Day 1 → Arrive in Lijiang, Yunnan
Pick up at Lijiang airport
Transfer to Hotel
Arrive at Hotel and check in. Settle into hotel and rest
Day 2 → Drive to Shaxi Village
8:30am - Eat breakfast at hotel in Lijiang
9:00am - Depart hotel, Drive 97km (1 hour and 40 min.) to Shaxi Old town
11:30am - Check into your historic homestay in Shaxi, eat a local lunch with the Bai people.
1:00pm - Explore Shaxi old town and market, take a relaxing bike ride through the countryside and the cobblestone streets OR explore the many shops and the old stone arch bridge
3:00pm - Bai cultural activities around a restored temple
5:30pm - Travel to the the Old Theatre Inn for a night of local dishes and historic performances
8:30pm - Return to homestay for a great nights sleep
Day 3 → Return to Lijiang, explore Baisha and/or Shuhe Old Town
8:00am - Eat breakfast in homestay
9:00am - Enjoy the morning to sip coffee in the courtyard of your hostel and find new treasures among the winding alleys of old Shaxi
11:30am - Lunch in Shaxi
12:30pm - In the afternoon, drive back to Lijiang
2:30pm - Explore Shuhe and/or Baisha Old Town and learn about Naxi writing and calligraphy
5:00pm - Experience a local Naxi Shaman dance
6:30 pm - Dinner in Lijiang
8:00pm - Sleep at a hotel in Lijiang
Day 4 → Drive to Shangri-La via Tiger Leaping Gorge
8:30am - Eat breakfast in hotel
9:00am - Drive 90km (2 hours) to Tiger Leaping Gorge, along the way you will see the first bend of the Yangtze River.
11:30am - View the Gorge from the road, no hiking is needed
12:30pm -Eat lunch near Tiger Leaping Gorge
1:30pm -Drive 103km (2 hours) from Tiger Leaping Gorge to Shangri-La
3:30 pm - Arrive at hotel, clean up at hotel.
6:00pm - Tibetan style dinner at a local restaurant
8:00pm - Return to hotel to sleep
Day 5 → Explore Shangri-La, Ganden Songzanlin Monastery
8:00am - Breakfast at hotel
9:00am- Take the short drive out of town to visit Ganden Songzalin Monastery, the largest Tibetan monastery in Yunnan Province, aka “The Little Potala Palace"
12:30pm- Lunch in Shangri-La
1:00pm -Walk around Dukezong Ancient Town, an important town own the ancient Tea Horse Trade Caravan.
3:30pm -Walk to the top of Guishan Hill to see the largest prayer wheel in the world and to get a great panoramic view of Shangri-La below
7:30pm - Sleep in hotel in Shangri-La
Day 6 → Pristine Lakes and Pudacuo National Park and forest
8:30am - Eat breakfast at hotel
9:00am - Spend the day at Bita Lake and Shudu Lake in Pudacuo National Park. This area contains over 20% of China's plant species and 30% of its mammal and bird species.
5:30pm - In the afternoon, return to hotel in Shangri-La
6:30pm - Final dinner in Shangri-La
8:30pm - Sleep in hotel in Shangri-La
Day 7 → Depart Shangri-La, drive to Lijiang
8:00am - Eat breakfast in hotel
9:00am - Spend the morning enjoying old town Shangri-La and walking through the old cobblestone streets and seeing the local markets
12:30pm - Lunch in Shangri-La
1:30pm - Depart hotel to drive 203km, (4 hours) to Lijiang
5:30pm - Settle into hotel
6:30pm - Final dinner in Lijiang
7:30pm- Sleep in hotel in Lijiang
Day 8 → Fly out of Lijiang
8:00am - Eat breakfast in hotel
9:00am -Depart hotel to drive to Lijiang airport
Arrive at Lijiang LJG airport, check in
Depart Lijiang airport