Shangri-La's snow-capped mountains are so stunning

Number of days：8 days
Time: February
Average cost: 6500 yuan
With whom: husband and wife
Updated: 2023.02.26

Shangri-La is a dreamland for me. I desperately want to see the snow-capped mountains. In my mind, they are sacred, beautiful, and filled with romantic legends. I decided to leave immediately. Three days after I decided to go, I bought my plane tickets, booked my car, and set off.

Because it was a last-minute booking, the price was a bit higher, but it was better than putting it off forever. We rented a car for seven days (24 hours per day), picking it up and returning it at ehi Car Rental's Shangri-La Airport branch. The rental, including insurance, cost a little over 1,300 yuan. If you have plenty of time, I recommend booking in advance for better prices. After all, now that travel has resumed, flights and hotel prices in popular cities have all increased.

We visited quite a few attractions on this trip. We visited Shangri-La, Yubeng, Meili, and Benzilan, and finally returned to Shangri-La.

Experience the beauty of Shangri-La

After arriving on the first day, I wandered around the city and then returned to the hotel to rest. After all, just the flight was tiring, so I always needed to rest a bit. The next day, we saw a lot of beautiful scenery on the way to Yubeng. We passed Feilai Temple on the way and got off the car to take a look. This is the benefit of a self-driving tour: you can truly go on a whim. Note that you'll initially pass by the Feilai Temple viewing platform. You don't need to get out of the car at this point, as the view from this point is quite limited. Continue driving and you'll see an area halfway up the mountain with numerous prayer flags and a coffee cart. This is the best spot. From this vantage point, you can see several major peaks. Interestingly, I heard someone say that these mountains have genders. For example, Mount Kawagebo is the male peak. The more you look at it, the more you realize it's true. We drove all the way to the upper village and stopped there. Besides the upper village, there is also a lower village. The lower village is also very famous. Note that you can choose either the upper or lower village, but avoid the section between the upper and lower villages; it's not necessary. Also, this section takes over half an hour. You can explore the entire village. If you're too tired, you can take a car or even a mule. For a trip like this, only a self-driving tour gives you the freedom to control what you bring. It's said that if you charter a car, the driver will limit the size of your luggage. If you have too much luggage, you'll have to pay extra.

We saw beautiful scenery in the upper village. For example, the White Horse Snow Mountain. And the Rising Sun Golden Mountain. We all felt lucky to be able to see the Rising Sun Golden Mountain this time. This time we chose the Shenpu Trail in Yubeng. It’s been a while since we last hiked, so we chose a simpler route. The round trip from Shangcun to our village was 14 kilometers. As we climbed, we felt the scenery constantly changing. During our first break, we even saw little squirrels. The squirrels here aren't afraid of people at all. They're so impressive! That's why children love this hike. If you want to feed the squirrels, bring some nuts in advance. We continued on our way to Nainong. There's a supply station where you can grab some instant noodles or a chocolate bar. Be sure to eat something. After that, we continued walking forward. It took about an hour to reach the Divine Waterfall. Please note that this section of the road is quite difficult and the climb is very tiring. Don't rush too much, and make sure to rest regularly. Otherwise, you'll likely run out of energy by the end of the climb. There's a lot of ice on this slope, so it's best to prepare crampons in advance. When we reached the Divine Waterfall, we discovered it was frozen solid. Seeing it frozen was quite an experience. We then began our descent. We encountered another supply station. They even had hot, rich, and delicious butter tea. The descent was almost entirely downhill, making it quite relaxing. Some of the downhill sections were very steep, and we had to walk very carefully. The few kilometers along the cliffs were especially daunting. Rain or snow would have been extremely dangerous, so hikers usually choose to hike on sunny days.

As we were leaving the village, the wind suddenly started to pick up, and everyone was saying it might snow. But we still had plans to visit Ninong. Fortunately, the next morning, the weather was clear, meaning we could proceed with our hike.

Day 2: Ninong Canyon Hike

This was a different hike. Because the weather was good, this day's hike was relatively easy. During the hike, we also saw the surging Lancang River. The river in this area is so majestic that you can hear the sound of the flowing water from afar. We continued walking like this, which was quite challenging. We had the inn arrange a driver to drive us directly to the inn. The innkeeper was incredibly lovely, and the food was delicious. We even saw children doing their homework, which felt like a lively atmosphere.

Afterwards, we stayed overnight at Songzan Meili Mountain.

We rested here, mainly thinking it would be more convenient to see the snow-capped mountains the next day. The cold cauliflower at Meili Mountain Residence was especially delicious. Very refreshing, and it was my first time having it. Actually, all the cold dishes in Yunnan are delicious. We checked in at Rizhao Jinshan Mountain here. We were very lucky as the weather was very good that day, otherwise we would never have been able to see such a beautiful Rizhao Jinshan Mountain.

We then continued on our way to Benzilan. The altitude dropped, and we felt more comfortable.

On the way, we visited Dongzhulin Temple and the Jinsha River Bend. Let's first talk about Dongzhulin Temple. This temple is actually quite old. It was founded by the Fifth Dalai Lama. However, the scenic area is not very well-known, so not many people come here. A monk showed us around. If you have time, I recommend visiting here. There are several great Vajras here. The Kalachakra mandala is a must-see. This Vajra is magnificent and splendid. Interestingly, the flesh-and-blood body of the Zatang Living Buddha can also be seen here.

We continued walking and arrived at Benzilan at noon. We had a delicious meal there. Then we went to see the Jinsha River. Because the mountain road here is rugged, the river water crashes into the foot of the mountain and makes a rumbling sound, which can be seen from afar.