Ultimate Hikes
Southwest China's biggest mountain country — multi-day treks, Tibetan pilgrim koras and the snow-mountain hike most travellers think is unreachable. Each route is a tested, guided experience that slots into a longer Yunnan or Sichuan trip — or stands alone.
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Meili North Slope Trek
Eight days on Kawagarbo's quieter north flank — Ciding Pass at 4,770 m, the Yunnan–Tibet border ridge, glacial cirques and yak pastures the Yubeng south-side trail never sees. The Tibetan pilgrim kora most travellers don't know exists.
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Haba Black Sea High-Altitude Trek
2D1N high-altitude trek to Black Sea — the glacial tarn at 4,100 m on the slopes of Haba Snow Mountain in northwest Yunnan. Across Tiger Leaping Gorge from Jade Dragon, ringed by yak pasture, with one of the cleanest sunrise viewpoints in the region.
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Changping–Bipeng Traverse
Mount Siguniang's classic 4-day valley crossing — Changping Valley's autumn larches and Tibetan stupas, the 4,668 m Muluozi Pass, and the descent into Bipeng Valley's turquoise mirror lakes. Permit-mandatory, guide-led, the most photogenic moderate trek in Sichuan.
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Genie South Route
Litang's sacred Genie Massif (6,204 m / 格聂神山) — the beginner-friendly south route around western Sichuan's most-rated trekking landscape. 32 km, two days, max 4,180 m at Reti, alpine pastures, wildflower meadows, Khampa horse country. Western Sichuan's hidden paradise.
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Yubeng Trek
Three days into Yubeng (雨崩) — the remote Tibetan village reachable only on foot, sitting under the sacred face of Kawagarbo (Meili Snow Mountain). Day 2 splits two ways: pilgrimage to the Sacred Waterfall, or the harder push to Ice Lake at 3,900 m. Exit via Ninong Gorge.
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Niru Valley Hike
Three days in Niru (尼汝) — the hidden alpine valley above Shangri-La that hardly any international travellers reach. Rainbow waterfall, wildflower meadows in late summer, conifer forest trails and Tibetan herder settlements. The lower-altitude, gentler alternative to Yubeng.
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Abujicuo Day Hike
A single day above Shangri-La to the turquoise alpine lake of Abujicuo (阿布吉措) at 4,220 m — prayer flags strung above glacial water, a rocky moraine summit, and one of the highest tarns you can reach on foot in northwest Yunnan without a multi-day trek.
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Gaoligongshan Day Hike
A day on Gaoligongshan (高黎贡山) — the UNESCO biosphere reserve on the Yunnan–Myanmar frontier — walked on the Ming-era flagstones of the Ancient Southern Silk Road. Primary forest, old tree-rhododendrons, around 470 documented bird species at the Baihualing gateway, and the caravan path that once carried tea to Burma.
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Cangshan Day Hike
A day on the Jade Belt Cloud Path (玉带云游路) — Cang Mountain's near-level paved walkway at the 2,600 m contour, with Erhai Lake spread a kilometre below for the whole 11.5 km. The easiest entry-point into Yunnan's Ultimate Hikes — alpine view without alpine effort.
Longer trips can be tailored to include hikes
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Peaks & Retreats: The Yunnan Trilogy
Twelve to sixteen days through the UNESCO Three Parallel Rivers heartland — Cang Mountain and Erhai in Dali, Tiger Leaping Gorge from Lijiang, and Songzanlin Monastery in Shangri-La.
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Siguniang & Bipeng Valley
Four-day private alpine escape from Chengdu — Bipeng Valley's autumn larches and mirror lakes, Siguniang's four-sisters peaks and Tibetan high meadows.
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Chengdu & Jiuzhai Valley
Giant Pandas at the Chengdu Research Base, then three days in the alpine lakes of Siguniang or Jiuzhai Valley. City culture first, mountain silence after.
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China's Last Frontier: Northwest Yunnan Loop
Twelve days through northwest Yunnan's frontier corridor — Erhai's quiet east shore, Jade Dragon glacier light, Kawagarbo at Feilai Si dawn, then deep into Nujiang: Catholic Lisu villages, the Wuli Tea Horse cliff trail, and the Salween's turquoise U-bends most travellers never see.
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Sacred Peaks of West Sichuan
Three 6,000m+ sacred peaks on one arc — Gongga's Lenggacuo dawn, Mt Genie's hidden south, and Daocheng Yading's three protector deities. A private adventure for travellers who want the photograph no one else has.
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West Sichuan Serendipity on Sky Road
A 10–14 day private road trip from Chengdu into the Tibetan highlands — Bipenggou, Litang, Daocheng Yading, and Lugu Lake. Monastery access, high-altitude driving, and genuine permit-required terrain.