Karst Peaks, Rice Terraces And Rivers – 6 Days

Begin at Reed Flute Cave, a limestone cave named after the reeds that grow at its entrance and were once cut to make flutes. Walk through its chambers of stalactites, stalagmites and rock curtains, lit in colour, while your guide points out the shapes that have earned poetic names over the years.

Stop for lunch at a local restaurant in town.

Visit Elephant Trunk Hill, the symbol of Guilin, where a rock arch on the riverbank looks like an elephant dipping its trunk into the Li River. Stroll along the water and through the park around it, with river boats and fishermen passing by.

Your private car heads north into the mountains of Longsheng county, a drive of around two hours. The road winds up through bamboo and small villages to the Longji Rice Terraces, often called the Dragon’s Backbone, where centuries of work by the Zhuang and Yao peoples have carved the slopes into hundreds of curving steps.

Leave your bags with a porter or your guide and walk into a village built of dark wooden houses. Follow stone paths up to the viewpoints, where the terraces ripple down the hillside, flooded and silver in spring, green in summer and gold before the autumn harvest.

Spend the night in a simple, comfortable guesthouse in the terraces, with the quiet of the mountains around you.

Set out early on a hike along the ridges between terraced villages, with wide views across the valleys and a chance to meet farmers at work. The paths are well used but steep in places, and your guide sets a pace that suits you. Look out for Yao women, famous for their very long hair, and for the cooking smoke drifting from the wooden houses below.

Return to your car for the drive to Yangshuo, around three and a half hours, passing back through Guilin and out into a landscape of rivers and karst towers.

Check in to your hotel in Yangshuo and enjoy the evening at leisure.

Take a bamboo raft down the Yulong River, a quieter tributary of the Li. A local raftsman poles you gently downstream past karst hills, water buffalo grazing on the banks and old stone bridges such as the Dragon Bridge. Glide over small weirs and enjoy the stillness of the water.

Swap the raft for a bicycle and ride on country lanes through rice fields and villages, with the limestone peaks rising all around. Stop for lunch at a farmhouse restaurant, then continue to Silver Cave, a limestone cave with glittering calcite formations and halls that open one into another.

Return to Yangshuo for the evening at leisure. West Street, the town’s lively main lane, is close by if you want to browse or find a riverside table.

Enjoy a final morning at leisure in Yangshuo, perhaps a walk along the river or a coffee with a view of the peaks.

Your driver takes you back to Guilin, around an hour and a half by road, for your onward flight or train.