Tea Horse Road Benzilan is a 30-room lodge of rammed earth and timber on the Jinsha River at Benzilan, the Tea Horse Road's old crossing in Deqin county, about two hours north of Shangri-La and the natural night before the Baima pass and Meili Snow Mountain. It opened in 2016 as LUX* Tea Horse Road Benzilan and now trades under its own name; rooms are 45m² with a king bed or twins, some over the river, plus a 90m² junior suite, and there is a restaurant serving Kham Tibetan food, a café and a lobby bar.
Tea Horse Road Benzilan (滇藏秘境·茶马道奔子栏酒店) is a 30-room lodge on the edge of Benzilan, the town where the Tea Horse Road crossed the Jinsha River in Deqin county, about two hours north of Shangri-La on the road to Meili Snow Mountain. It opened in 2016 as LUX* Tea Horse Road Benzilan and now trades under its own name. The buildings are rammed earth and timber around a galleried atrium, with courtyards and terraces looking to the river and the dry hills; rooms are 45m² with a king bed or twins, some facing the river, plus a 90m² junior suite, and the kitchen cooks Kham Tibetan food.
Highlights
- Rammed earth and timber in the Tibetan style of the valley, around a galleried atrium, with courtyards and terraces
- On the Jinsha at Benzilan, where the Tea Horse Road crossed the river — some rooms look straight down onto the water
- About two hours north of Shangri-La: the warm, low-valley night before the Baima pass (4,292m), Feilai Si and Meili
- 30 rooms — 45m² Superior and Deluxe rooms with a king bed or twins, and a 90m² Junior Suite with a bath and river view
- A restaurant serving Kham Tibetan food, a café and a lobby bar
- Opened in 2016 as LUX* Tea Horse Road Benzilan, now under its own name; the Jinsha's great bend at Yueliangwan is a few kilometres up the road
Inside Tea Horse Road Benzilan
Staying at Tea Horse Road Benzilan
01 Where is Tea Horse Road Benzilan and how do I get there?
It's on the edge of Benzilan, the Tibetan town on the Jinsha River in Deqin county where the Tea Horse Road once crossed the water, about two hours' drive north of Shangri-La on the G214. From here the road to Deqin, Feilai Si and Meili Snow Mountain climbs over the Baima Snow Mountain pass (4,292m), so Benzilan is the warm, low night before or after the high country; the Jinsha's great bend at Yueliangwan is a few kilometres up the road.
02 What are the rooms like?
There are 30, built of rammed earth and timber around a galleried atrium. The Superior and Deluxe rooms are 45m² with a king bed or twins and a minibar, and several open onto balconies; the Deluxe King rooms face the river, as does the 90m² Junior Suite, which also has a bath. Interiors are pale timber and white walls with red bed runners, lanterns and Tibetan details.
03 Who is this stay best for?
Travellers breaking the Shangri-La–Meili road in comfort rather than pushing over the pass in one go, and anyone who likes a lodge built of the local earth — rammed walls, timber galleries, a Tibetan town at the door and the river below. It is where we stay on the Jinsha between Shangri-La and Feilai Si.
