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Published: October 3rd 2013
When I was reading LP several months ago and thinking about this next leg of my travels in Yunnan, I already got the feeling that this part could very well be the highlight.
And it indeed hasn't disappointed. Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the deepest in the world, where the mighty Yangtze flows through a series of rapids, and named after a rather implausible story, was my next stop. Legend has it that a tiger once leapt from one of the rocks in the middle of the gorge to the other bank to escape a hunter. As beautifully romantic it is, having now seen the rock and the 40m or so of crashing rapids the tiger would have had to bound over, I can safely say it really is quite impossible.
But before I got to the rock itself, there was the small matter of a two day hike through the "High Trail", a 20+ km winding, rocky path through the spurs of the surrounding hills. And what a hike it was, including a painful 2h-ish climb up the "28 bends", ascending, I think, some 600-709m in altitude to about 2700m. And as night fell, I was still barely
Middle Tiger Leaping Rock
From the viewing platform.halfway there! After a quick night at the midpoint guesthouse, I was on my way again the next morning, negotiating another several hours through rocky paths and even mini-waterfalls! And then, already quite exhausted, there was the small matter of the 500+m descent to the river, and the Middle Tiger Leaping Rock. The 40 min steep, hairy descent, including a nosebleed high ladder that was fortunately optional, was pure punishment for the knees. And the 1h ascent back up was one of the most thigh-busting workouts I've ever had. Needless to say I was completely spent after the two days' exertions.
There is in fact a vehicular road that leads straight to the rock, which the domestic packaged tour groups tend to take. They zip in and out in a few hours. Daunted by the thought of the long hike, I'd actually contemplated taking this route. Then I realized it would have completely gone against the independent philosophy of travel that I'd been abiding by the past year and a half, so I scratched the idea and went ahead with the hike.
And it was all worth it.
It's hard to explain being so awed
Qiaotou
Where the trek begins. by the sheer immensity of the gorge and environs. Flanked by 5000m high mountains on either side, the gorge was simply a magnificent sight. Whether it's seeing the local farmers harvest their corn fields with their donkeys, negotiating the rocky outcrops, or gazing across the vast fields of blooming wild flowers bathed by the warm afternoon sunshine, the gorge was indeed an unforgettable sight to behold (as LP describes it) "every step of the way".
Stayed at Tea Horse Guesthouse and Bridge Guesthouse.
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