Lijiang is a special place, a shining jewel on the Northwest Yunnan Plateau neighbouring the southeast side of the Tibentan Plateau, considered to be the "Roof of the World". Lijiang is known as the Beautiful River, as it is located in the middle reaches of the Jinsha River. The town was built in the late Song dynasty and the early Yuan dynasty. Since then, it has been the political, cultural, and educational centre of this area. For a time, it was an important trading centre between Yunnan and Tibet, China and India. Due to the town’s culture, history and architecture it has been included as a World Cultural Heritage Site. You can walk though the maze of cobbled streets, and networks of canals and pathways passing by traditional Naxi homes.

Lijiang and the surrounding area boasts some wonderful sights, such as the Black Dragon Pool Park, with its splendid pavilions and bridges stretching across the lake. There are many monasteries of Tibetan Origin and temples, not far from the town of Lijiang. We recommend a trip out to Fuguo Si Monastery with its exceptional religious frescos, in the town of Baisha. The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is within easy reach of Lijiang and acts as dramatic backdrop to this town. Keen walkers can spend a couple of days trekking through “Tiger Leaping Gorge” the deepest gorge in the world. This experience offers amazing views of mountains and canyons, whilst staying in local guesthouses along the way.

In the Northwest of Yunnan Povince our tour takes you up to the town to Zhongdian, on the very edge of the Tibetan plateau. Zhongdian is traditional a Tibetan town, and is on main road to Tibet. Our tour spends time visiting the Local Tibetan Monastery and villages to meet the native inhabitants.