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Published: November 8th 2006
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When we were relaxing in Dali, we speculated that we could just spend three months there in comfort and make up the rest of the Blog. Being thoroughly ignorant at that time about the Gorge, the Blog for this bit of travelling would most likely have banged on about being terrified of the tigers and how they were leaping around the place.
Well luckily we didn't cop out as Tiger Leaping Gorge is absolutely breathtaking. It is easily the most beautiful natural scenary I've seen anywhere. It doesn't seem to be one of the more well-known tourist spots in China. Indeed many Chinese people I've talked to have no idea about it. But it's been given a romantic name by the Chinese Tourist Board and it's now very much a must-see for travellers in the region. The Gorge is formed by the Yangzi which surges between Jade Snow Dragon and Haba mountains. The Gorge gets pretty thin at some points and the rapids that form can be heard on the high path, some 800 metres higher. Indeed the Gorge gets so thin at some points that, as legend has it, a tiger jumped across via a rock whilst being hunted.
Easy Tiger!
The tigers around the gorge were pretty ferocious! Given the distances it jumped it must have been a pretty substantial tiger, and I feel lucky we didn't encounter it on the way!
We decided to take the trek fairly slowly, breaking the high path's 23km walk over three days. After we purchased our tickets (to 'Tiger Jumping Gorge') we stopped by a cafe and encountered Margo, an Australian woman who's been living in the gorge for a number of years. Within ten seconds of walking in she was warning us about this and that, 'Walk with your head, not just your feet'. All good advice I guess, but Paul's comment ''It can't be that difficult'' didn't go down too well and soon we were leaving with our tails between our legs! Later we encountered Margo again, and I certainly warmed to her. Over the years she's invariably heard of a number of accidents along the route, most probably from over-confident tourists, so I can understand why she didn't take to us.
The trek was generally much harder than I expected. The path gets pretty narrow at some points and with the vertical drop one side my vertigo took a bit of a battering. It's also really
Mountain Goat Darlow
His clothes uncannily match the mountains. steep at some points and, given we had all our bags with us, it was hard work. On the other side of the gorge we could see suggestions of a path built into the mountain. I'm not sure what the purpose of this path was (most probably for the locals) but I was glad I wasn't on it.
Along the way there are numerous guesthouses which, on the whole, enhanced the experience. They're all fairly rustic and the facilities are basic but it's all part of the experience. Of particular note was the Halfway Guesthouse where Michael Palin stopped during his 'Himalaya' adventure. The toilets there are well documented in his book, due to the stunning scenary you can witness whilst during your business. After careful looking we even managed to find his comments in the guestbook, and it took a lot of self-control not to pinch it!
There were exceptions to the guesthouse experience most notably Sean's guesthouse. Sean's was the original guesthouse on the route and I got the impression they feel as if they own the place. Indeed the map that they provide has comments such as "Sean's river'' (that'll be the Yangzi by the
way). After finishing the route we decided to stay at a guesthouse just down from Sean's which we preferred due to the veranda with great views. The next day we went to Sean's to try and rent some bikes and because we weren't staying at their guesthouse they refused and starting swearing at us.
I can see his point of view that he does not want the Gorge to become over-populated with ugly guesthouses etc. He also doesn't want the path to become littered with graffiti (the rocks along the path all have advertisements and arrows pointing towards guesthouses). However, you could argue that those making a living from tourism have no right to resent competition. Additionally compaining about the grafitti is nonsensical given that they are one of the worst offenders on the path. I can actually empathise with his views but his general attitude can only put tourists off. Indeed we put off a good ten people we encountered telling them to stay at the same place as us.
After this we decided we walk the 23km back to the start along the lower road, which runs not far above the river. Everyone reckons it isn't
worth it but it turned out to be a lovely walk, other than the unnerving numerous piles of stones which were evidence of previous landslides.
The Guesthouses Naxi Family Gueshouse - lovely, just lovely. The nicest we stayed in. Cheap and comfortable, the owner even gave us some pumpkin and the largest pear I've ever seen as we left.
Halfway Guesthouse - lovely views and worth it just to say you used the same toilet as Michael Palin (unless you're female, in which case you'll have to sneak into the men's).
Sean's - enough said (see above).
Woody's - named after one of my mates so can't be bad. Lovely veranda to enjoy the sun over the mountains and good food.
Jane's - the only one at the start. Fine but not as good as the rest.
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Mikey
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Nice one Tim. Enjoying hearing about your adventures. Looks brilliant. Will you be back in Dalian after your Uncle Travelling Matt gig?