10 Days Yunnan Classic Tour with Holy Lugu Lake (Departure from Lugu Lake Airport)
Tour Overview
This tour focuses on most famous cities and classic attractions in Yunnan Province and it also provides a chance to experience Lugu Lake tour, another discovery of mysterious Muosuo...
Code of Tour: YET0000000149
Length of Travel: 10 Day
Destinations of Tour: Kunming-Dali-Shaxi-Shangrila-Lijiang-Lugu Lake
Departure City: Kunming
Price of Tour: Request
Type of Tour:
Features of Tour: Nature Culture History Minorities
This tour focuses on most famous cities and classic attractions in Yunnan Province and it also provides a chance to experience Lugu Lake tour, another discovery of mysterious Muosuo minority which combines matrilineal society with matrilocal society.
Highlights:
- Visit the highlights of Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La.
- Discover the ethnic culture of Yis, Bais, Naxis and Tibetan.
- Explore the mysterious Muosuo minority in Lugu Lake.
Brief Itinerary
- Day 1: Kunming Arrival
- Day 2: Kunming – Stone Forest – Kunming – Dali
- Day 3: Dali
- Day 4: Dali – Shaxi
- Day 5: Shaxi – Shangrila
- Day 6: Shangrila – Lijiang
- Day 7: Lijiang
- Day 8: Lijiang – Lugu Lake
- Day 9: Lugu Lake
- Day 10: Lugu Lake Departure
Google Map
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 Kunming Arrival
Sightseeing and Activities:Kunming Arrival
Accommodation: Kunming
Meals:
Arrival at Kunming after meeting with your guide at airport, transfer to hotel for check in .
Day 2 Kunming-Stone Forest-Kunming-Dali
Sightseeing and Activities: Stone Forest, Guandu Ancient Town
Accommodation: Dali
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
You will drive 86 km to the Stone Forest. An old local saying says that ‘If you have visited Kunming without seeing the Stone Forest, you have wasted your time.’ Truly, the Stone Forest is one of the most important attractions of Yunnan. After lunch drive back Kunming to visit the Guandu Ancient Town which is a famous historical & cultural town in Kunming; it keeps the main architectural style of Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. In the evening, take the high speed train to Dali.
Day 3 Dali
Sightseeing and Activities: Three-pagodas in Chongshen Temple, Zhoucheng Village, Erhai Lake Cruise, Dali Ancient Town
Accommodation: Dali
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Morning arrive at Dali railway station. Pick up by the guide, and drive directly to visit the Three Pagodas in Chongshen Monastery which has a history of over 1,800 years located at the foot of Cangshan Mountain facing to the Erhai Lake. Three Pagodas are made of three ancient independent pagodas forming a symmetrical triangle. Visit Zhoucheng Village and the Bai people’s Tie-dying cloth workshop where you can take some special souvenir with the Bai ethnic style.
After lunch, you’ll cruise in Erhai Lake by the small boat to the Jinsuo Islet in the east Erhai Lake. There are 200 Bai ethnic families around 1000 people in Jinsuo Island. In Erhai Lake cruise, you will enjoy the green Cangshan Mountain and the Three Pagodas from a far as well as lots of birds and seagulls flying over the lake. At last, you will visit the Ancient Dali Town, walk around the Foreigner Street and enjoy the relax time with local people. After climbing up to the City Wall of Dali, you will have a panoramic view of the Erhai Lake.
Day 4 Dali – Shaxi
Sightseeing and Activities: Xizhou Town, Shibaoshan Mountain, Shaxi Old town
Accommodation: Shaxi
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
You will head for Xizhou Town to fully appreciate Bai-style traditional architectural courtyards . Afterward, transfer to Jianchuan County(2-2.5hrs) and visit Shibaoshan Mountain.Located 25 km southwest of Jianchuan County, the Shibao (Stone Treasure) Hills are also called the Shizhong (Stone Bell) Hills. Built during the Tang and Song Dynasties, it is considered an official historical site.
Then visit Shaxi Old Town. The remains of an ancient market town and once an active trade stop on the Southern Silk Road that connected Tibet and China with Southeast Asia and on to Europe. This Road is actually older than the more famous Silk Road (in the North), predating it by at least 300 years. Shaxi has been listed by the World Monuments Fund as one of the world’s 100 most endangered sites.
Day 5 Shaxi- Shangri-La
Sightseeing and Activities: Ganden Sumtseling Monastery, Dukezong Ancient Town, Guishan Park, Grand Prayer Wheel
Accommodation: Shaxi
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Today, you will continue your driving to Shangrila(4-5h). In the afternoon, take the tour of visiting the Ganden Sumtseling Monastery, the largest Tibetan monastery in Yunnan. Songzanlin Monastery has another alias – ‘the little Potala Palace ‘, so named because the whole monastery is in the traditional style with mysterious atmosphere. Visit Dukezong Tibetan Ancient Town in the late afternoon, climb up to the top of Guishan Hill or tortoise Hill, you will see the largest Prayer Wheel of the world and have a panoramic view of shangrila county and Dukezong Ancient Town.
Day 6 Shangri-La -Lijiang
Sightseeing and Activities: Tiger Leaping Gorge, First Bend on the Yangtze River, the Iron Chain Bridge, the Red Army’s Long March Memorial Monument
Accommodation: Lijiang
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
In the morning, drive to Lijiang. On the way visit the Tiger Leaping Gorge(Shangri-la section), the deepest gorge in the world. With 34 rapids of the Yangtze River, it is called the Jinsha in this area because you can find gold in the river and the First Bend on the Yangtze River with imposing gorge scenery, visit the Iron Chain Bridge, the Red Army’s Long March Memorial Monument in the Shigu town. The town of Stone Drum got its name from a large, cylindrical, marble tablet shaped like a drum. The scenery is magnificent as the road running through the Lijiang valley which is filled with wheat fields and drying haystacks. Check in hotel after arrival.
Day 7 Lijiang
Sightseeing and Activities: Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Black Dragon Pool, Dongbu Museum, Lijiang Old Town
Accommodation: Lijiang
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
In the morning, drive about 30KM to Ganhaizi Meadow(3100M), you will take the sightseeing bus for a short visiting through the Baishuihe River, take the chairlift up to visit Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
Afterward, move to visit Black Dragon Pool (Located at the foot of the Xiangshan Mountain (Elephant Hill) north of the city of Lijiang. As the water here is a lucid green color, it gained another name Jade Spring Park (Yuquan Park). There are many distinctive and ravishing sites in the park. Hiding in the lush trees or standing along the liquid pool is the antique and exquisite architectural pieces, which are in the style of Naxi.) and Dongba Museum nearby. Finally explore Lijiang Old Town. Lijiang Ancient Town has a history more than 800 years; it was listed as the World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO 1997. Here you will see the wonderful wooden architecture of Naxi ethnic people.
Day 8 Lijiang – Lugu Lake
Sightseeing and Activities: Liwubi Island and Heiwawu Island, Mosuo Culture Museum, Bonfire Party in the evening
Accommodation: Lugu Lake
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
In the morning, drive 4-5 hrs on the spectacle mountain road to visit the mysterious Lugu Lake. On the way, enjoy the beautiful view among the huge mountains and rivers. Late afternoon, you will take the canoes to visit Liwubi Island and Heiwawu Island in Lugu Lake. Pay a visit to Mosuo Culture Museum and learn the Mosuo ethnic custom in the museum. Enjoy the sunset wonder of Luguhu Lake in Luoshui Village. In the evening, take part in Mosuo Bonfire Party with ethnic dance and singing performance. You will dance and sing with Mosuo boys and girls around a big bonfire in the outdoors theatre.
Day 9 Lugu Lake
Sightseeing and Activities: Xiaoluoshui Village, Walking marriage bridge
Accommodation: Lugu Lake
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
In the morning, you will move to Xiaoluoshui Village and have a visit of the local family here. Then head to Caohai and have a stop at the Walking Marriage Bridge. The Walking Marriage Bridge, located in Lugu Lake, at the boundary of Southwest China’s Sichuan province and Yunnan province, is a signature architecture of Lugu Lake that represents the walking marriage culture of the region. It is a must-see attraction if you visit Lugu Lake.
Day 10 Lugu Lake Departure
Sightseeing and Activities: Lugu Lake Departure
Accommodation:
Meals: Breakfast
Free at leisure before be transferred to Lugu Lake airport for departure.
Recommended Hotels
| City | 5 Star | 4 Star | 3 Star | Hostel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kunming | Crown Plaza Kunming City Centre | Wenhui Hotel | Baiyun Hotel | T&T Story Hotel |
| Dali | Hilton Dali Resort And Spa | Landscape Hotel | Gnosis Hotel | Dali Fengxue Gucheng |
| Lijiang | Hilton Garden Inn | Wangfu Hotel | Louwailou Hotel | Baisha Holiday Resort |
| Lugu Lake | Silver Lake Island Hotel | Shilili | Nverguo Hotel | Anyi Guesthouse |
| Shangri-la | Hylandia by Shangrila | Zhaxidele Hotel | Shenqu Hotel | Wu Fu South Yunnan Boutique Inn |
Service Included:
1.Admission fees for all of the sightseeing spots listed in the itinerary;
2.Meals as listed in the itinerary;
3.Hotels as listed in the itinerary;
4.Private English-speaking tour guide and vehicle for transfers & sightseeing;
5.Service charge & government taxes;
6. Luggage transfers between airports and hotels;
7. Free-bottled mineral water;
8. Train Tickets from Kunming to Dali.
Service Excluded:
1.Any arrival and departure international airfares or train tickets;
2.Any meals which are not specified in the tour itinerary.
3.Chinese visa fees;
4.Excess baggage charged by Airlines;
5.Single room supplement;
6.Tips to guides and drivers;
7.Personal expenses and gratuities to service staff.
8.Personal travel accident insurance.
9.All optional programs.
