Doing the hike during winter was a fantastic decision as we had the whole trail mostly to ourselves. We could enjoy the silence and tranquillity, as well as not having to worry about people in front or behind us! Also, at the villages and particularly at the Gorge, there weren’t any locals hassling us to purchase stuff. In summary: