Winter visit Shangri-La, watch birds, climb snow-capped mountains

Number of days: 4 days
Time: January
Average cost: 3000 yuan
With whom: With friends
Tour kinds: photography, humanities, free travel
Updated: 2025.01.09

Winter tour Shangri-La

As a southerner, winter must yearn for ice and snow! This winter, Harbin tourism is out of the circle, but it is not a smart thing to follow the trend, because the cost of transportation, accommodation, etc. will increase! The experience of crowding is not necessarily very good.
So, this winter, I flew to Shangri-La City in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, which I had longed for for a long time.

This season is the best time to visit Diqing in winter. Because in addition to ice and snow, there is also an international bird watching festival where domestic tourism is very scarce. There are really not many places where you can watch birds in winter, and there is no one in China with such a rich bird as Diqing Prefecture. The 6th Winter International Bird Watching Festival of "Ecological Diqing Bird Paradise" opened on the beach of Napa in Shangri-La, and a group of "bird hunting" masters were also gathered at the scene to form a team for a photography competition.

So what are some interesting things to see on my four-day Shangri-La trip? It's my travelogue to find out!

Napa Sea birdwatching

leads to singing

black-necked cranes, purple water chickens striding forward, snow-white egrets, like turquoise green-winged ducks...... The Shangri-La Napa Sea in Yunnan in winter is a colorful world of up to hundreds of bird species. Every year, it attracts a large number of ornithologists and ecological photographers at home and abroad to this pearl of the plateau.

After the opening of the bird watching festival, my friends and I also took a tour around the lake here. National Geographic really didn't lie to me, here I witnessed with my own eyes what is called "a thousand cranes gather, ten thousand birds fly".
I'm still a layman about "bird hunting", at least I haven't upgraded to such a high-end device yet. My camera uses a 200mm focal length lens, and most of the time I can only capture the atmosphere. Occasionally, birds fly overhead, so that you have the opportunity to capture the moment of flight. That's it! have attracted a lot of attention in the circle of friends.

I saw many photography enthusiasts with 600~800mm focal length lenses to "hunt birds", and the dynamic details of the birds captured were so good, and they were instantly planted. Why don't you go back and make a telephoto lens like this? I think if I come to Shangri-La again, I will definitely bring it.

A few tips for birdwatching in the Napa Sea: Regular visitors can bring a telescope when birdwatching. Wetlands are fenced and cannot be entered without permission. Taking photos and bird watching on the road around the lake should pay attention to passing vehicles, safety first.

Pudacuo Hiking

Pudacuo is a plateau lake in Shangri-La, and we came here the next day. This national park has a variety of landforms such as alpine meadows, lakes, forests, etc., and many rare animals inhabit it. It is perfect for hiking in winter.

Entering the scenic spot, we first took the scenic traffic to the capital lake and Bita Sea in turn. Because it is too big, it is not recommended to go to the undeveloped tourist route of the scenic spot.
The first stop belongs to Duhu Lake, which has a 3.3km wooden plank road, along which you can see the frozen natural beauty in winter. Of course, you need to have a pair of sharp eyes to come here and always maintain the sensitivity to observe wild animals.

There are many wild animals in Pudacuo, including black-necked cranes, Tibetan antelopes, wild donkeys, etc. If interested, you can also bring a telescope.
For those who love photography, you can take the drone with you. Aerial photography is not allowed in the urban area of Shangri-La, and aerial photography is allowed in Pudacuo away from the urban area. I think the frozen world from a high-altitude perspective is more beautiful.

Some tips for hiking in Pudatcuo: Pudacuo is about 3600m above sea level, and the temperature is a few degrees lower than Shangri-La city, so pay attention to keeping warm. Pay attention to anti-slip when walking on the wooden plank road, and do not run fast, because there is a lot of vegetation in the scenic area, and there is generally less altitude sickness.

Songzanlin Temple to take

pictures in Shangri-La, must come" The national patriotic education base "Songzanlin Temple" is a popular scenic spot in Shangri-La.
Songzanlin Temple has the reputation of "Little Potala Palace", the building is built on the mountain, majestic and unique, integrating Tibetan, Han, Naxi and other cultural elements, and many architectural aesthetics can be tasted in detail.

Because of the good environment, Songzanlin Temple is also an Internet celebrity check-in place for Shangri-La to take photos of Tibetan clothes. The main line of the tour is a long staircase, and taking pictures around this area is very layered.

On the contrary, I found that there are very few tourists to the Temple of Wealth under the stairs. If you come here, you might as well come here to take a look, which is the door in the picture below.

The luck of coming to Songzanlin Temple this time is really great! Coinciding with the last day of the Gedong Festival (26~29 of the Tibetan winter month), I learned from the tour guide that "Gedong" means "New Year", which is one of the most important and solemn traditional festivals of the year for the Tibetan people. So there were many managers in the scenic spot that day to maintain order, and my friends and I couldn't wait to walk into the crowd.

Therefore, many local people came here, and I finally squeezed into a viewing seat in the crowd and watched some mysterious and solemn blessing ceremonies, which roughly meant to celebrate the harvest of the year. Pray for a prosperous and prosperous coming year.

Some tips for visiting Songzanlin Temple: Songzanlin Temple ticket 95 yuan/person (including round-trip scenic delivery and explanation). Due to the long distance and the fact that it is not suitable to exercise more in the plateau area, it is highly recommended to take the scenic delivery bus to the core area of the tour.If you like photography, you can take a distant view in the morning, and there is a high probability of morning fog in winter, which is more like a fairyland.

Balagzong came

to Shangri-La this time to play in the snow, and the biggest surprise for me was the place of Balagezong. Here I fully experienced the joy of playing in the snow. Because the distance from the city to here is farther and the scenic spot is very large, we gave the time to Balagezong for the last day's itinerary.

Why is it said that Bala Gezong is a legendary place? From the geological and geomorphological point of view, the altitude difference of Balagzon is extremely large, including snow-capped mountains, forests and canyons. Tourists take the scenic bus from the entrance of the scenic spot in the river valley at an altitude of 2200m+ along the way, and go straight to the Shambhala Pagoda at an altitude of 4200m+ on the winding mountain road. The altitude of Zongge Snow Mountain in the scenic area is as high as 5500m+. This huge difference in altitude often allows us to experience the temperature of the four seasons of the day.

The place to play in the snow is the Shambhala Stupa, a natural mountain peak that looks like a stupa erected in the mountains, which can be described as an iconic landscape of Balagezong. There is also a very open place here. The snow doesn't look very thick, but if you accidentally step on it, it can sink directly above your ankles. This snow is natural powder snow, it loosens when you hold it in your hand, and when it is lifted, it goes away with the wind.

In many tourism promotions, Balag Zong will be called Shangri-La's "ultimate secret", or "the last secret place". But these designations are definitely not gimmicks. A few decades ago, it was still a place that could not be found on the map, and it was particularly mysterious in modern society. At that time, the villagers of Bala Village had to walk for 4~5 days to get to the county seat.

Speaking of which, we have to mention one of Balagezong's "CCTV Charity Person of the Year" Si Na Dingzhu, a native of Bala Village. Its story is roughly as follows: at the age of 10, he injured his eye and walked for 5 days to the county seat, which eventually delayed treatment, but since then he has buried a dream of building a road. He went out to work hard at the age of 13 and accumulated tens of millions of net worth at the age of nearly 40. Then it took 10 years to build a 58-kilometer-long asphalt road for Balagezon with his own financial resources, and finally went into debt......
Listening to his story, everyone was moved, looking at Bala Village, which has now been in line with modern life, and really admired such a character. At noon, we also had a meal in Bala Village, and we felt how correct the saying "to get rich, first build roads".

Some tips for coming to Balagezon: ordinary tourists can go to Bala Village and Shambhala Stupa when they come to Balagezong, the former can learn about the humanities, and the latter is a beautiful natural scenery; At the Grand Canyon, you can also play zip lines and glass observation decks.Tourists with a certain outdoor foundation can also contact the scenic spot and pay to go to higher altitudes to explore.
The scenic spot is at a high altitude and has strong ultraviolet rays, so sun protection is essential. In winter, you should also wear sunglasses to prevent short-term snow blindness.

stroll in the ancient city of Dukezong

When you travel to Shangri-La, you will definitely come to the ancient city of Dukezong in the city. Just like going to Lijiang, you must visit the ancient city. Founded in the Tang Dynasty, the ancient city of Dukezong was once an important hub on the ancient tea horse road and one of the important birthplaces of Tibetan culture. Today's Dukezong is one of the larger and better Tibetan residential groups.

Wandering around the ancient city, I felt a leisurely living state and saw a dazzling array of special products, and there was also a square street, which really made me feel a little similar to the ancient city of Lijiang. The difference is that the ancient city of Dukezong is dominated by Tibetan-style buildings, which have strong Tibetan cultural characteristics. Therefore, many girls come here to take a set of Tibetan photos. There are indeed many places to take pictures here, which is not available in the ancient city of Lijiang.

There are many temples, ancient buildings, cultural heritage, etc. in the ancient city, which is an important window to understand Tibetan culture. Therefore, you should respect the local beliefs when visiting, such as clockwise tours, taking off your hat and sunglasses inside the temple.

> postscript

When I came to Shangri-La, my biggest feeling was: "ecology" is the biggest advantage and brightest business card of Diqing, coupled with the strong Tibetan culture, which makes this plateau particularly charming, and I will not get tired of it no matter how many times I come, because there are so many things worth exploring.
Perhaps there will be some small reactions brought about by the thin air when you come to the plateau, but these are not worth mentioning in the face of a good travel experience. Of course, I also had some regrets on this trip to Shangri-La, such as not going to Meili Snow Mountain. I believe I will come again.