Logistic tips for hiking the Tiger Leaping Gorge 🐅

During our trip to Yunnan in September 2025 (one of our favorite trips so far), we spent a few days in Lijiang and did a 2-day hike in Tiger Leaping Gorge. I'm writing this post to note down some useful logistics that could help others (or myself, if I ever go back!).

Getting there

We took a DiDi from Lijiang, which cost around €40-50 if I remember correctly. It's surely not the cheapest option, but it was very convenient: we booked it in the morning and didn't wait long for a driver.

One thing worth mentioning: to reach the official start of the hike (the 28 Bends), you have to take a rocky, steep road. You can either walk it (45 to 60 minutes) or pay a local driver to take you there.

I had set that road as the destination of our DiDi ride, but the driver dropped us at the tourist spot next to it ([Google Maps link]). I can't blame him: he probably wasn't aware of the hike, as many Chinese tourists only visit this spot. I was too introverted (and a bit lost) to ask him to drop us at the right place, also I don't speak Mandarin 😅. So we ended up walking along the road for about 30 minutes to reach the start of the trail road :')

I'd highly recommend keeping an eye on your phone during the ride so you can ask your driver to drop you at the right place. In our case, we lost around an hour figuring out how to get to the start of the hike. Because of that, we decided to take a 4x4 up to the 28 Bends to avoid losing more time. I wouldn't recommend walking that stretch, though: it seemed to be of little interest, especially because of the number of vehicles.

The hike

We could finally start hiking! We were lucky with the weather, which was good. We were also afraid the trail would be crowded. It was a bit busy during the 28 Bends, but we were able to overtake some hikers, and after that the hike was very chill. The view is awesome all the way, and we weren't packed in with other hikers, just a few people hundreds of meters ahead of and behind us. Honestly, I found the hike easy and the landscape mesmerizing.

We spent the night at the Tiger Leaping Gorge Halfway Guest House. The food was good and the room simple but clean. You can't get bored of the view (plus they have very good IPAs if you're into beer!).

However, there was a lot of construction near the guest house: hotels, roads, etc. Cars could already reach the guest house by the lower road, close to the river. I'm afraid that in a few years the experience won't be the same, and the gorge will be packed with more and more tourists, not just hikers :')

Getting back to Lijiang

The second day was also a bit confusing when it came to getting back to Lijiang. We met drivers in Qiaotou (Hutiaoxia Town), but their prices were really high (if I remember correctly, 2-3x what we paid for the DiDi the day before). Luckily, we were able to book bus tickets for the same day, but the bus left 4-5 hours later.

In the meantime, we visited the Xianggelila Zhonghutiao Scenic Spot. It was a bit crowded (and the way up was quite of a workout!) but still worth it to feel the power of the Jinsha River down there. Very impressive!

We caught the bus from the road up there, as suggested by the lady who sold us the tickets (so we didn't have to go back to Qiaotou), and rode back to Lijiang.