Classic · Rice noodles
- Getting there
- Air · Rail
- Time needed
- 2–3 days
- Best months
- Year-round
- Altitude
- About 1,900 m in the city
19 notes →
Travel Yunnan the way locals do. Shaped by you.
- Live it like a localDinner, cooking and a day in a local family's home: Yunnan as it really is.
- Drivers, guides and interpretersLicensed drivers the whole way, and guides on the days you need one, so language won't hold you back.
- Ticket discountsWe book your sight tickets, at a discount whenever one is available, including tickets sold only in Chinese apps.
- Flights and trains bookedDomestic flights and high-speed rail tickets, booked for you.
- One request, all handledTell us what you need, pay once, and we take care of the rest.
- Online from day oneConnected the moment you land: we sort out your mobile internet in advance.
Peace of mindLicensed, insured vehiclesOfficial, licensed sights onlyNo shopping stops, ever
Explore Yunnan your way
Four simple starting points
01
Nature & outdoorsSnow peaks, lakes, gorges, hikes and seasonal landscapes.81 notes →
02
Culture & old townsVillages, old towns, architecture, crafts and festivals.95 notes →
03
Temples & faithMonasteries, sacred mountains, mosques and churches, and how to visit respectfully.28 notes →
04
Food & local lifeMarkets, tea, regional dishes and everyday neighbourhood life.114 notes →
Haigeng Dam gulls: be there by 9 am, and take Line 5 to Yinghai Road
Buy approved gull feed (鸥粮) from the licensed stalls, which may not sell bread for the birds; at nearby Haigeng Park it was about ¥4 a bag in 2024. Scatter it on the bank, not into the lake.
Read the note →Explore all 16 regions of Yunnan
From Kunming to the Nujiang canyon: where to go, what to eat and what to skip in each one.
Regions →Classic
The famous names — done the way locals do them.
01Kunming
Dali
Classic · Bai villages
- Getting there
- Air · Rail
- Time needed
- 2–3 days for the lake
- Best months
- Mar–May, Oct–Nov
- Altitude
- About 2,000 m at the lake
24 notes →
Lijiang
Classic · Snow-peak villages
- Getting there
- Air · Rail
- Time needed
- 3–4 days
- Best months
- Oct–May
- Altitude
- About 2,400 m in town
17 notes →
Diqing
Classic · Snow peaks at sunrise
- Getting there
- Air · Rail
- Time needed
- 4–6 days with Meili
- Best months
- Apr–May, Oct–Nov
- Altitude
- 3,200–3,400 m in the towns
19 notes →
Xishuangbanna
Classic · Dai food and temples
- Getting there
- Air · Rail
- Time needed
- 3–5 days
- Best months
- Nov–Apr
- Altitude
- About 550 m in Jinghong
22 notes →
Worth the trip
Where people go once they have done the classics.
02
Honghe
Worth the trip · Rice terraces
- Getting there
- Rail
- Time needed
- 3–4 days
- Best months
- Nov–Apr
- Altitude
- Jianshui about 1,300 m
20 notes →
Yuxi
Worth the trip · Lake days
- Getting there
- Rail
- Time needed
- 1–3 days
- Best months
- Nov–Apr
- Altitude
- About 1,720 m at the lake
11 notes →
Baoshan
Worth the trip · Old villages
- Getting there
- Air · Rail
- Time needed
- 3–4 days
- Best months
- Oct–Apr
- Altitude
- About 1,650 m (Tengchong)
16 notes →
Qujing
Worth the trip · Canola season
- Getting there
- Rail
- Time needed
- 2–3 days for Luoping
- Best months
- Mid-Feb to mid-Mar
- Altitude
- About 1,500–2,100 m
11 notes →
Chuxiong
Worth the trip · Salt towns
- Getting there
- Rail
- Time needed
- 2–3 days
- Best months
- Oct–Apr
- Altitude
- About 1,800 m in Chuxiong city
11 notes →
Pu'er
Worth the trip · Old tea forests
- Getting there
- Air · Rail
- Time needed
- 3–4 days, 2 nights on Jingmai
- Best months
- Nov–Apr
- Altitude
- About 1,300 m in the city
16 notes →
Wenshan
Worth the trip · Karst lakes
- Getting there
- Air · Rail
- Time needed
- 2–4 days
- Best months
- Jun–Aug for lotus
- Altitude
- Puzhehei about 1,450 m
9 notes →
Off the grid
Remote and slow: buses work if you have time; a driver saves days.
03
Dehong
Off the grid · Dai food
- Getting there
- Air
- Time needed
- 2–3 days, 5–6 with Tengchong
- Best months
- Nov–Apr (dry season)
- Altitude
- About 900 m (Mangshi)
22 notes →
Zhaotong
Off the grid · Black-necked cranes
- Getting there
- Air · Rail
- Time needed
- 2–3 days
- Best months
- Nov–Mar for cranes
- Altitude
- City about 1,900 m
12 notes →
Lincang
Off the grid · Wa culture
- Getting there
- Air · Rail
- Time needed
- 4–6 days
- Best months
- Nov–Apr (dry season)
- Altitude
- About 500 m (Mengding) to 2,200 m (tea hills)
14 notes →
Nujiang
Off the grid · Canyon road trip
- Getting there
- Road only
- Time needed
- 4–6 days with a driver
- Best months
- Oct–Apr
- Altitude
- About 900 m (Liuku) to 1,750 m (Bingzhongluo)
19 notes →
One place, one tip
The specific stuff — the queue worth joining, the free rooftop view, the show to skip.
All 262 notes →
Small-pot noodles at Banpo, a short walk from Green Lake
Green Lake area, Kunming
Fried ersi and braised beef rice at Selemu on Boai Road
Boai Road, Dali Old Town
Wild mushroom hotpot with yak at Song Jiejie, an old-town veteran
Lijiang Old Town (several branches)
Meili sunrise at Feilaisi: book two or three nights, not one
Feilaisi, Deqin
Base in Gaozhuang: dinner on foot, 15 minutes from the airport
Gaozhuang, Jinghong
Walk Jianshui west to east so you pass every sight once
Jianshui old town
Climb Bijia Hill at Luchong for the classic view along Fuxian
Luchong, Fuxian Lake
Sleep in Heshun, not Tengchong city, and give it two or three nights
Heshun, Tengchong
Jinji Peaks at sunrise from the Laojianshan viewpoint
Jinji village, Luoping County
Take the dawn slow train from Kunming to Heijing
Kunming Station to Heijing
Jingmai: sleep in Nuogan for quiet, Wengji for comfort, Manghong for views
Jingmai Mountain, Lancang County
Base yourself in Xianrendong, Puzhehei's Yi lakeside village
Xianrendong village, Puzhehei
Follow a route
Every route is free and complete, day by day. Want it booked? Tell us your dates and we’ll arrange the drivers, stays and tickets.
All routes →
Classic route · 8 days · Kunming
Classic Yunnan in 8 days
The classic first-timer's route, climbing step by step from 1,900 m in Kunming to 3,200 m in Shangri-La.
Free · Mar–May, Oct–Nov
Classic route · 3 days · Green Lake
Kunming like a local in 3 days
Most visitors treat Kunming as a place to change trains. Give it three days and live in it instead.
Free · Year-round; Nov–Mar for gulls, Jun–Sep for mushrooms
Classic route · 6 days · Kunming
Southeast Yunnan: terraces and old towns in 6 days
A walled town where dinner is grilled tofu counted in corn kernels, then sunrise over the Hani terraces, far from the Dali–Lijiang crowds.
Free · Nov–Apr; best Jan–Mar
