Tiger Leaping Gorge | Hike Itinerary and Travel Guide
ARE YOU READY TO HIKE?
Skip to logistics and links | Map of the trail | Short Visit | 2 Day Itinerary | 3 Day Itinerary
The Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of the deepest in the world and it has three main parts, Upper Gorge, Middle Gorge and Lower Gorge. It’s as it sounds, the sections describe the part of the gorge you are in. Depending on the hiking route you take, you will be able to trek a portion of all three segments- a little taste of each. Most hikers will walk along the ‘high road’, this is the path that keeps you up on the higher parts of the mountains. The highest the trails will reach is an altitude of 2,670 meters (8,760 feet). You definitely get up there and this climb will be felt most on the first day of hiking.
For the best views, a challenging hike and to keep off the busy main roads, you’ll want to trek the high road. This takes you up and is known as the official TLG trek, this is what I did and how this guide will lead you.
If you’re interested in learning more about this incredible gorge and its history, then click the button below to read about it!
Let’s get it started
Before you begin the trek, you will need to pay an entrance fee from the park office. The park office is a larger building just up the road from the trailhead. Currently, you need to have a recent covid test taken within the last 72 hours and with this, show a green health code. Hopefully, by the time you’re traveling here this will no longer be needed. I would research whether or not this is still a requirement before you go. The entrance fee is CNY ¥45 ($7 USD).
The south end TLG trail begins in Hutiaoxia Town or Qiaotou. This is where you will go if you are traveling from Lijiang to TLG and then continuing onto Shangri-La- this is the exact route I did. Pins for the south end trailhead location are linked below, as it is not well marked and can be easily missed. Save these locations onto your map, I wish I had the pins marked on mine.
Apple maps trail head location | Google maps trail head location
Look for a small dirt path that veers up on the left side of the road, there will be a small stone marked ‘Tiger Leaping Gorge’. This is the trailhead and where you’ll begin. The first half hour or so of walking will be along a larger road and at the time, it was full of construction. If this is what you’re seeing, don’t worry you’re going the right way.
Following the cement stairs, this is the start of the dirt path.
Follow this paved path on the upper gorge trail to start, part of it will veer off and descend slightly towards the river. Do not follow this segment, you want to keep high above on the trail. At the end of this road, you will see a short section of cement stairs on your left and leading up to a dirt path on a hill. Follow these stairs up and from here, the path will be straightforward. You’ve now begun your trek! Wahoo!
Short Visit | 2-3 hours or half-day
If you do fancy a hike but aren’t ready to commit to a long trek, you could drive in and hike a small segment of the trail. You could also begin the trek the same as the others and simply turn around and head back when you’ve had enough. Though if I’m honest, the best parts of this trail are deeper into the hike and are not accessible with a car or found on the first day of the hike.
If hiking isn't your thing, you can drive into TLG and spend some time at the visitor’s center . Here you will be next to the rapids and able to view the legendary location of where the Tiger leapt across the river. You can read about the legend to the name here. At the visitor’s center, there is an observation deck for viewing the Jinsha river and the middle portion of the gorge. Entrance fees for a short visit are CNY ¥35 ($5 USD).
2 Day Itinerary
DAY 1
6-7 hour hike
After arriving at the trailhead from Lijiang, we began the trek around 10/10:30am and at the end of the day, we arrived at Tea Horse Guesthouse around 5/5:15pm.
This is the longest day of trekking and in the first few hours you will have some steep inclines and many switchbacks- so prepare to go up.
Along the trail, we stopped at a few huts where locals were selling some drinks and snacks. There aren’t many but you can expect to stumble upon a few of these throughout the TLG and especially on the first day.
An infamous section of the TLG is the ‘dreaded 28 bends’. This is a part of the trail where you will twist and turn 28 times and on a fairly steep incline. If I’m being honest, it was steep, yes - but I didn’t find it all that dreadful.
Day 1 trekking will also take you through Changsheng Village.
You can end Day 1 at whatever guesthouse you end up booking, most hikers stay at either Tea Horse or Halfway Guesthouse.
DAY 2
1-3 hour hike, headed to Tina’s Guesthouse
This segment of the trek is truly stunning. While Day 1 was a bit more of an uphill battle, the second day rewards you with a bit more of a relaxed hike, far fewer inclines and jaw-dropping views.
At one point, you will cross a small waterfall that cascades down the rock face and onto the trail- I really enjoyed this part.
Much of the trail on this day is carved into the side of the rock with wide open views of the gorge. Day 2 had my favorite views of the hike and gave a true sense of being ‘in the gorge’.
After a few hours, you will arrive at Tina’s Guesthouse. You have two options, you can either…
A. End the trek here
That means grab some lunch, maybe a beer and any bags you have stored at the guesthouse. If you’re finished, you can wait for the bus that leaves for your next destination (Lijiang or Shangri-La). The bus usually leaves between 2 - 3:30 pm, so plan accordingly and make sure you’re leaving on time in the morning.
OR
B. Hike down to the lower gorge
From Tina’s you can hike to the lower gorge and view the river’s edge. This is the closest you will get to the rushing waters of the Jinsha River and personally, I think you MUST include a stop at the lower gorge.
This should take about 1.5 hours each way.
You may be asked to pay a small fee to enter a few sections of the trail, the locals there say it is for the community and it’s so little that I didn’t mind paying.
Here you can sit upon massive boulders jutting out of the water and walk across a bridge that should absolutely not be allowed to walk upon (which I loved of course…sorry mom)
This is also where you can climb the notorious Sky Ladder, my only advice is to not look down. If you don’t want to take the ladder then no worries, you can ascend and descend the same distance through a series of switchbacks on the trail- but really, if you like a little adrenaline, do the ladder. I think a local woman charged us CNY ¥30 to go up.
Trekking down to the gorge and back up again will take some time. So again, plan accordingly if you intend to get the bus the same day.
As another option, you can also stay a night at Tina’s to account for the time needed to trek down to the lower gorge. You could trek to the lower gorge the next day or after you’ve had some rest. This is if you’d rather not rush and squeeze in trekking to the lower gorge.
3 Day Itinerary
My personal and biased recommendation would be to trek for 3 days, this is my exact itinerary and in hindsight, I’m so glad we had an extra day on the trail.
Compared to the other itinerary, day 1 and day 2 are pretty much the same.
DAY 1
6-7 hour hike
After arriving at the trailhead from Lijiang, we began the trek around 10/10:30am and at the end of the day, we arrived at Tea Horse Guesthouse around 5/5:15pm.
This is the longest day of trekking and in the first few hours you will have some steep inclines and many switchbacks- so prepare to go up.
Along the trail, we stopped at a few huts where locals were selling some drinks and snacks. There aren’t many but you can expect to stumble upon a few of these throughout the TLG and especially in the first day.
An infamous section of the TLG is the ‘dreaded 28 bends’. This is a part of the trail where you will twist and turn 28 times and in a fairly steep incline. If I’m being honest, it was steep, yes - but I didn’t find it all that dreadful.
Day 1 trekking will also take you through Changsheng Village.
You can end Day 1 at whatever guesthouse you end up booking, most hikers stay at either Tea Horse or Halfway Guesthouse.
DAY 2
1-3 hour hike, headed to Tina’s Guesthouse
This segment of the trek is truly stunning. While Day 1 was a bit more of an uphill battle, the second day rewards you with a bit more of a relaxed hike, far fewer inclines and jaw-dropping views.
At one point, you will cross a small waterfall that cascades down the rock face and onto the trail- I really enjoyed this part.
Much of the trail on this day is carved into the side of the rock with wide open views of the gorge. Day 2 had my favorite views of the hike and gave a true sense of being ‘in the gorge’.
After a few hours, you will arrive at Tina’s Guesthouse. At Tina’s we stopped for a beer with a new friend from the trail and had a little snack. We checked on our bags to ensure they were there (they were!) and then we continued on.
From Tina’s we hiked for 30-45 minutes along the main paved road.
We arrived at our home for the night, Tibet Guesthouse. I cannot say enough lovely things about this little place - the rooms were clean, the showers were hot and the view was spectacular. And best of all, was the sweet local family that lived there.
DAY 3
3 hour hike
Due to the holiday, Chinese New Year, the buses to Shangri-La were not running on this day. Instead, we organized a private car to Shangri-La through Tibet Guesthouse. The family at this guesthouse was such a big help. I highly recommend staying here.
We arranged for our transport to leave at 3 pm just down the road from Tina’s Guesthouse and where our morning hike would end, on the main ‘highway’.
We then hiked from Tibet Guesthouse to the lower gorge. I highly recommend this as an option if you have the time. The owner of our guesthouse directed us on how to start the hike and they can do the same for you. Trekking from here meant a really enjoyable hike, one that wasn’t rushed or a straight up and down. Hiking from Tibet allowed us to walk along the lower gorge and experience more of the grand views.
You’ll end up at the same spot as other hikers on the lower gorge, just below Tina’s Guesthouse - we walked upon the very questionable bridge, sat upon massive boulders and then climbed back up to the main road via the sky ladder.
Once we reached the main road again, our driver was there - we hopped in and then made our way to Shangri-La.
Tibet Guesthouse balcony view
Logistics and links
Map of the TLG trek and noteworthy locations
How to get there
The cheapest and recommended mode of transport would be to take a bus. If buses are unavailable or do not suit your needs, you can arrange a private car through your accommodation. Be sure to specify to any driver that you are trekking the TLG and not going to the visitor’s center, make sure they are aware that you need to go to the trailhead.
Bus from Lijiang | 86 kilometers (53 miles) / ~ 1.5 - 2 hours
Bus from Shangri-La | 106 kilometers (66 miles) / ~ 2 hours
You can buy a bus ticket at the local bus station in Lijiang or from the local bus station in Shangri-La.
You will begin this trek in Hutiaoxia Town or Qiaotou and at the south-end trailhead.
* If you have bigger bags that you don’t want to trek with, you can arrange to have them picked up at the trailhead and stored at Tina’s Guesthouse. This way they are waiting for you when you finish and move onto your next destination. Again, the bus from Tina’s usually leaves every day around 2:30/ 3pm so make sure you're there by then.
In order to arrange a pickup for your bags at the trailhead, you will need contact Tina’s via Wechat and with this number: 18760887888.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE
I trekked the TLG during Chinese New Year which massively affected the availability of transport and accommodation. Transport from Tina’s Guesthouse can sometimes be late, cancelled or only available for one of the two cities. Keep this in mind and be prepared to stay flexible and change up your plans if need be.
If you have the time and the desire, turn this trek into a 3 day adventure. Having 3 days allows you take your time, enjoy the scenery at your own pace and see every bit of the trail that you want to.
Map of the trail
We used All Trails to help us navigate along the TLG and ensure we were on the right track. Use this map to find all the important stops and to see more detail about the trek. You can also save the link for the interactive trail map here and you can download the app onto your phone.
Where to stay
For accommodation, you should book on either Booking.com or Trip.com. You can also trek without reservations and book a room upon arriving at the guesthouses. Names for booking at the most popular guesthouses are provided below.
Halfway Guesthouse
Tina’s Guesthouse aka Tina’s Youth Hostel
Tiger Leaping Gorge Tea Horse Guesthouse
Tibet Guesthouse
When to go
My partner and I traveled here during the Chinese New Year (CNY) which took place during the last week of January and the beginning of February. Due to the holiday, some things were more difficult to arrange and book, but the trail and guesthouses were definitely quieter and we even got to have a bit of snow on the trail. It was cold but it was by no means unbearable.
November - March
Weather will be partly sunny and cool which is great for hiking. It can be very cold and the trail will be quieter, as it isn’t the busy season.
April - May
Weather will be sunny, hot and humid; this is blooming season so you can expect to see flowers and foliage in full bloom along the trail.
June - August
Weather will be hot, humid and rainy. This is the rainy season and due to the rain, sometimes the trail will close if it is unsafe for hikers.
September - October
Weather will be sunny, dry and warm. This is regarded as the best time to visit the TLG, but because of this, you can expect it to be busier on the trail and in the guesthouses.
Why you should do it
The TLG has secured a spot in my top 10 favorite hikes of all time and as a person who struggles to ever pick favorites, this says a lot. If you’re in China and you fancy an adventure you’ll never forget then get your booty over to Yunnan province. If you’re interested in learning more about this region of China and just how incredibly grand the TLG is, then click below to learn a bit more.
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