Section / out of town
Lijiang side trips
Tiger Leaping Gorge, Lugu Lake, Shaxi, Shangri-La, Wenhai, and Dali, with real travel times.
6 trips / travel times and verdicts
In this section
06
entries in the ledger
These are the trips beyond the standard Lijiang loop: a two-day gorge trek, a high lake on the Sichuan border, a Tibetan plateau town, and old caravan villages. None are casual add-ons. Each guide gives the real transfer time, the best season, and a clear verdict on who should skip it.
Field desk / updated 14 Nov 2026
Tiger Leaping Gorge
A two-day trek between snow walls and a river that sounds like weather, two hours north of Lijiang.
Lugu Lake
A deep blue lake on the Yunnan-Sichuan border, reached by a winding mountain road and best seen slowly.
Shangri-La
A high Tibetan town of monasteries and cold mornings, three hours beyond the gorge.
Shaxi Old Town
A small stone market town on the old tea and horse road, quieter and more intact than the Lijiang old towns.
Wenhai Lake
A seasonal lake below Jade Dragon, reached by a rough road and best in winter, when migratory birds arrive.
Dali
A bigger, flatter old town on Erhai Lake, two hours south and a different mood entirely.