Shangri-La in winter is like a snow lotus blooming on the plateau, holy and mysterious

Number of days：5 days
Time: January
Average cost: 5,000 yuan
With whom: and friends
Tour kinds: Food, Photography, Humanities, Free Travel, Train, Hiking
Updated: 2024.01.18

"Everyone has a Shangri-La in their hearts.

You have it, and so do I.

I always feel it's so sacred, so mysterious."

It's said that anyone who can visit Shangri-La in winter must have immense strength and faith in their hearts.

Ever since it was first mentioned in James Hilton's Lost Horizon, Shangri-La has become a paradise of faith in the hearts of many.

With abundant sunshine, fresh air, picturesque scenery, and rich ecological resources, this place is a must-see destination in a lifetime.

In winter, Shangri-La sheds its annual garb and quietly blooms like a holy snow lotus on the plateau.

✈️How to get there:

You can fly to Diqing Airport from anywhere in China, or go to Lijiang first. There's a high-speed train from Lijiang to Shangri-La, and it only takes a little over an hour, which is very convenient.

When buying your ticket, remember to buy an F seat on the outbound leg. The first snow-capped mountain you'll see shortly after leaving the train is Jade Dragon Snow Mountain!

The scenery along the way is breathtaking, and it feels a bit like the journey from Japan to Mount Fuji.

✏️6-Day/5-Night Shangri-La Classic Itinerary:

Day 1: Various Parts of the Country - Shangri-La - Dukezong Ancient Town

Day 2: Dukezong Ancient Town - Napa Lake

Day 3: Pudacuo National Park - Songzanlin Monastery

Day 4: Balagzong

Day 5: Meili Snow Mountain

Day 6: Meili Snow Mountain - Return

This time I chose to come in winter to experience a different kind of plateau secret.

Shangri-La in winter is different from any other season.

The cool feeling brought by the plateau makes people feel particularly pure.

There is a sense of loneliness and emptiness, lonely and beautiful...

The most important thing you can't miss when visiting Shangri-La in winter is bird watching. There are many flying birds in Napahai International Important Wetland Park. You can tour around the lake. It is also suitable for self-driving tours! This time, the opening ceremony of the 6th Winter International Birdwatching Festival, held at Shangri-La's "Ecological Diqing Bird Paradise," coincided with the launch of the festival at Shangri-La Alpine Villa. The event was a lively gathering of photographers and bird enthusiasts.

After the launch ceremony, numerous bird enthusiasts took to the Napahai International Wetland of Shangri-La with their cameras and cameras for a self-guided bird photography tour. This is a major feature of Shangri-La in winter!

Snow-capped mountains, glaciers, wetlands, water birds...combined with blue skies and clear waters, all the romance of the plateau is gathered here.

Seeing the lonely and beautiful scenery on the Napa beach that looked like Iceland, I thought of the saying "It's not that I can't afford to go to Iceland, but Shangri-La is more cost-effective!"

You can rent Tibetan costumes for photo shoots in the ancient town. There are many options, and the average price, including makeup, is 68 yuan, making it a very cost-effective option. There is also the world's largest prayer wheel here, in the Big Buddha Temple on the Moonlight Square. It is shining with golden light when you go there at night! Of course, there was also a salon on the theme of “Ecological Protection and Sustainable Development” that evening, held at the Indigo Hotel at the highest point of Dukezong Ancient Town.

Not only is the hotel located high above the ancient city, offering a panoramic view of the ancient city, but it also offers a wide variety of delicious desserts, which are very pleasant, delicious and rich.

On the third day, we chose to go to Pudacuo National Park, which is very suitable for hiking and outdoor enthusiasts. If you enjoy nature in Shangri-La during winter, besides birdwatching at Napahai, Pudacuo National Park is a must-see! Pudacuo National Park offers a unique winter scenery in Shangri-La. Located approximately 40 kilometers from Shangri-La City, it's one of the city's largest lakes and a designated Wetland of International Importance. Pudacuo National Park is located in the heart of the Three Parallel Rivers World Heritage Site in northwest Yunnan. Its highest point is 4,670 meters above sea level, and its lowest point is 2,347 meters above sea level. It is dotted with unique scenic spots such as fault cliffs, forest streams, and deep canyons. It contains relatively pristine and intact forest shrubs, alpine meadows, wetland lakes, geological relics, and river canyon ecosystems.

Pudacuo National Park still has a lot of snow in winter, and the hike to Shudu Lake is breathtakingly beautiful.

A 500-meter walk will take you to Shudu Lake. The blue waters nestle like a pearl of the plateau amidst the snow-capped mountains. You can also visit the observation deck for photos.

Along the hike, you'll see glacial lakes, snowy plains, forests, and birds flying by, creating a peaceful and tranquil environment. "Shudu" means "cheese as solid as stone" in Tibetan. Shudu Lake covers a large area, and its ecosystem combines plateau lakes, swampy meadows, and pristine dark coniferous forests. It is rich in rare flora and fauna, and is especially abundant in the Shudu schizothorax, a golden fish with a cracked belly and delicate, delicious flesh. The lake is also home to numerous wild ducks, water hyacinths, and yellow ducks. If you come here in spring or summer, there is a 3.3-kilometer-long wooden plank road on the south bank of Shudu Lake, which is also a great place for hiking. There are also three routes along Shudu Lake: the 2.2-kilometer-long Shudugang River ecological hiking route and the 3-kilometer-long Tibetan primitive nomadic tribe cultural experience route on the north bank of Shudu Lake. On the afternoon of our return trip from Pudacuo, we headed to Ganden Songzanlin Monastery, on our way to a grand event in Shangri-La. This is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan Province, holding a pivotal position throughout the Tibetan region. Known as the "Little Potala Palace," it's a perfect spot for young women to take photos in Tibetan costume.

Songzanlin Monastery, built on the mountainside and resembling an ancient castle, is a culmination of Tibetan plastic arts and is known as the "Tibetan Art Museum."

I visited this temple on my first trip to Shangri-La and haven't been back since. After 18 years, I came to Songzanlin Temple in Shangri-La again. It felt like nothing had changed, and yet everything had changed, as if I had traveled through time and space. The mountain air is beautiful at dusk, and birds fly back and forth. There is a true meaning in this, but I have forgotten the words to express it. On the fourth day, we went to Balagzon. This is the real Shambhala of dreams, and a round trip in one day is actually very tight. If you are destined to be shocked by one place in Shangri-La, it must be Balagzon!

This place was once a place that could not be found on any map of the world. Isolated from the outside world for more than 1,300 years, it was known as the "once-lost secret realm."

This place used to require the entire village's able-bodied men to walk for 3-4 days to get out of if sick. Now, it takes too long to get treatment.

This true "Tibetan Secret" in the deepest part of Shangri-La carries unimaginable shock!

Here are snow-capped mountains, canyons, temples, pagodas, villages...

Here are mountains and steep cliffs. It takes a 40-minute drive from the entrance of Balagzong at an altitude of 2,050 meters, and it takes 99 hairpin turns to reach the top of the mountain at 4,200 meters, where there is the mysterious "Shambhala Pagoda". This 35-kilometer-long "Sky Road," with an altitude difference of over 2,000 meters, was built by Snadingzhu over 10 years, using his 40 million yuan savings and selling all his belongings. On the way up the mountain by scenic shuttle bus, a video of Dong Qing interviewing Snadingzhu about how he built the road to his home was played. Many tourists were moved by this story and wiped away tears. Perhaps the story here is even more moving than the sacred mountain itself...

I definitely recommend visiting the Shambhala Pagoda; it's arduous, but well worth it!

The climb up the mountain is very similar to the one from Bingchacha Walung to Zayu; the scenery is absolutely stunning!

Surrounded by snow-capped mountains along the way, the scenery changes with every step. It's incredibly beautiful and truly breathtaking!

It's a 1.5-hour drive from downtown Shangri-La to the entrance of the Balagzong Scenic Area, and then you can take the scenic bus up the mountain, which takes about another hour.

There are hotels and restaurants in the Balagzong Scenic Area. 🍴 It might be a bit rushed to Shangri-La on the same day, so if you don't want to be too tired, you can stay an extra night. On the last day, we went to Meili Snow Mountain, one of the ten most beautiful snow-capped mountains in the world. It has never been climbed to the top. It is said that anyone who has seen the golden mountain in the sun will be lucky for the whole year.