Tiger Leaping Gorge

2 hours north of Lijiang, northwest Yunnan, China

One of the deepest in the world, it's 3,900 meters between the waters of the Jinsha (Yangze) River and the surrounding peaks, and is about 16 km long.
a quick weekend/overnight trip from Lijiang.

map on the wall of a travel agent that helped me figure out how to get there.
This had the Chinese, so I was bound reach it...

first view of the Yangze (Jinsha) River

unfortunately the bus did not stop in my destination town.
after figuring this out, and getting it to successfully stop and let me out,
it was a short walk back to the 'Tiger-leapinggorge town' of Qiaotou.

the river flowing south from Shangri-La

...where it meets the mighty Yangze

one can opt for a horseride up if it's too much

warding off evil spirits? (or lost backpackers?)

5 more hours to 'Half-way'?! It's gonna be a long day....

young trail-side vendors. had some yummy asian pears and fresh walnuts

group of 22 South Korean hiking club

harvesting walnuts

planting

its a long way down

spectacular wildflowers

about 6 hours later, finally made it to the 'Half Way' guest house

schuking corn

view from the bathroom!

leaving 'Half way' village

the trail cut through the rock, and a waterfall

our destination now visible

through the waterfall

the trail

'Tiger Leaping Stone'

Tina's Guesthouse, our final destination

ordering off the bamboo menu

the drive back to Qiaotou

a walking trail on the other side of the river

Jamie knows how to travel!

last view up the gorge