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5 Days Kunming Exploration & Paradise Trip to Shangri-La

From City of Spring to Lost Horizon in Shangri-La

Kunming is served as a popular gateway city to Shangri-La with several daily flights connected. In this 5 days tour, you'll explore from the "City of Eternal Spring" - Kunming to "Earthly Paradise" - Shangri-La by flight within 1.5 hours.

You may wonder why should you put Shangri-La tour into the travel bucket list? Shangri-La, called “Little Tibet”, is where you really start to breathe in the Tibetan world, with a population of 82 percent is Tibetan. As what James Hilton wrote in his book Lost Horizon, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, lush green forests and beautiful blue lakes, so harmonious and fairness, it’s a real Shangri-la, a true paradise existed in the world. Traveling from the warm, bustling Kunming and reaching the utopia world with dreaming of peace, you’ll find your Shangri-La and experience the myth for yourselves.

Extend Your Trip: If you have one more day for planning your Yunnan vacation, it is a good idea to cover your Kunming Shangri-La tour with Lijiang. Have a look at our 6 Days Best of Yunnan Tour (Lijiang - Shangri-La - Kunming) with classic discovery in the three destinations. Just feel free to select your likes and tell us your ideas.

  • Type : Private Tour
  • Tour Code : CD-KMST-05
  • Price : from $858
    1. 1. This price is for one person, based on a group of 2 adults sharing one double-bed room in a 4-star hotel and traveling in low seasons;
    2. 2. This price is subject to change according to your traveling season, group size, hotel class, change of activities and possible fluctuation of currency exchange rate.
  • Trip Length : 5D/4N
  • Theme : Nature / Culture / Photography

HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS TOUR

  • Have a good visit to the renowned Stone Forest, the Wonder of the World and catch a panoramic view of the 12-sq-km karst landform to marvel at the peculiar stones;
  • Get a basic understanding of 25 brilliant ethnic groups and admire colorful minority costumes and exotic tradition cultures in both Kunming and Shangri-La;
  • Enjoy great peace on the high plateau and purify your spirit in the earthly paradise Shangri-La, with exploration to Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, villages and lakes;
  • Throw yourselves into the Little Tibet where you can experience their true lifestyle and traditional craftsmanship and if you like, you can involve in the process...
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Itinerary Day by Day (Can Be Customized)
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Day 1 Kunming Arrival & Kunming

Yunnan Nationalities Museum - Western Hills

Welcome to Kunming, the Spring City of China! Upon arrival at the Kunming airport/train station, the local tour guide and driver will meet you in the arrival hall and escort you to your hotel and help you check in. (Please note: to take the afternoon itinerary, you'd better arrange flight or train landing in Kunming before 10:00.)

In this afternoon, you’ll take a visit to Yunnan Nationalities Museum for a wonderful understanding of the 25 ethnic minority groups in vast Yunnan. This largest minority museum in whole Asia boasts a collection of over 20 thousand pieces (units) of precious cultural relics to show you the beautiful costumes, diverse ethnic festivals, daily life scenes, exquisite musical instruments, brilliant cultural texts, and so on to know the essence of Yunnan culture!

Later, visit the famous Western Hills which is called “Sleeping Beauty Hills”, looking like a beautiful young lady lying beside Dian Lake (the largest freshwater in Yunnan and famed as the “Pearl on the Plateau”). It is a particularly pleasant experience to walk in such verdant forest mountain park with elegant sightseeing and a series of cultural relics and sites, including some old temples. You will not miss the symbolic visit to the magic Dragon Gate as it says “If you do not visit Western Hill, you haven't visited Kunming; if you do not come to Dragon Gate, you haven't been to Western Hills”, where to admire the colorful old grottoes on the wall and catch the panoramic view of the large peaceful Dianchi Lake and Kunming City. (You can visit the temples if interested. Huating Temple and Taihua Temple are included in the ticket.)

After the tour, drive back to your hotel.

  • Western Hill & Dragon Gate Kunming Western Hill
  • Yunnan Nationalities Museum-20210404-Adrian from Philippines-CD-HA Adrian from Philippines visited Yunnan Nationalities Museum.

Day 2 Kunming (B, L)

Stone Forest - Yuantong Temple - Green Lake Park

After breakfast, your local guide and driver will meet you at your hotel and then escort you to discover Stone Forest first for about 1.5 hours’ riding (85km)!

Kunming Stone Forest as the “Essence of World Karst Landform” has been listed as the UNESCO World Natural Heritage with the incomparable coverage of 12 square kilometers’ stone pinnacle groups. Take the sightseeing bus to visit the Greater Stone Forest Scenic Area to admire the typical concentrating cinerous stone pinnacles by walking through the maze of stone peaks and jumping high for the panorama of the forest of protruding stone peaks. Also, you will see the famous peak on many photos and even stones towering over 40 meters. Then, continue to ride the bus to explore the Lesser Stone Forest to closely look at the iconic stone “Ashima” like a young lady, listen to the touching love story of Ashima, and fill your eyes with the emerald garden-like park of wilder stone peaks surrounded by lush green plants and blossoms. Take the sightseeing bus to exit the scenic park.

After the discovering, drive back to Kunming downtown and enjoy a cultural visit to Yuantong Temple that is one of the top oldest Buddhist temples in Kunming with more than 1,200 years’ history. Take your stroll there to feel the rich Buddhist atmosphere of three Buddhist sects filling the antique halls and houses specially designed into a traditional Chinese garden layout for a quite different appreciation of temple in China.

Then, walk to Kunming Green Lake nearby. This pretty park with a lovely lake, old-styled pavilions, corridors, flowers, etc. is the most popular place for an authentic feeling of local Kunming people’s leisure life with citizens singing, dancing, talking, exercising, etc. During November to the next March, Black-headed Gulls from Siberian will never be late to fly there for their expecting comfortable warm winter holiday. Do not miss playing with those adorable and vigorous elfin during your relaxing roam!

After today’s visiting, be escorted back to your hotel. Have a good sleep!

  • Ashima Featured Limestone Rock The Most Famous Rock of Ashima in Stone Forest
  • Kunming Green Lake-20190415-Marcin from USA- TD-Li Kunming Green Lake Winter Scenery photoed by our customer Marcin

Day 3 Kunming - Shangri-La (B, L)

Nixi Pottery Village - Dukezong Old Town

In the morning, your guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel and escort to Kunming Changshui International Airport for a flight to Shangri-La (about 1-1.5 hours). Welcome to Shangri-La (Zhongdian, altitude: 3459meters), the Garden of Eden! Upon arrival, you’ll be greeted by our local guide at the arrival hall who is holding a sign on which says your name. Then our guide and driver will transfer you directly to your hotel in Shangri-La by our comfortable private car (non-smoking), and the guide will help you check in.

The following trip of today is a drive (33 km, about 50mins) to Nixi Pottery Village, the most “Shangri-La” of Shangri-La. Nixi Tangdui Village is a Tibetan village well known for the two-thousand-year-old art - black pottery (also listed as National Intangible Cultural Heritage). Around 70 out of the 100 families in the village are engaged in this traditional art. Pay a visit to a Tibetan family’s workshop and watch how they make different items of black pottery. (Optional experience: If you want to involve in the pottery making, you can follow the local master to make one by your own hands. It takes about 30-40 minutes. After that, you can view the firing process.)

After the tour, drive back to Dukezong Old Town for further exploration. With a history over 1300 years, Dukezong Old Town is the largest and the best preserved Tibetan community in China. Climb up to the top of Guishan Hill (or Tortoise Hill) to have a panoramic view of both the endless snow-capped mountains surrounded the pure land and the large scale of the old town with countless Tibetan dwellings. Join in the tourists to turn the largest Prayer Wheel in the world in clockwise direction. (Optional experience: If you show interest in making traditional Tibetan Thangka, you can learn at Shangri-la Thangka Institute. Programs here include Thangka painting, chanting, Tibetan language and calligraphy. You can choose your like.)

Evening Time Suggestion: The main square of the Duzekong Old Town has dancing performance organized by the local Tibetan at night between 19:30 and 21:00 which is nice to watch or even join in. 

  • Guishan Hill  - Juan's Family from Golumbia Juan's family from Golumbia visited Guishan Hill in 2023
  • The Panoramic View of Dukezong Old Town, Picture Shared Daisy The Panoramic View of Dukezong Old Town

Day 4 Shangri-La (B, L)

Songzanlin Monastery - Pudacuo National Park - Local Tibetan Family Visiting

After breakfast, your guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel. Today, you’ll enjoy your time to explore the earthly paradise described in the famous novel Lost Horizon by James Hilton.

First, you’ll be transferred with 7 kilometers’ driving to Songzanlin Monastery (Ganden Sumtseling Gompa), reputed as the “Little Potala Palace” for it was built according to the complex of Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. Established by the Fifth Dalai Lama in 1679, the monastery belongs to Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, and it is also the largest Buddhist monastery in Yunnan Province with around 700 monks and lamas. Walk 147 steps to get atop of the monastery and pay clockwise visit to the three main lamasery buildings where you can not only see the Buddhism treasures, but also enjoy large number of monks of all ages going about their daily routines, praying, chanting, cooking and resting. It should a nice trip to get in-depth understanding about Tibetan Buddhism. If time permits, take some quiet time to walk around the peaceful Lamuyangcuo Lake and shoot panorama view of Songzanlin Monastery with reflection in the clear water.

Then, drive about 27 kilometers to Pudacuo National Park. This 1,300-square-kilometer national park is notable as the first national park in China to meet International Union for Conservation of Nature standards. It is renowned for well-preserved primitive landscape, which is endowed with lakes, wetlands, forests, meadows, streams, brooks, rare plants and animals. Visit the spots by clockwise and throw yourselves into the lush green forest with diverse species of flora and fauna, walk along the plank road to catch the gorgeous scenery of Shudu Lake (hike 3.3 km, about 1 hour). (Note: the altitude of Pudacuo is at 3500m-4150m and you should avoid strong activities. There’s no problem to hike in the park.) Walk along the wooden plank road (1 kilometer for single route, about 50 minutes for a round route) to admire the satisfying alpine meadow with seasonal blossoms and immerse into the verdant scenery of the peaceful Bita Lake (altitude: 3538 meters) which has the highest altitude among lakes in Yunnan and is praised as the “pearl of the plateau”.

Important Notice: Militang Pasture (弥里塘草场) in Pudacuo National Park is closed for tourists due to maintenance from 3th September, 2017. The administrative office of Pudacuo National Park hasn't confirmed when they will be open exactly. Shudu Lake Scenic Area (属都湖) and Bita Lake Scenic Area (碧塔海) are open for tourists. If you want to adjust today’s itinerary, please contact your travel consultant.

After the merry time in the park, pay a visit to a local Tibetan family to experience the highly-praised hospitality of Tibetan people and taste some special Tibetan snacks and butter tea. (Optional Experience: If you are interested in the Tibetan people’s daily drinks, you can follow the locals to involve in the process of making butter tea.)

  • Sarah's Family from New Zealand - Pudacuo National Park, Shangri-La Sarah's Family from New Zealand visited Pudacuo National Park, Shangri-La, Yunnan in July 2022
  • Shudu Lake of Pudacuo National Park, Picture Shared by Daisy Shudu Lake of Pudacuo National Park
  • Songzanlin Monastery Architecture -  Our Guest Yusuke Songzanlin Monastery Architecture, Picture Shared by Our Guest Yusuke
  • Shangri-La Local Family Visit - Our Guest Daniel Our guest Daniel visit a local family in Shangri-La in 2020

Day 5 Shangri-La/Zhongdian Departure (B)

See you off at the airport

After breakfast, your will be escorted to the airport for your flight to next destination. Service ends!

The quotation for this trip is from $858 Per Person

1. This price is for one person, based on a group of 2 adults sharing one standard double-bed room in 4-star hotel and traveling with our private tour in low seasons.
2. This price is subject to change according your traveling season, group size, hotel class, change of activities in your itinerary and possible fluctuation of currency exchange rate. If you want a lower price, you can get more people to join you, or use economy class hotels.
3. This price is only valid to March 31, 2025.
4. Reference exchange rate of USD 1=RMB 6.85. The final quote is based on current exchange rate. It may change according to the currency fluctuation, while the RMB quotation will be remained the same.

What's included?

  • Professional licensed English-speaking guide;
  • Admission tickets for all attractions listed in the itinerary;
  • Accommodation as listed in the itinerary (4-star standard);
  • Necessary vehicle transfers as listed in the itinerary;
  • Domestic flights (economy class) and high-speed trains (second class) as listed in the itinerary;
  • Airport (and train station) pick up and drop off;
  • Luggage Transfers: between airports (railway station) and hotels;
  • All meals as listed( “B” for Chinese and Western breakfast buffet in your hotel; “L” for Chinese Lunch in local restaurant; “D” for Chinese dinner in local restaurant.);
  • Accident insurance;
  • Our service charge, including tour planning, handling, operational and communication charges.

What's excluded?

  • China visa;
  • Personal expenses;
  • Accommodation not listed in the itinerary;
  • Single Room Supplement;
  • Tourist sites which are not listed in the itinerary;
  • Recommended optional activities;
  • Flights or trains not listed in the itinerary;
  • Excess Baggage Charges;
  • Optional tips to guides, drivers, etc.

Check What our delighted customers are saying about our services

Hi Mr Wang,

Thanks! I had a weekend away to Xi’an, China to celebrate my birthday. It was an exciting weekend and it was certainly something off the beaten trail for most of my friends. The itinerary you have suggested provided good coverage of the city’s rich history. From the fascinating Terracotta Army to the City Walls to the sacred Mount Hua, to the Muslim Quarter to the Drum & Bell Towers, there’s an interesting story from every historical era in Xi’an. I managed to hike up Mount Hua from North Peak to West Peak, but I didn’t get to do the dangerous plank walk as it was closed.

The hotel Eastern House was very accessible too with food places within steps and its proximity to the Drum Tower is a plus. The room was very clean and comfortable.

At this point, I have to quickly mention our amazing tour guide Betty Jiao Yan who was assigned to us as part of our private tour package. She made our time feel so very special and I wonder if Xi'an would have been as awesome without her. She had such a positive and caring nature and when we had to say goodbye, we felt very sad. It was strange to miss a guide after only knowing her for 5 days! Luckily we still keep in touch on WeChat. Our driver Mr Ma was very polite, punctual and accommodating, making our travel a pleasant experience

Anne

Anne‚ Singapore, January 25, 2024

Hi Jack,

Thanks. The Harbin and Snow Town trip was excellent and very enjoyable. We are now in Japan skiing, and will send our feedback upon our return on 31st Jan.

Best wishes

Leong

Leong‚ Singapore, January 24, 2024

Hi Rita,

From my end, everything is remarkable! Jane is amazing! She really make us feel welcome.

All the hotels were amazing too! My parents also very impressed.

I will definitely reaching out again, next time when I visit China. There’s many more places I want to visit.

Best regards,

Jefry

Jefry‚ Indonesia, January 21, 2024

Dear Rita,

We are home. Thanks for arranging this nice trip. Everything worked out nicely except the smoking room problem in Chengde.

Thanks again.

John

John‚ USA, January 19, 2024

Hi Rita,

In response to your enquiries, we had a wonderful experience with the tour arrangements in both Guilin and Yangshuo. Both the tour guide and driver were very professional and handled the arrangements well.

I am surely recommending any friends or relatives who are interested in travelling to China in future to use China Discovery. Also, will be looking at other destinations for ourselves too.

Thanks once again for the wonderful experience.

Kwan

Kwan‚ Malaysia, January 18, 2024
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Beside, he/she will keep in contact with you during your entire tour in China, continually checking if everything is going well as planned.

We're working at Chengdu Bamboo International Tours, local based in Chengdu.

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Our local guide in every destination is not only very friendly, enthusiastic but also very informative and knowledgeable.

Once you arrive in the destination, the patient and punctual guides will pick you up and take you to get under skin of the city at your own pace. By in-depth discovery and explanation, they’ll show you more about the history, culture, customs and authentic local life. Throughout the journey, they're not only expert guides who take care of all the details but also fellow travelers who are dedicated to help you explore in comfort and style.

Our guides are passionate about what they do, and it shows all the way!

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In each destination, you’ll enjoy a comfortable stay in a great location!

The hotels we choose are based on star rating, great locations, well-equipped facilities, cozy bed, high quality service and guests’ feedbacks. Choices are a lot ranging from luxury 5 star, comfortable 4 star to budget 3 star. You could decide where to stay to best suit for your budget and likes. Generally, the hotels have both Western and Chinese breakfast with a wide choices.

If you have already got an ideal hotel, please feel free to tell our travel consultants and they'll book the hotel for you.

Have good sleep in our well-selected hotels in all the destinations of China.

Meals & Dining

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We can satisfy all the dietary requirements no matter you want Chinese local food, western food, vegetarian food or muslin food.

The restaurants we will take you for lunch or dinner are all designated tourist restaurants approved by local tourist administration bureau. They have very good sanitary conditions and the food is prepared fresh and clean.

There will be some meals excluded in your itinerary as you like, and your private guide will be delighted to give you some suggestions and take you to the local restaurants to taste like Beijing Roast Duck, Xian Dumpling Dinner, Sichuan Hotpot, etc., if you are interested in local food tasting.

All the dining options will satisfy your stomach!

Photo gallery of this trip

  • Western Hill & Dragon Gate Western Hill & Dragon Gate
  • Yunnan Nationalities Museum-20210404-Adrian from Philippines-CD-HA Yunnan Nationalities Museum-20210404-Adrian from Philippines-CD-HA
  • Ashima Featured Limestone Rock Ashima Featured Limestone Rock
  • Kunming Green Lake-20190415-Marcin from USA- TD-Li Kunming Green Lake-20190415-Marcin from USA- TD-Li
  • Guishan Hill  - Juan's Family from Golumbia Guishan Hill - Juan's Family from Golumbia
  • The Panoramic View of Dukezong Old Town, Picture Shared Daisy The Panoramic View of Dukezong Old Town, Picture Shared Daisy
  • Sarah's Family from New Zealand - Pudacuo National Park, Shangri-La Sarah's Family from New Zealand - Pudacuo National Park, Shangri-La
  • Shudu Lake of Pudacuo National Park, Picture Shared by Daisy Shudu Lake of Pudacuo National Park, Picture Shared by Daisy
  • Songzanlin Monastery Architecture -  Our Guest Yusuke Songzanlin Monastery Architecture - Our Guest Yusuke
  • Shangri-La Local Family Visit - Our Guest Daniel Shangri-La Local Family Visit - Our Guest Daniel

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