Code: SHANGRI-LA01
2 Days Classic Shangri-La Tour
► Route: Songzanlin Monastery → Dukezong Ancient Town → Moonlight Square → Guishan Park → Potatso National Park → White Water Terraces
Day 1 Downtown Tour of Songzanlin Monastery & Dukezong Ancient Town
You are advised to stay in the Dukezong Ancient Town in Shangri-La the night before. After breakfast today, leave for the Songzanlin Monastery, which is known as the ‘Little Potala Palace’ and honored as a must-see in Shangri-La.
A taxi from Dukezong Ancient Town to the monastery takes 15 minutes and costs CNY 20. To save money, you can also take bus line 3 from the east or north gate of the ancient town to the monastery, taking 30 minutes and costing CNY 1.
Songzanlin Monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan. The whole building complex is like a resplendent ancient castle leaning against a mountain in the north and facing the Lamuyangcuo Lake in the south. The golden eaves of the spectacular buildings are decorated with various figurines of auspicious animals, glistening under the sunshine. A 15-minute hike north from the ticket office leads to an observation deck on the east side of the lake, which offers the best panoramic views of the monastery and its reflection in the lake. A 10-minute walk further north along the lakeside plank road leads to the monastery where you can visit the solemn Buddhist halls and precious cultural relics inside.
► Opening Hours: 8:00 – 18:00
► Recommended Time for a Visit: 2 to 3 hours
► Ticket Price: CNY 90, including CNY 55 for the entrance ticket, CNY 20 for a round trip of the sightseeing bus, and CNY 15 for local guide service.
► Travel Tip: If you are physically fit, you can buy an entrance ticket only, costing CNY 55, without paying for the sightseeing bus or guide service. Walk half an hour from the ticket office to the monastery, or you can continue to take the bus line 3 to get there at a cost of CNY 2.
How to Get There:
A taxi from Dukezong Ancient Town to the monastery takes 15 minutes and costs CNY 20. To save money, you can also take bus line 3 from the east or north gate of the ancient town to the monastery, taking 30 minutes and costing CNY 1.
Songzanlin Monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan. The whole building complex is like a resplendent ancient castle leaning against a mountain in the north and facing the Lamuyangcuo Lake in the south. The golden eaves of the spectacular buildings are decorated with various figurines of auspicious animals, glistening under the sunshine. A 15-minute hike north from the ticket office leads to an observation deck on the east side of the lake, which offers the best panoramic views of the monastery and its reflection in the lake. A 10-minute walk further north along the lakeside plank road leads to the monastery where you can visit the solemn Buddhist halls and precious cultural relics inside.
► Opening Hours: 8:00 – 18:00
► Recommended Time for a Visit: 2 to 3 hours
► Ticket Price: CNY 90, including CNY 55 for the entrance ticket, CNY 20 for a round trip of the sightseeing bus, and CNY 15 for local guide service.
► Travel Tip: If you are physically fit, you can buy an entrance ticket only, costing CNY 55, without paying for the sightseeing bus or guide service. Walk half an hour from the ticket office to the monastery, or you can continue to take the bus line 3 to get there at a cost of CNY 2.
After lunch, you can take a taxi or bus line 3 to return to the Dukezong Ancient Town, and spend the afternoon walking and exploring the highlights of the town.
► Opening Hours: The town is open all day long; 8:30 to 17:30 for some indoor museums.
► Recommended Time for a Visit: 3 hours
► Ticket Price: Free
Dukezong Ancient Town was once the hub of the Ancient Tea-horse Road, and now keeps the best-preserved and largest Tibetan residential complex in China. The layout of the whole town is like a lotus with eight petals, with the Moonlight Square in the center. Walk to the square and visit the museums around it for free. You can visit the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Museum and the Ancient Tea-horse Road Museum to learn about the prosperous history of Shangri-La as the economic and trade hub of Sichuan-Tibet-Yunnan region in the past.
On the west side of the square is the Guishan Park abutting a hill. Climb the steep steps and soon you can reach the Han Temple, where there is the world's largest prayer wheel. The 5-story high wheel is made of gold-plated copper and embossed with various Buddhist sutras and patterns. It weighs 16 tons and requires about a dozen people to turn it. You can join other visitors to turn it three times, which is said to benefit your luck. At the top of the hill is the 3-story Chaoyang Tower, on which you can overlook the whole town.
If you have more time, you can also visit the Baiji Temple on the hill in the west of the ancient town. It takes about half an hour to hike from the foot of the mountain to the temple on the top, where you can overlook the Yila Grassland, the continuous snow mountains, Shangri-La Airport, and the whole city. After enjoying the sunset there, you can go back down to stay overnight in the Dukezong Ancient Town.
► Opening Hours: The town is open all day long; 8:30 to 17:30 for some indoor museums.
► Recommended Time for a Visit: 3 hours
► Ticket Price: Free
Dukezong Ancient Town was once the hub of the Ancient Tea-horse Road, and now keeps the best-preserved and largest Tibetan residential complex in China. The layout of the whole town is like a lotus with eight petals, with the Moonlight Square in the center. Walk to the square and visit the museums around it for free. You can visit the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Museum and the Ancient Tea-horse Road Museum to learn about the prosperous history of Shangri-La as the economic and trade hub of Sichuan-Tibet-Yunnan region in the past.
On the west side of the square is the Guishan Park abutting a hill. Climb the steep steps and soon you can reach the Han Temple, where there is the world's largest prayer wheel. The 5-story high wheel is made of gold-plated copper and embossed with various Buddhist sutras and patterns. It weighs 16 tons and requires about a dozen people to turn it. You can join other visitors to turn it three times, which is said to benefit your luck. At the top of the hill is the 3-story Chaoyang Tower, on which you can overlook the whole town.
If you have more time, you can also visit the Baiji Temple on the hill in the west of the ancient town. It takes about half an hour to hike from the foot of the mountain to the temple on the top, where you can overlook the Yila Grassland, the continuous snow mountains, Shangri-La Airport, and the whole city. After enjoying the sunset there, you can go back down to stay overnight in the Dukezong Ancient Town.
Day 2 Excursion to Potatso National Park & White Water Terraces
Shudu Lake in Potatso National Park
Today's trip is quite long. If you want to make a round trip on the same day, the schedule would be very tight, so you need to get up as early as possible. After breakfast, head to the Potatso National Park first.
You can take a taxi from the Dukezong Ancient Town to the park, taking half an hour and costing CNY 70 to 100 for a single way. Or from the Shangri-La Bus Station, you can take a bus to get there in half an hour at a cost of CNY 15. There are three buses departing at 8:30, 9:30, and 10:30. If you choose to take the earliest bus, you can reach the park at around 9:00 and you may need to cut back on the time you spend in the park.
Potatso National Park consists of Bita Lake, Shudu Lake and Militangya Alpine Pasture. Currently, only the Shudu Lake area is open for tourists. Take the sightseeing car at the entrance, it takes about 20 minutes to arrive at the lake, which is clear and blue and surrounded by a stretch of alpine pasture. In spring and summer, it is breathtaking with a sea of wild flowers. There is a plank path along the lake, which takes about an hour to complete. You can also try the Luorong Village Hiking Route to see the primitive alpine forests.
► Opening Hours: 8:30 – 16:00
► Recommended Time for a Visit: 3 hours
► Ticket Price: CNY 80
To ensure that the afternoon trip to the White Water Terraces can be completed smoothly, you need to finish your visit of Potatso before noon. It is recommended that you leave 30 minutes at most for lunch break, or you can prepare a lunchbox in advance to save time.
How to Get There:
You can take a taxi from the Dukezong Ancient Town to the park, taking half an hour and costing CNY 70 to 100 for a single way. Or from the Shangri-La Bus Station, you can take a bus to get there in half an hour at a cost of CNY 15. There are three buses departing at 8:30, 9:30, and 10:30. If you choose to take the earliest bus, you can reach the park at around 9:00 and you may need to cut back on the time you spend in the park.
Potatso National Park consists of Bita Lake, Shudu Lake and Militangya Alpine Pasture. Currently, only the Shudu Lake area is open for tourists. Take the sightseeing car at the entrance, it takes about 20 minutes to arrive at the lake, which is clear and blue and surrounded by a stretch of alpine pasture. In spring and summer, it is breathtaking with a sea of wild flowers. There is a plank path along the lake, which takes about an hour to complete. You can also try the Luorong Village Hiking Route to see the primitive alpine forests.
► Opening Hours: 8:30 – 16:00
► Recommended Time for a Visit: 3 hours
► Ticket Price: CNY 80
To ensure that the afternoon trip to the White Water Terraces can be completed smoothly, you need to finish your visit of Potatso before noon. It is recommended that you leave 30 minutes at most for lunch break, or you can prepare a lunchbox in advance to save time.
Next, you can hire a car or carpool with other tourists to go to the White Water Terraces (Baishuitai), which is about 75 km (47 mi) away. It takes about 2.5 hours to complete the mountain road with many curves.
White Water Terraces, located at the foot of the Haba Snow Mountain, is the largest calc-sinter spring tableland in China. The calcium carbonate dissolves in the spring, forming crystal blue-green water that cascades down the terraced pools on the mountain. What a natural wonder! It is a holy land of Dongba Religion. On the 8th day of the 2nd lunar month, people of Tibetan, Naxi, Yi, Bai, Lisu and other ethnic minorities from the surrounding villages gather here. They sing, dance, have picnics, and hold sacrificial ceremonies to pray for harvest.
► Opening Hours: 7:00-17:00
► Recommended Time for a Visit: 1 to 2 hours
► Ticket Price: CNY 30
White Water Terraces, located at the foot of the Haba Snow Mountain, is the largest calc-sinter spring tableland in China. The calcium carbonate dissolves in the spring, forming crystal blue-green water that cascades down the terraced pools on the mountain. What a natural wonder! It is a holy land of Dongba Religion. On the 8th day of the 2nd lunar month, people of Tibetan, Naxi, Yi, Bai, Lisu and other ethnic minorities from the surrounding villages gather here. They sing, dance, have picnics, and hold sacrificial ceremonies to pray for harvest.
► Opening Hours: 7:00-17:00
► Recommended Time for a Visit: 1 to 2 hours
► Ticket Price: CNY 30
Travel Tips:
The Potatso National Park and the White Water Terraces can be visited in a day, but the time is relatively tight. As it is a long way from the White Water Terraces to Shangri-La or Lijiang, you can consider staying here for a night, which would be much easier. Depending on your following travel plan, you can return to Shangri-La or travel south to Lijiang the next day. The 100-km (62-mi) return trip to Shangri-La takes 3 hours; while the 160-km (99-mi) journey to Lijiang takes 4 hours, and you can visit the Tiger Leaping Gorge on the way.