5 Days of Shangri-la - Deqen - Weixi - Tacheng - Shangri-la

Napa Lake in Deqen, Yunnan Hiking

On the first day, take a bus from Shangri-la Bus Station (Add: in the middle part of Changzheng Road) to Deqen. Shangri-la is 184km away from Deqen and the journey takes about 7 hours. There is a bus to Deqen everyday at 07:20, 08:20, 09:20 and 12:00. The scenery along the way is very beautiful. En route, pay a visit to Napa Lake. If you are lucky, you could also see some black-necked cranes there. Then go on to view the Clay of Nixi, and Grand Valley of Golden Sand River. You can have lunch in Benzilan Village on the way. In the afternoon, continue the journey to Deqen. En route, visit Shusong Nun's Abbey, viewing Baimang Snow Mountain in a distance at the mountain pass of 4296 meters, and enjoy the magnificent view of the sun-set of Meili Snow Mountain with 13 snow peaks among which the Kagebo Peak is the highest one with an elevation of 6740 meters. Stay overnight at the local hostel in Deqen.

Dance performances by ethnic minorities in Tacheng

Deqen is 37km away from the Mingyong Village and on the second day you can hire a car to drive for 1.5 hours to reach there. On the way, you can stop to visit the Feilai Temple. At the Feilai Temple, you can overlook the peaks of the Meili Snow Mountain. The Mingyong Village is 9km from the glacier. You can choose to visit the glacier on foot or on horse. There are two ways to climb the mountain. The one on the left is for the people climbing the mountain on foot, the other one on the right is for the people riding a horse to the mountain. Both of the two ways are the smooth trails paved by cinder. After hiking for about 1.5 hours, you will arrive at the first place to view the glacier and the Meili Snow Mountain, the Taizi Temple. This is a small temple full of Tibetans who come here to worship the holy mountain. Along the left trail from the temple, you can reach the viewing platform, while along the right trail, you can reach the Lotus Temple. Walking for a short distance from the Taizi Temple, you can find a path which is made of iron with wooden boards. In the middle of the path, there is a wide platform from which you can view the Kawagebo Peak on the platform. Following the right trail to the Lotus Temple will take about 1 hour. It is a little larger than the Taizi Temple, but the visitors there are relatively few. Especially when it is sunny, the Lotus Temple is the best place to view the Kawagebo Peak. You can stay overnight in the camp on the mountain. In the evening, you can hear the sound of the ice cracking and avalanches. On the next day morning, if the weather is fine, you can see the sunrise on the mountain.

Samage National Dian Golden Monkey Reserve

On the third day, hike down the mountain and return to Mingyong Village. There you can hire a car to drive for about 5 hours to Weixi County along the Lancang River. On the way, visit the local market of the Lisu Minority, the Shouguo Temple and the Catholic Church in Cizhong. View the Biluo Snow Mountain, the Valley of the Lancang River, the Meili Grand Valley, and the 13 peaks of the Meili Snow Mountain. Stay overnight at the local hostel in Weixi.

On the fourth day, take a bus for about 86km from Weixi to Tacheng town. En route, view the Gedeng Neolithic Site; visit the Malimasa Ethnic Group which is named by the local people and means interjects of culture and custom of Tibetan, Naxi and Lisu ethnic group.

On the fifth day, trek to visit the Samage National Dian Golden Monkey Reserve to view the groups of Dian Gold Monkey, the virgin forests and the Hongdou Spruce. Take a bus for about 125km back to Shangri-la.