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Travel guide
Yunnan
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: March to May, and September to November
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Welcome
Yunnan, in a few days
A province of south-west China between 1,900 and 3,400 metres, from the grey-tiled roofs of Lijiang to the flooded Hani rice terraces of Yuanyang and the gorge where the upper Yangtze runs between two peaks above 5,000 metres. Twenty-five officially recognised minorities and weekly village markets add to the draw.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Lijiang Old Town · 2 to 3 hA UNESCO-listed old town of cobbled lanes and Naxi houses at 2,400 metres, crossed by canals from Black Dragon Pool and hundreds of stone bridges.
- Afternoon · Tiger Leaping Gorge · several daysThe upper Yangtze squeezes between two peaks over 5,300 metres; the high trail climbs the 28 bends from Qiaotou, then follows the cliff.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Sofitel Kunming€85 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Songzanlin Monastery, Shangri-La · about 1 h 30Yunnan's largest Tibetan monastery, founded in 1679 at the order of the fifth Dalai Lama, on a hill above a town renamed Shangri-La in 2001.
- Afternoon · Shaxi and its Friday market free · half a dayA Bai village and former Tea Horse Road stop, with an 18th-century theatre and a temple of 15th-century murals, restored since 2001 with ETH Zurich.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Green Lake Hotel€80 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Cycling round Erhai Lake free · a full dayA 40 km lake at 1,970 metres below the Cangshan mountains, circled by a cycle route: flat along the west shore, hillier on the east.
- Afternoon · Three Pagodas of Dali · 2 to 3 hA 69-metre, sixteen-storey 9th-century pagoda flanked by two later octagonal towers, standing below the Cangshan mountains despite dozens of earthquakes.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Grand Park Kunming€70 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Shilin Stone Forest · half a dayGrey limestone blades up to 30 metres tall, east of Kunming, part of the South China Karst World Heritage Site since 2007.
- Afternoon · Yuanyang rice terraces · a full dayUNESCO-listed terraces cut by the Hani over 1,300 years, flooded from December to March and reflecting the sky at sunrise and sunset.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Crowne Plaza Kunming City Centre€80 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Dim sum: small steamed and fried dishes shared over tea, a Cantonese morning ritual.
- Peking duck: lacquered, roasted until the skin cracks, and carved at the table.
- Hot pot: a simmering pot of broth, often fiercely spiced in the Sichuan style, to cook your own meat and vegetables.
- Jiaozi and hand-pulled noodles: dumplings and noodles made to order, cheapest and best in the north.
- Tea and baijiu: green, oolong or pu'er depending on the region, and a very strong grain spirit for toasts.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Google, WhatsApp and most Western apps are blocked: sort out a roaming eSIM or a VPN before you arrive.
- Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with your foreign card before you go: cash is accepted less and less.
- Carry your hotel's address written in Chinese characters for taxi drivers.
- Stay away from political topics in conversation.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Mandarin
| English | Mandarin |
|---|---|
| Hello | 你好 (nǐ hǎo) |
| Thank you | 谢谢 (xièxie) |
| Please | 请 (qǐng) |
| Yes | 是 (shì) |
| No | 不是 (bù shì) |
| Excuse me | 对不起 (duìbuqǐ) |
| Goodbye | 再见 (zàijiàn) |
| Do you speak English? | 你会说英语吗 (nǐ huì shuō yīngyǔ ma) |
| I don't understand | 我不懂 (wǒ bù dǒng) |
| How much is it? | 多少钱 (duōshǎo qián) |
| Where are the toilets? | 厕所在哪里 (cèsuǒ zài nǎlǐ) |
| The bill, please | 买单 (mǎidān) |
| Help! | 救命！ (jiùmìng!) |
| Cheers! | 干杯！ (gānbēi!) |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyChinese yuan (CNY, ¥)
BudgetAbout €60 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMarch to May, and September to November
PlugA/I/C · 220V
Tap waterBoiled or bottled only
TippingNo tipping, it is not the custom
Emergency110 / 120
EntryUntil 31 December 2026, UK, Canadian, Australian and most EU passports (not Czech or Lithuanian) enter visa-free for up to 30 days. US citizens need a visa, unless they qualify for the 240-hour visa-free transit with a confirmed onward ticket to a third country.
HealthHepatitis A and typhoid are recommended. China has been certified free of malaria since 2021. Dengue occurs in the south in summer, and Japanese encephalitis in some rural areas: use repellent.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/yunnan
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.