The journey begins in Shangri\u2011La, in the heart of Tibetan Yunnan, where you take time to acclimatise in the old town, visit Songzanlin Monastery and taste local specialities in a high\u2011valley atmosphere. The road then winds its way between plateaus and gorges to reach Tacheng and the Yunnan snub\u2011nosed monkey national park, one of the few places in the world where these primates can be observed in their natural habitat, before dropping down into the Mekong valley and the wine village of Cizhong, known for its Catholic church and vineyards inherited from French missionaries.<\/p>\n
The itinerary then swings north\u2011west towards Deqen and the Meili range, with views of Kawagarbo, a sacred mountain for Tibetans, before taking the spectacular Deqen\u2013Gongshan road to reach Bingzhongluo and the \u201chidden Tibet\u201d of early Western explorers. Here you discover the iconic first bend of the Nujiang, villages only accessible on foot, Catholic and Protestant churches embedded in the Tibetan landscape, and Lisu, Nu and Drung communities still largely living from terraced farming. Further south, the Nujiang valley softens between Gongshan, Fugong and Liuku: ethnic markets, natural formations such as the \u201cStone Moon\u201d, basket\u2011weaving or wine\u2011making workshops, traditional bathhouses and everyday life scenes punctuate each stage. The trip ends in Baoshan, a historic town on the ancient Tea and Horse Road, with characterful accommodation and a final immersion in the trading history of the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A 13\u2011day itinerary, as a small group or private tour from Shangri\u2011La, linking Tibetan monasteries and the wine\u2011growing villages of Cizhong and Meili with the great river valleys of north\u2011west Yunnan (Mekong, Nujiang, Dulong). Between panoramic high\u2011mountain roads, natural parks (Yunnan snub\u2011nosed monkeys), Tibetan, Lisu, Nu and Drung villages, and charming stopovers in Liuku and Baoshan, this journey offers an in\u2011depth discovery of a still very rural and multicultural China, far from the classic circuits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[1136],"product_tag":[1995,2003,2005,1993,2013],"class_list":{"0":"post-12456","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-yunnan","7":"product_tag-automn","8":"product_tag-family","9":"product_tag-nature","10":"product_tag-spring","11":"product_tag-tailored","13":"first","14":"instock","15":"shipping-taxable","16":"product-type-simple"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n