Yunnan & Chongqing Natural Wonders — 11 Days

Arrive in Kunming and transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is free to rest after the flight.

Explore the Stone Forest, a vast field of limestone pinnacles shaped over millions of years and revered by the local Yi people. In the afternoon visit Dianchi Lake and Haigeng Park, the highland lake on whose shores Kunming spreads.

Take the high-speed train to Dali and enjoy a free afternoon to wander at your own pace, with the Cangshan ranges and Erhai Lake framing the town.

Visit Xizhou Old Town, known for its Bai-style courtyard houses, then follow the Erhai Lakeside Ecological Corridor beside the lake. End in Dali Old Town, whose Ming-era walls and pagodas reflect the old Bai kingdom centre.

Drive north to Lijiang and explore Lijiang Old Town, a Naxi settlement whose network of canals and wooden houses earned it UNESCO listing in 1997. Your guide points out the local Dongba culture as you walk the lanes.

Ascend Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, a glaciated peak rising above 5,500 metres that the Naxi honour as a sacred mountain. Below it, walk Blue Moon Valley, the turquoise river beds and pools fed by meltwater.

Fly to Chongqing and rest at the hotel, with the evening free to sample the city's famed hotpot or riverside life.

Tour Ciqikou Ancient Town, a riverside settlement of Ming and Qing lane houses, then watch the Liziba light-rail-through-building, where the monorail passes through a residential block. Continue to Kuixinglou, the Shancheng 18 Steps stepped quarter, and the stilted Hongyadong riverfront complex.

Drive to Wulong and spend the afternoon in Fairy Mountain (Xiannüshan) park, a grassy highland of pastures and pine forest south of the karst county.

Visit the Wulong Three Natural Bridges, a series of limestone arches spanning deep ravines formed by collapse and erosion, then walk the Longshuixia Rift, a narrow fissure between towering cliffs, before returning to Chongqing.

Transfer to the airport for your departure flight, ending the journey.