Tiger Leaping Gorge 2-Day Hike: Was It Difficult?

No tourist buses, no crowds, all nature. After enjoying 20+km of mountain views in Tiger Leaping Gorge, I am convinced that this trail is underrated. It is definitely worth the uncertainty that comes with traveling off the beaten track in China.

Yunnan province in Western China is a hiking paradise, and Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of its most popular attractions. It is a scenic canyon along Jinsha River, named after the legend of a tiger that leaped across the raging river to escape from a hunter. While the gorge itself sees hordes of day-trippers, the high trail is a completely different experience.

We set off from Lijiang and travelled 90km north in a bus with fellow backpackers to Tiger Leaping Gorge. It was an adventure-filled 2 days hiking through mountain passes in the unpredictable monsoon. Every bend shows you new views of the gorge, as you immerse yourself in the culture and environment of the indigenous Naxi tribe of Yunnan.

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Hike the trail, skip the tours!

The Tiger Leaping Gorge is between Lijiang and Shangri-La, so it is a convenient addition to your Yunnan trip. It’s a good idea to start with Lijiang (2,400m) before Shangri-La (3,160m) to follow a natural ascension in altitude.

People often go on day tours to Tiger Leaping Gorge, either booking through their hostel or tour agent in the old towns. If you want to avoid the crowd, I would recommend a hiking trip instead.

More hikes in China:

• Yubeng Village: Hiking Through Tibetan Paradise
• Hiking The Pilgrimage Trek: Yading Nature Reserve

The difference is that you get to hike high above the river and wind through mountain passes, rather than staying within man-made boardwalks. You will also meet indigenous Naxi locals and stay in guesthouses with amazing mountain views.

Sandwiched between Haba Mountain and Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, you get to meet people who share the same love for mountains and adventure. In the morning, the valley is covered in mist and you can hear the river roaring below. I would never have imagined getting such an amazing experience for the price we paid.

When you get to Lijiang, look for the guesthouses or backpacker hostels that arrange trips to the trailhead. I’ll share more tips on getting to Tiger Leaping Gorge below.

There are 3 sections to the Tiger Leaping Gorge – upper, middle and lower. After the minibus drops you off at Qiaotou, the Upper Trail takes you through Upper Gorge to Middle Gorge.

We brought only what we needed for our overnight stay, and the driver took the rest of our baggage to our endpoint at Tina’s Guesthouse. Most people rest overnight at the Halfway House before taking scheduled buses to Shangri-La from Tina’s Guesthouse.

The whole journey on day 1 takes 8 hours, bringing you high above ground level as you tackle several switchbacks. Hiking with an overnight pack along uphill sections can be challenging for first-timers, so do allocate more time for resting. In case you get tired, there are some enterprising locals who charge a fee for you to ride their mules.

I recommend using maps.me for offline hiking navigation, as there are locations or landmarks marked by fellow hikers that you will not find on Google Maps. Remember to download the offline map for Yunnan before setting off.

Day 2 would be a relatively shorter hike, just 3-4 hours downhill from the Halfway House to Tina’s guesthouse. From there, you can consider going all the way down to the side of the river or enjoy lunch while waiting for the bus to pick you up. The bus and luggage storage services at Tina’s Guesthouse made things so convenient.

Getting to Tiger Leaping Gorge

Firstly, you need to get transportation from Lijiang to Qiaotou, which is where the Upper Trail begins. Although you can hire a driver to take you there, it is much more expensive (500 RMB/car) than carpooling or taking the scheduled bus. You can get scheduled bus tickets at the bus station, but you’ll need to tell the driver to drop you off at the trail head. This feels like the riskiest option.

We realised that the easiest way was to reserve carpool seats through Mama Naxi Guesthouse in Lijiang Old Town. It only costs 50 RMB per person for a 2.5 hour ride to Qiaotou. Since we stayed 5 minutes away, we walked to the guesthouse the day before to book a spot on their next carpool.

There was no receipt issued and the guesthouse staff told us to to meet here in the morning. We took down her WeChat contact, and just hoped that she will remember us the next day. Thankfully everything went smoothly and we were guided to the main road to board the minibus.

Just before we arrived at the the trail head, the driver reminded us to purchase our day 2 bus tickets to Shangri-La for 55 RMB each. If you intend to leave your main bag at Tina’s Guesthouse, you will have to prepare a separate overnight pack with just the essentials.

This was another leap of faith and we had to trust the driver to take our things to Tina’s Guesthouse. Overall, everyone was trustworthy and carried out their services reliably.

Day 1: Hiking to Halfway House

Firstly, you will need to purchase entrance tickets near the point you alight from the minibus. The journey is not exciting at the start, as it is 30 minutes of walking along the road before getting to the trailhead that takes you uphill.

There are locals who might ask you where you are going and offer to drop you off for a small fee. However, the view along this road is actually quite nice, so I don’t think you need to rush through it. As we walked with others from the minibus, we made friends with a fellow hiker who was also heading to Halfway House.

As you walk along the road, look out for blue signs that point you to “upper trekking route”. If you miss any signs, you can always ask the locals for directions. You will meet some of them as they bring their animals out to feed, or run stores to sell visitors drinks and snacks.

This part of the trail is intuitive as it leads you uphill, away from the dusty road and higher into the mountain. The directions are quite straightforward because there are many signs along the way to direct you to the Upper Trail. Some guesthouses also put up maps to lead people to them, so I recommend choosing a guesthouse beforehand to avoid confusion.

Climbing up, up and up

It’s tough hiking with packed clothes, on top of water and snacks. The upward climb never seemed to end, but we powered through the breathlessness. We are amazed at how much more of the mountains we can see every time we look back on our progress.

When the path finally flattened out, we were greeted by a panoramic view of the river bend. There were locals up there waiting for visitors like us, and they tried to sell us drinks and mule rides. It was a pretty nice rest stop to have a drink and enjoy the view. You can also head further to Naxi Guesthouse for a break which is just after this rest point. If you have enough time, it would be nice to have lunch there too.

Meeting the Naxi locals

Suddenly, the most unfortunate thing happened. My friend started to slow her pace and dragged her left foot. This is every hiker’s nightmare – a detached shoe sole!

We had already trudged uphill for more than an hour, it would be such a waste to turn back now. It was a really tricky situation and we hoped for the shoe to hold up for as long as possible while we thought of a solution.

We had now become very attractive customers for locals who wanted to sell us their mule rides. Our new hiker friend insisted on continuing uphill in hopes of meeting a local who can help us with some tools. Thankfully, it did not take long to reach this stall and the owner was so kind to re-attach the sole using a nail, thread, and thin wires.

The infamous 28 Bends

Finally, we arrived at Naxi Guesthouse after 2.5 hours, and we rested on the scenic viewing platform. It is a nice place to stop by for lunch or coffee. There was also a huge map drawn on the wall, which was very useful for us to figure out where we were along the journey.

As we continued the hike, my friend’s other shoe started to break and we used the remaining wires to fasten it. We went uphill a little more before we reached the start of the 28 Bends. This is named after the 28 switchbacks that get you to the highest point of the hike. It started to rain and walking on the slippery rocks became challenging. Remember, safety first!

We were eventually rewarded with a majestic view of the mountain range opposite. This was after climbing up 800m to reach 2650m altitude! These photos are not doing the view much justice, and I hope you get to see it in person! The experience of looking out into the valley is amazing. Fortunately, the remaining hike is a descend down to the villages where we can check in to our guesthouse.

We then stopped by the Tea Horse Guesthouse, and met other hikers who chose to spend the night there. If you have energy to spare, I highly recommend the Halfway House (check availability here). We wanted to stay there too because reviews say that it has the most scenic viewing platform in the area. Even the dorm toilet has a great view, and they’re worth checking out just for fun.

Overnight in Halfway House

We continued to follow the painted “Halfway” signs on the rocks as the rain continued. Eventually we turned into Bendiwan Village to check in at Halfway House.

We chose to stay here because it is one of the most popular hostels along this hike. Apparently Halfway House has been the OG guesthouse in Tiger Leaping Gorge since 1992.

There was a welcoming and lively backpacker feeling, and you can choose between private rooms or shared dorms. Prices are affordable so we went with a mountain view twin room (300 RMB) that had a balcony and our own bathroom.

If you come during an off-peak period just like us, you may not need to pre-book the room. You can use apps like Meituan or Baidu Maps to check out your options. To play it safe, you can check availability and prices via Trip.com.

The rooms were clean and we had hot water showers which is always appreciated. It felt heavenly as we put our tired feet up and gazed out at the mountains from the viewing platform.

We also had dinner with our hiking friend, who helped to recommend some Chinese dishes. I was craving for Shin Ramen, and it really warmed my soul as I drank the spicy soup. Time flew by quickly as we chatted over dinner, and I couldn’t believe that this friend was a stranger to us just 12 hours ago!

We also had one of the best stargazing nights here, out of all the other places we had visited in China. The Milky Way was unobstructed by the mountains, giving us the perfect chance to take a photo.

💡 Planning this hike?
Most hikers book accommodation and transport before arriving in Lijiang.
👉 See top-rated places to stay along Tiger Leaping Gorge

We walked through several puddles and past some small waterfalls that flowed with cold mountain water. Some brief sections felt a little dangerous because it was rocky and narrow, but just go through them slowly and it will be alright.

Just follow the most obvious trail and look out for signs leading to Tina’s Guesthouse, our final destination. It is not a long or difficult downhill hike, but people with knee injuries should take extra care. If you have more energy, it would be cool to descend the canyon to the river that carved out this gorge-ous landscape.

My friend was finally able to get rid of her barely-functional shoes. We had lunch at Tina’s guesthouse, collected our dropped off baggage, then took the bus to Shangri-La. Everything went quite smoothly, no scams or hiccups.

I felt a little sad to end this hike, but I had so many photos to remind me of the beautiful vistas we came across. The Tiger Leaping Gorge hike was worth the uncertainty regarding transportation and accommodation.

In fact, many of the lesser known experiences in China are hard to anticipate until you get there. If you embrace your sense of adventure, you will get to meet like-minded people along the way.

If you are going in the summer, make sure to waterproof most of the contents in your bag with ziplock or plastic bags. Here’s a quick note to avoid hand carrying anything, and to pack as compactly as possible.

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TLDR; Was the Tiger Leaping Gorge hike difficult?

Yes, this hike hits you hard on Day 1 because you of the 800m ascend on the first day. The terrain can be tricky sometimes, and you would need to go slower at some parts. However, the views around Tiger Leaping Gorge are truly rewarding along the trail and from the various guesthouses.

It gets much easier on Day 2 as it is just a downhill journey to Tina’s Guesthouse. Rainy weather could make it slippery and a little dangerous, so do remember to wear hiking shoes with a good grip. Dry seasons are more beginner-friendly, though it might be colder.

Overall, it is truly a unique experience to consider when you visit Yunnan. Even though you could drive in, the challenge of the hike makes the view much more worth it and memorable. It had a bit of the backpacking in China type of feel, I highly recommend it. You can also check out some tips for how to take great hiking photos of yourself here.

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