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We arrived at the gorge at about 10am. Formed when a river passed through Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Haba Mountain, legend says a tiger jumped the narrowest point of the gorge to evade a chasing hunter. The trek started on a paved road and after 20 minutes Terry and myself were wondering if this would be the hiking equivalent of our bike ride in Dali. Thankfully it wasn’t, shortly concrete turned to dirt as we passed through the villages of Landou and Nuo Yu. As we ascended our views of the Golden Sands (Jingsha) River became more spectacular and the hike became more exhausting.
The toughest part came halfway through day 1 when we reached the 28 bends. This was the steepest part of the trail and the switchbacks were constant and unforgiving. I think the deep burn set in at about bend 10 and by bend 20 the thighs were ready to give up. We all stuck at it though and by 4:30 we had reached the Tea Horse Guesthouse were we would spend the night. A nice rest and some cold beers were just the trick as we sat out beneath the stars telling travelling tales and making friends with Korean travellers.
Waking up to a view of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain range was on par with the Emei Shan monastery and Halong Bay for early morning sights. The second day of our hike started after breakfast and was a lot easier and more pleasant than the previous day. Flat and downhill walking took us past waterfalls and greener vegetation. A quick pit stop at Halfway Guesthouse provided us with a lovely cup of hot chocolate and the best ‘loo with a view’ I have ever used. Another 2 hours walking found us at Tina’s Guesthouse and the end of our 2 day trek. After feasting on a Naxi sandwich we headed back to Lijiang. We enjoyed a final walk around the Old Town then hit the sack for a much deserved sleep.
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