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Meili Snow Mountain And The Yubeng Valley – 7 Days

Yubeng village in Yunnan, wooden farmhouses and fields in a high valley beneath snow-covered peaks
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The Heart of This Journey

A week in the far northwest of Yunnan for travellers who like to walk. You drive from Shangri-La to the foot of the Meili Snow Mountains, then spend three nights in the roadless Tibetan valley of Yubeng, hiking to a glacier lake and a sacred waterfall at a steady mountain pace.

  • BalagezongDrive through a dramatic landscape of gorges and cliffs to a Tibetan valley village.
  • Meili sunriseWatch first light on the sacred, unclimbed peak of Kawagebo.
  • Mingyong GlacierWalk up to a close view of a glacier that reaches into the forest.
  • Yubeng VillageStay three nights in a remote Tibetan village with no through road.
  • Glacier Lake hikeClimb through old forest to a still lake beneath ice and rock.
  • Sacred WaterfallFollow pilgrims to the waterfall that falls from the snows.

Tour Destinations:

Detailed Itinerary:

The first two days bring you by road from Shangri-La to the Meili Snow Mountains, with monasteries, the bend of the Jinsha River and a glacier on the way. Then you walk into Yubeng for three days of hiking before returning through the Niyong Gorge. Every part of it can be adjusted: add a night, swap a visit or change the hotel class, and we will shape the plan around you.

Day 01:Shangri-La - Balagezong - Deqin

A long scenic drive through deep valleys, past the bend of the Jinsha River and a mountain monastery, to the foot of the Meili range.

Morning

Your private guide and driver meet you in Shangri-La and head out to the Balagezong Scenic Area, a landscape of high cliffs, gorges and forest where the Gangqu River has cut deep into the mountains. Stop in Bala Village, a small Tibetan settlement in the valley, to see how life is lived far from the main roads.

Afternoon

Continue by road to the First Bend of the Jinsha River, where the upper Yangtze makes a sharp turn in its course, and then on to Dongzhulin Temple, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery set on the mountainside above the valley, with painted halls and a quiet courtyard.

Late afternoon

Drive the final stretch to the Feilai Monastery area near Deqin, where your hotel looks across the valley towards the Meili Snow Mountains. If the clouds lift, the peaks catch the last of the light.

Good to know: This journey takes place at high altitude. Arrive in Shangri-La with a day or two in hand if you can, walk slowly, drink plenty of water and tell your guide straight away if you feel unwell.

Accommodation: Hotel in Deqin (Shangri-La).

Day 02:Meili Snow Mountain And Mingyong Glacier

Sunrise over Kawagebo, then a walk to a glacier that tumbles from its slopes.

Early morning

Step out to the viewing platform at Feilai Monastery for sunrise over the Meili Snow Mountains. Kawagebo, the highest peak of the range, is sacred to Tibetan Buddhists and has never been climbed. On a clear morning, the first sun turns its snows pink and gold while white stupas and prayer flags stand in the foreground.

Morning

After breakfast, drive down into the valley to Mingyong Glacier, which flows from the slopes of Kawagebo down into forest. Walk up to the observation platform for a close view of the ice, broken and blue in places, and the steep mountain walls above it.

Afternoon

Return to your hotel near Feilai Monastery for a quiet afternoon and evening at leisure, with the mountains in view.

Meals: Breakfast. Accommodation: Hotel in Deqin (Shangri-La).

Day 03:Xidang - Upper Yubeng Village

Leave the road behind and walk or ride up to a remote village beneath the sacred peaks.

Morning

Drive to Xidang Village, the gateway to Yubeng. From here there is no road for regular traffic into the valley: you can either hike the trail, around twelve kilometres over a high pass through forest and meadow, or take an off-road vehicle for around forty minutes and then walk the final stretch.

Afternoon

Arrive in Upper Yubeng, a small Tibetan village of wooden houses and barley fields cupped beneath the snow peaks. Settle into your guesthouse and spend the rest of the day at leisure, watching village life go on around you.

Good to know: Yubeng has simple guesthouses rather than hotels. Pack a small bag for these three nights, and your main luggage can stay with the car.

Meals: Breakfast. Accommodation: Hotel in Yubeng (Shangri-La).

Day 04:Yubeng Glacier Lake Hike

A full day’s circular walk up through forest to a glacier lake below the peaks.

Morning

Set out from Upper Yubeng on a circular hike through old forest of fir and rhododendron, climbing steadily towards the head of the valley. Along the way you pass the site of the base camp used by the 1991 Sino-Japanese expedition to Meili, a sobering reminder of the mountain’s power.

Midday

Reach the Glacier Lake, a cold, still pool set beneath walls of ice and rock, and stop for lunch with your guide.

Afternoon

Walk back down through the forest to Yubeng in the late afternoon, with time to rest before dinner at your guesthouse.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch. Accommodation: Hotel in Yubeng (Shangri-La).

Day 05:Yubeng Sacred Waterfall

A pilgrim’s walk to the waterfall that falls from the snows of the sacred mountain.

Morning

Hike from the village to the Yubeng Waterfall, known locally as the Sacred Waterfall. For Tibetan pilgrims, walking beneath its spray is a blessing, and you may meet families making the journey as you climb through forest and meadow.

Midday

Pause near the falls for lunch, where water drops from the snow and glaciers high above and the cliffs are hung with prayer flags. Take your time here: it is a peaceful place to sit, listen to the water and watch the light move across the peaks.

Afternoon

Return to Yubeng and enjoy the last evening in the valley at leisure. As the sun sets, the snow summits above the village often glow long after the fields have fallen into shadow.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch. Accommodation: Hotel in Yubeng (Shangri-La).

Day 06:Lower Yubeng - Niyong Gorge - Deqin

Walk out of the valley through a deep gorge and return to the Meili viewpoint.

Morning

Begin your walk out from Lower Yubeng through the Niyong Gorge, a narrow canyon carved by the river, with the trail running high along its sides and the water rushing far below. It is a dramatic way to leave the valley. Small shrines and prayer flags mark the trail, a sign that this is also a pilgrim route around the sacred mountain.

Midday

Stop for lunch along the way.

Afternoon

Meet your driver at the end of the trail and return to the Feilai Monastery area near Deqin for a comfortable hotel and a hot shower after your days in the mountains.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch. Accommodation: Hotel in Deqin (Shangri-La).

Day 07:Deqin - Shangri-La And Departure

A last look at the mountains and a drive back to Shangri-La.

Morning

Take one last look at the Meili range from your hotel before your driver takes you back by road to Shangri-La.

Departure

Your guide accompanies you to Shangri-La airport or railway station for your onward journey.

Meals: Breakfast.

Day 01:Shangri-La - Balagezong - Deqin

A long scenic drive through deep valleys, past the bend of the Jinsha River and a mountain monastery, to the foot of the Meili range.

Morning

Your private guide and driver meet you in Shangri-La and head out to the Balagezong Scenic Area, a landscape of high cliffs, gorges and forest where the Gangqu River has cut deep into the mountains. Stop in Bala Village, a small Tibetan settlement in the valley, to see how life is lived far from the main roads.

Afternoon

Continue by road to the First Bend of the Jinsha River, where the upper Yangtze makes a sharp turn in its course, and then on to Dongzhulin Temple, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery set on the mountainside above the valley, with painted halls and a quiet courtyard.

Late afternoon

Drive the final stretch to the Feilai Monastery area near Deqin, where your hotel looks across the valley towards the Meili Snow Mountains. If the clouds lift, the peaks catch the last of the light.

Good to know: This journey takes place at high altitude. Arrive in Shangri-La with a day or two in hand if you can, walk slowly, drink plenty of water and tell your guide straight away if you feel unwell.

Accommodation: Hotel in Deqin (Shangri-La).

Day 02:Meili Snow Mountain And Mingyong Glacier

Sunrise over Kawagebo, then a walk to a glacier that tumbles from its slopes.

Early morning

Step out to the viewing platform at Feilai Monastery for sunrise over the Meili Snow Mountains. Kawagebo, the highest peak of the range, is sacred to Tibetan Buddhists and has never been climbed. On a clear morning, the first sun turns its snows pink and gold while white stupas and prayer flags stand in the foreground.

Morning

After breakfast, drive down into the valley to Mingyong Glacier, which flows from the slopes of Kawagebo down into forest. Walk up to the observation platform for a close view of the ice, broken and blue in places, and the steep mountain walls above it.

Afternoon

Return to your hotel near Feilai Monastery for a quiet afternoon and evening at leisure, with the mountains in view.

Meals: Breakfast. Accommodation: Hotel in Deqin (Shangri-La).

Day 03:Xidang - Upper Yubeng Village

Leave the road behind and walk or ride up to a remote village beneath the sacred peaks.

Morning

Drive to Xidang Village, the gateway to Yubeng. From here there is no road for regular traffic into the valley: you can either hike the trail, around twelve kilometres over a high pass through forest and meadow, or take an off-road vehicle for around forty minutes and then walk the final stretch.

Afternoon

Arrive in Upper Yubeng, a small Tibetan village of wooden houses and barley fields cupped beneath the snow peaks. Settle into your guesthouse and spend the rest of the day at leisure, watching village life go on around you.

Good to know: Yubeng has simple guesthouses rather than hotels. Pack a small bag for these three nights, and your main luggage can stay with the car.

Meals: Breakfast. Accommodation: Hotel in Yubeng (Shangri-La).

Day 04:Yubeng Glacier Lake Hike

A full day’s circular walk up through forest to a glacier lake below the peaks.

Morning

Set out from Upper Yubeng on a circular hike through old forest of fir and rhododendron, climbing steadily towards the head of the valley. Along the way you pass the site of the base camp used by the 1991 Sino-Japanese expedition to Meili, a sobering reminder of the mountain’s power.

Midday

Reach the Glacier Lake, a cold, still pool set beneath walls of ice and rock, and stop for lunch with your guide.

Afternoon

Walk back down through the forest to Yubeng in the late afternoon, with time to rest before dinner at your guesthouse.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch. Accommodation: Hotel in Yubeng (Shangri-La).

Day 05:Yubeng Sacred Waterfall

A pilgrim’s walk to the waterfall that falls from the snows of the sacred mountain.

Morning

Hike from the village to the Yubeng Waterfall, known locally as the Sacred Waterfall. For Tibetan pilgrims, walking beneath its spray is a blessing, and you may meet families making the journey as you climb through forest and meadow.

Midday

Pause near the falls for lunch, where water drops from the snow and glaciers high above and the cliffs are hung with prayer flags. Take your time here: it is a peaceful place to sit, listen to the water and watch the light move across the peaks.

Afternoon

Return to Yubeng and enjoy the last evening in the valley at leisure. As the sun sets, the snow summits above the village often glow long after the fields have fallen into shadow.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch. Accommodation: Hotel in Yubeng (Shangri-La).

Day 06:Lower Yubeng - Niyong Gorge - Deqin

Walk out of the valley through a deep gorge and return to the Meili viewpoint.

Morning

Begin your walk out from Lower Yubeng through the Niyong Gorge, a narrow canyon carved by the river, with the trail running high along its sides and the water rushing far below. It is a dramatic way to leave the valley. Small shrines and prayer flags mark the trail, a sign that this is also a pilgrim route around the sacred mountain.

Midday

Stop for lunch along the way.

Afternoon

Meet your driver at the end of the trail and return to the Feilai Monastery area near Deqin for a comfortable hotel and a hot shower after your days in the mountains.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch. Accommodation: Hotel in Deqin (Shangri-La).

Day 07:Deqin - Shangri-La And Departure

A last look at the mountains and a drive back to Shangri-La.

Morning

Take one last look at the Meili range from your hotel before your driver takes you back by road to Shangri-La.

Departure

Your guide accompanies you to Shangri-La airport or railway station for your onward journey.

Meals: Breakfast.

Price Included:

Accommodation in your chosen hotel class, with daily breakfast

Meals as listed in the itinerary

Private air-conditioned vehicle with driver for all transfers and touring

Private English-speaking local guide in each destination

Domestic flights, high-speed trains and river cruises as listed in the itinerary

All entrance fees, performances, boat trips and excursions as listed

Bottled water during touring

Price Excluded:

International flights

China visa fees, where a visa is needed for your nationality

Travel insurance

Tips for guides and drivers

Drinks and personal expenses

Meals not listed in the itinerary

Video Highlights:

Indulge in a vivid, sensory panorama of our cherished destinations, carefully curated to ignite your wanderlust and craft a tantalizing prelude to your forthcoming journey!

Private, tailor-made trip
7days
6 nights
  • DepartureAny date you choose
  • 1 stopsShangri-La
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