Day 1: Arrival in Lijiang and Dayan Old Town Tour
According to the Flight number arrange the airport pickup. Enjoy a self guided tour of Lijiang Old Town and Market. You can take the map we prepared to go to Lijiang Old Town for your Self-Exploration, using the Bivou’s unique hand-drawn map of Lijiang’s Dayan Old Town, you will find yourself unravelling the beauty and mystery of this 800-year-old town at your own pace, slowly piecing together its rich history and culture through its maze of cobbled streets, winding canals, stone bridges, willow trees, and mud and stone domestic dwellings. Watch skilful silver and leather craftsmen, wood carvers, and traditional sweet makers at work, still carrying on century-old trades. Alternatively, enjoy a half-day guided tour, inclusive of Zhongyi Market and Black Dragon Pool Park. About 5 or 6pm head back to our hotel. Recommendation: Enjoy dinner at the Bivou or at a Wild Mushroom Hotpot Restaurant. Overnight at The Bivou.
Day 2: 1-day Guided Trip to the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
We will leave the hotel at 8:30am, driving for around 40-45 minutes to reach Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Scenic Park. Once we arrive, depending on the ticket timings, we will take an internal shuttle bus to reach the cable car station, where we can take a 2km long cable car for about 30mins to reach the first attraction, Glacier Park, at 4506 metres. JDSM itself stands at 5596 metres and consists of 13 peaks. It has the southernmost glacier in the northern Hemisphere. Once you get up, there are stairs for you to climb to reach a higher peak at an altitude of 4,680 meters (15,354 feet). This short climb is difficult, but you will be rewarded by the beautiful panoramic view. After about an hour or so of enjoying the view, we will descend to watch famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou’s outdoor performance Impression Lijiang (around 1 hour), with a cast of over 500 amateur actors. We will end the visit with a trip to see the turquoise crystal clear waters of Blue Moon Valley before leaving the park. From there, it is another 30 minutes drive to get to Baisha Village where we will have a late lunch and if you like, visit the fascinating Baisha Naxi Embroidery School. At around 4pm, we will drive back to the hotel where the trip will end. Includes: return private transport, English/Chinese-speaking guide, Impressions Lijiang show, Blue Moon Valley and Cable car trip to Glacier Park at 4506metres; Excludes rental of winter coats and purchase of oxygen. Overnight at The Bivou.
Day 3:1-day Wenhai Lake, Snowflake Yi Village & Fuguo Temple Guided Hike
Leave at 9am, drive 40 minutes to Fuguo Monastery. Enjoy a visit of 40 – 50 minutes at this traditional Tibetan monastery tucked in the valley of Baisha. After, continue driving for another 40 minutes to Snowflake village (Xuehua village); take a walk in this Yi minority community, visit Yi families and enjoy the colourful costumes. A further drive of 30 minutes will bring us to a Naxi family for a local lunch. From here we can walk in the Wenhai meadow – a beautiful wetland area of Wenhai and walk by the Lake. Here we can find livestock such as yak, horse, the regional black pig, goats and sheep. Now we start our journey and hiking about 2 hours to minutes to Yulong village, on the way, we can enjoy a panoramic view of the Lijiang Basin and get to know many kinds of alpine vegetation. About 5pm we will drive to hotel where the trip will end. Overnight at The Bivou.
Day 4: 1-day Lashi Lake Ancient Tea Horse Trail, Tibetan Temple & Farmhouse Visit
We can leave the hotel at between 9 to 9:30am. Lashi Lake National Wetlands Park offers a great day out for groups of friends, couples or families. We begin with a visit to one of the five most important Tibetan monasteries in Lijiang, Zhiyun Temple. Next, we will have an experience of the historic Tea Horse Road on horseback, riding through pine forests and along ancient paths. We will also see a slice of Naxi village life, such as farmers at work, huge buffaloes up close, little children playing and carpenters restoring old Naxi homes. At the top of the hill, enjoy the gorgeous view of Lashi Lake, where between the months of November and March, thousands of migratory birds arrive from Siberia to overwinter. Thereafter, enjoy a Naxi lunch at a traditional Naxi farmhouse. Return to the hotel around 3-4pm. Overnight at The Bivou.
Day 5: Lijiang- Tiger Leaping Gorge Hiking Tour
Leaving at 8.30am, we will drive 1.5 hours to Tiger Leaping Gorge. We will stop to view the famous Upper Gorge, descending via wooden steps into the gorge, enjoying the spectacular scenery and the surging waters. An easier option is to take the elevator up and down (an additional fee of 70 RMB is required). Next we will carry on driving another 30 minutes to Bendiwan village (located along the High trail), where we will have a short rest at Halfway Guesthouse to enjoy a stunning view of the whole range of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain before we start hiking along the high trail, enjoying the beautiful waterfall and gorge scenery. After 2 hours we will arrive at the Middle gorge, where we will enjoy lunch in a local family restaurant before continuing our hike for another 3 hours, going down to the spectacular Middle Gorge to view the choppy waves and spectacular Yangtze River, before carrying on our journey to Shangri-La. At about 6pm, we will arrive at Shangri_La. Tonight, if you like, you can enjoy a walk in the quiet old town and climb a hill to see the world’s largest Tibetan prayer wheel. Stay overnight in Shangri-La.
Day 6: Hotel—Napa Lake & Tibetan family—Songzanlin Monastery
The next day, you will leave your hotel at 8am after breakfast and visit Napa Lake, where we will have a chance to go into a real traditional Tibetan house to visit some local Tibetan people. Enjoy viewing upfront their local traditional customs. Afterwards, we will visit Napa Wetland and Yila Grassland. Here we can find livestock such as yaks, horses, the regional black pigs, goats and sheep, and also migratory birds between the months of December and April. Then we will drive 20 minutes to visit Songzanlin Monastery which is the biggest monastery in Yunnan, where you can slowly learn and experience first hand Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan culture. In the afternoon, we can visit Pudacuo National Park, China’s first National Park. We will spend some time walking along the wooden walkways to enjoy the charming highland lake, surrounded by lush alpine vegetation. At about 4pm, we will drive back to Lijiang before ending our tour. Overnight at The Bivou.
Day 7：Depart Lijiang
Includes:
1. 4 nights’ accommodation in a Farm/Garden Yard Twin/Double Room at the Bivou, including daily breakfast for 2.
2. All above tours including the tickets, transportation, English speaking guide, breakfasts and accommodation at Shangri-La.
4. 2-way Lijiang Sanyi Airport Transfer