7 Days Dreamland of Shangri-la Expedition

Upon arrival, your tour guide will welcome you at airport and transfer to your hotel. Then leisure time is free for you. You can visit the vibrant Flower and Bird Market, the Central Square of old town quarter and Kunming's symbol building - Golden Horse and Green Phoenix Archway. Overnight at the hotel in Kunming.

A rare experience today is excursion to the World Geopark - Stone Forest, which is believed to have formed 270 million years ago, this enchanting limestone landscape is a natural wonder filled with countless puzzle-like labyrinths and intricate stone formations.

After lunch you will proceed to visit the Guandu Old Town, which is one of the historic and cultural towns in Kunming area. The ancient Shaolin Temple and Vajra Pagoda are the must-see of this old town. You will spend a lazy afternoon without the hassle of leaving the city. You can sit down for a cup of tea and chat with local people. A designated food street on the old town's east side offers a wide selection of local eats. Tonight you will stay at the hotel in Kunming.

In the morning your tour guide will escort you to the airport for the flight to Shangri-la. Upon arrival transfer to the featured hotel to check in. After lunch visit the ancient Songzanlin Monastery, which is the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monastery in southwest China. In the main hall you will appreciate a series of precious Buddhism-related objects like scriptures written on palm leaves, the Shakyamuni statues, etc. Standing on the roof of the temple, you will amaze at the magnificent landscape of front meadow and the town. The blue sky is so close to you as if you can reach it with your hand. Downhill along the hill slop, you will find smaller temples and monk's residences where about 700 monks live. If you want to deeply experience the Buddhists' life, you can join in the morning class or evening class. You will have a peacefull mind and remain in deep thought.

On the way back, explore a local village and be a guest in a Tibetan family with a taste of Tibetan specialities such as yak butter tea, yogurt & Tibetan barley. Then you head for the ancient Gyalthang Town, which was established in Tang Dynasty. Though it is small, the old town is quite different form others in Yunnan. You can find many Tibetan cultural facts such as Buddhist paintings and Tibetan residences side by side. A peaceful cobble path guide you to the Daguishan Hill where you can turn the biggest praying wheel in the world and take a birds-eye view of Shangri-la.  Tonight you will stay at the hotel in Zhongdian.

After breakfast at hotel, drive through Baimang Snow Mountain along the Yangtze River Canyon to Deqin, which is peppered with views of majestic "Snow Mountains" in all directions. En the route, you can stop and appreciate the enchanting views of the Napa Seasonal Lake; explore Tibetan village Nixi; overlook the splendid Great Bend of Yangtze River from the steep slope of the canyon, and visit the Dongzhulin Monaster. Then stay in the hotel besides Feilai Monastery, which is the holy monastery under the Meili Snow Mountain and also the best place to see the stunning Meili Snow Mountain.

Appreciate the Meili Snow Mountain in the early morning. After breakfast, drive to the great canyon of Lancang, get across the river Lancang and proceed to the eastern piedmont of Meili Snow Mountain. From the small village Mingyong at the foot of Meili, start hiking (8Km) up to the mountain (or you can take horse/mule riding, on your own account, cost around RMB150 per person for round-trip ride). After about 3 hours trekking, you get at Prince Temple by the Mingyong Glaciers. When the discovering expedition on the holy mountain is over, descend and retrace your way back to hotel for dinner.

Drive back to Shangri-La. On the way, you can review the splendors of landscapes of towering snowcapped mountains, dense virgin forests, vast verdant meadows, onrushing river and the great canyon. Overnight at the hotel in Shangri-la.