Yunnan is considered to have three remaining ancient towns. Shangri-La is the northern most and in my opinion is significantly the most beautiful of them. With an altitude of approximately 3500 meters. It is not uncommon to see yaks walking down the street and the town has no shortage of surrounding temples and scenic spots. If you ever get here, I strongly recommend the local food. Untypical of Chinese places they have an abundance of dairy products from fresh yoghurt to yaks butter tea. Most…

The white towers overlooking the Mei Lei snow mountain range to me are iconic of Yunnan’s beauty. Mei Li Snow Mountain comprises 13 permanently snow-capped mountain peaks, of which the highest is still to this day unclimbed Kawa Karpo Mountain at 6740m high. This beautiful place us tough to get to, the road to this mountain range is long and winding and approximately a full days travelling on winding mountain roads from Shangri-La. The high altitude of this place can give cause problems and when…

Tiger leaping Gorge The first amazing wonder you need to know about is Tiger leaping Gorge. This large, romantically named gorge is where the Yangtze River is violently and narrowly channelled through a 3000m steep gorge acting as a border between two Yunnan mountain ranges; the ‘Haba’ snow mountain range to the north and the Yu Long snow mountain range to the south. The mountains are extremely steep and dominating with a predominantly grey gritty rock formation. The bare stone contrasts against the clear blue…