The writer and his wife having coffee at a very unique location. — Photos: KOO WEE HON
The Tiger Leaping Gorge in China is one the deepest and most spectacular gorges in the world, with the roaring Jinsha River rushing in between the 5,396m high Haba Snow Mountain and 5,596m Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
Legend has it that its name came about when a tiger leaped across the gorge to the other side to escape a hunter ...
The gorge is divided into the Upper, Middle and Lower Gorges. The Upper Gorge is easily accessible by vehicles, and there is also a plank road for hikers to walk on along the way.
Hiking is the best way to get to the Middle and Lower Gorges and is one of the most popular hikes in China. We did the two-day, one night 25km-long hike, at an elevation of around 2,700m (highest point), to the Middle Gorge.
The rugged beauty of the trail at Tiger Leaping Gorge.
The spectacular vistas of the mountains, the raging river, valleys, unique rock formations, waterfalls, and flora and fauna took away all the aches and pains we felt during this long hike. The copious amount of coffee helped, too.
We started our journey from our guesthouse in Lijiang, which is the nearest city. Lijiang is also a major tourist attraction.
The owner of the guesthouse helped us book a bus to take us to the starting point of the hike, at the same time sending our suitcase to a guesthouse in the mountains. We only needed a change of clothes and our water bottles for the hike, which could all fit in our backpacks.
During the bus ride, I informed the driver of our destination for the day after. I paid for the ride in advance, and he scribbled a note and gave it to me as a receipt.
The author's wife climbing up the steps at Middle Gorge.
Qiaotuo, a tiny village, is the starting point and the bus left us there with other hikers. We placed our faith in the bus driver that our luggage would arrive at the guesthouse and that there would be a bus to take us to our destination after the hike.
The first few kilometres of the hike featured a steep climb, some on concrete pavements through small villages and later, dusty and rocky trails. Villagers offer mule rides for a fee for those who find the hike difficult or who just want to try the novelty of the ride.
After about three hours of uphill gradients and winding trails, the hike started to level up and it became easier. The views all along were stunning, with the mountains looming on both sides.
Vegetation was sparse as the mountains were steep and rocky but in between there were some bamboo groves. There were kids – the baby goat kind – running around feeding on the grass or plants on the slopes, with some coming towards us for a feed. These kids with their flock wandered freely and were a good distraction from our tiredness.
We were completely surprised to come across a quaint coffee stall on the mountain, selling “hand-brewed drip coffee”. A few feet away from that were two camping chairs placed close to the precipice of a cliff looking down on the Upper Gorge visitor’s area.
We were so astounded at the sight, but giddy with happiness at the coffee and ordered two cups of Americano. The lady owner made our coffee from scratch and although it cost CNY25 (RM15) each, it was worth it with the gorgeous view and the location.
About 17km later – approximately eight hours – we reached our hostel. We took a shower, had a hot meal and jumped into our warm and comfortable bed, but not before soaking in the view of the mountains and their surroundings from the hostel balcony.
In the early morning, we continued our hike, walking past a waterfall on the way to the guesthouse, where our luggage was (hopefully) waiting for us.
Tina Guesthouse is synonymous with Tiger Leaping Gorge and serves as a transit and luggage storage station for all visitors doing the hike. They offered free bus rides to the descending point of the Middle Gorge, where there is an entrance fee of CNY15 (RM9).
The Middle Gorge now has viewing platforms and facilities that were set up and run by the villagers living nearby.
The writer’s wife enjoying a beautiful view of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain on the hostel balcony. — Photos: KOO WEE HON
One could spend hours here, soaking in the beauty and ruggedness and taking tons of photos. We went back to Tina Guesthouse shortly after to catch our pre-arranged bus by climbing up metal ladders which the villagers had fixed.
Again, it cost us CNY15 to do this, but it also meant saving our time and energy as we didn’t have to climb the steep slopes.
We were glad to hike this stunning gorge just as the tiger was glad to have leaped it.
The views expressed are entirely the writer’s own.
