Venture deep into Yunnan's least-explored corner, where ancient tea-horse roads wind through misty mountains and ethnic traditions thousands of years old remain vividly alive. This 10-day journey takes you far beyond the typical tourist trail — from the karst spires of Shilin and the fiery communal feasts of the Yi people, to the sacred cliffs of Cangyuan, home to 3,000-year-old rock paintings and the last primitive Wa village in China. Cross Asia's tallest arch dam, walk one of the country's longest glass skywalks suspended 200 metres above a forested valley, and wander thousand-year-old tea gardens on Jingmai Mountain, a UNESCO World Heritage tea forest. Sleep in Ctrip 4-Diamond hotels each night, travel with a private vehicle and guide throughout, and experience a side of China that few travellers ever see — where borders blur between Yunnan, Myanmar, and centuries of living tradition. Come with curiosity; leave having witnessed a Yunnan most people don't know exists.
Activity location
Stone Forest
652200, Shilin County, Yunnan, China
Meeting/Redemption Point
Stone Forest
652200, Shilin County, Yunnan, China
Check availability
single room
Activity duration is 10 days10d
10d
English
single room supplement: single room supplement
Pickup included
Starting time: 9:00 AM
Price details
NZ$1,059.42 x 1 AdultNZ$1,059.42
Total
Price is NZ$1,059.42NZ$1,059.42
includes taxes & fees
10 Day Private Yunnan Religious Culture and Wa Ethnic Minority
Activity duration is 10 days10d
10d
English
Pickup included
Starting time: 9:00 AM
Price details
NZ$4,679.11 x 1 AdultNZ$4,679.11
Total
Price is NZ$4,679.11NZ$4,679.11
includes taxes & fees
*Get lower prices by selecting more than 2 adults
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What's included, what's not
Inclusions
Entrance fee
Inclusions
Licensed English/Mandarin-speaking tour guide service
Personal expenses, service charge, and international/domestic flights
Know before you book
Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Public transport options are available nearby
Specialised infant seats are available
Transport options are wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for travellers with poor cardiovascular health
Travellers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Activity itinerary
Day 1: Kunming – Shilin – Chuxiong
2 stops
Meals: Not included
Accommodation: Ctrip 4-Diamond rated hotels or equivalent boutique guesthouses throughout the journey (twin room for 2 travellers)
Stone Forest
3h
Admission ticket included
Explore Shilin, a UNESCO World Heritage karst landscape where towering limestone pillars rise from the earth like a natural maze, shaped by 270 million years of erosion. Wander narrow stone corridors, take in panoramic views from the peaks, and pass through traditional villages of the Sani people, a subgroup of the Yi ethnic minority, along the way.
Yiren Ancient Town
2h
Explore Yizu Ancient Town, a national AAAA-rated cultural tourism town built around traditional Yi ethnic architecture from Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan. Wander through scenic squares, ancient theatres, and riverside pavilions, taking in the town's blend of architecture and Yi culture. If travellers wish, they may also join the Yi Long Street Banquet, a lively nightly communal feast held within the town — Yi villagers in festive dress welcome guests with singing, the Zuojiao dance, and torch performances, while the traditional "Eight Bowls" Yi cuisine is served along a water-side stilted pavilion, accompanied by rice wine and music.
Day 2: Chuxiong – Nanjian
1 stop
Meals: breakfast
Accommodation: Ctrip 4-Diamond rated hotels or equivalent boutique guesthouses throughout the journey (twin room for 2 travellers)
Nanjian County
2h
Visit Nanjian's Earth Forest, a striking natural formation of colourful earthen pillars carved by centuries of wind and rain. Unlike the limestone Stone Forest, these soft-hued clay towers create a starkly beautiful, otherworldly landscape. The entire site is fitted with wooden boardwalks, making it an easy, comfortable walk suitable for all ages.
Day 3: Nanjian – Lushi Ancient Town
2 stops
Meals: breakfast
Accommodation: Ctrip 4-Diamond rated hotels or equivalent boutique guesthouses throughout the journey (twin room for 2 travellers)
Fengqing County
1h
Cross the dramatic Lancang River Grand Canyon on the border of Nanjian County and Fengqing County. Stop at Xiaowan Dam, Asia's tallest double-curvature arch dam, for sweeping views of the reservoir known as the "Hundred-Li Long Lake," its still waters stretching like a vast inland sea between the mountains.
Fengqing County
2h
Arrive at Lushi Ancient Town, a well-preserved Ming and Qing dynasty staging post along the ancient Tea-Horse Caravan Road. Wander its cobblestone streets and timber courtyard houses, where centuries of trading history linger in the evening light
Day 4: Lushi Ancient Town – Yunxian
2 stops
Meals: breakfast
Accommodation: Ctrip 4-Diamond rated hotels or equivalent boutique guesthouses throughout the journey (twin room for 2 travellers)
Fengqing County
1h
Discover Gumo Village, a secluded hamlet tucked deep in the mountains and virtually unknown to outsiders. Its earthen-and-timber houses and terraced fields offer an authentic glimpse into rural Yunnan life, unchanged by time.
Fengqing County
1h
Visit Anshi Village, known as "China's No.1 Dianhong Village," and walk through its ancient tea gardens to learn the century-old history of Dianhong black tea. Enjoy a cup of handcrafted tea brewed by local farmers and feel the deep bond between the land and its leaves.
Day 5: Yunxian – Cangyuan
2 stops
Meals: breakfast
Accommodation: Ctrip 4-Diamond rated hotels or equivalent boutique guesthouses throughout the journey (twin room for 2 travellers)
Cangyuan Rock Paintings
1h 30m
Admission ticket included
See the Cangyuan Rock Paintings, among China's earliest known cliff art, dating back over 3,000 years. Painted in red ochre across a cliff face nicknamed the "Kilometer-Long Ink Painting Corridor," the scenes depict ancient hunting, ritual, and dance.
Cangyuan County
1h
Explore Gourd Town in the afternoon, where the Wa ethnic people's distinctive gourd-based culture and folk art come to life through decorative motifs, crafts, and local customs. Location: Mengdong Town, Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County.
Day 6: Cangyuan
4 stops
Meals: breakfast
Accommodation: Ctrip 4-Diamond rated hotels or equivalent boutique guesthouses throughout the journey (twin room for 2 travellers)
Banhong Mountain
2h
Rise early to catch the Wa Mountain Sea of Clouds from a scenic viewpoint, where layers of mist roll like cotton through the valleys below at sunrise — a breathtaking natural spectacle.
Visit Banhong Township and its Anti-British Resistance Monument, commemorating the Wa people's 1934 uprising against British colonial encroachment — a little-known chapter of local history.
Banhong Township
1h
Visit Banhong Township and its Anti-British Resistance Monument, commemorating the Wa people's 1934 uprising against British colonial encroachment — a little-known chapter of local history.
Banhong Mountain
2h
Walk the Xiabanba Glass Skywalk in Banhong Township, one of China's longest glass skywalks at approximately 800 metres, suspended roughly 200 metres above a forested valley. Nestled within a pristine woodland reserve, the skywalk offers a thrilling, transparent-floor walk with sweeping views over the valley below — and on lucky days, glimpses of wild Asian elephants roaming the surrounding forest.
Wengding Wa Nationality Gregarious Village
1h
Admission ticket included
End the day at Wengding, China's best-preserved primitive Wa village, where thatched-roof houses and timber-post village gates reflect the ancient wisdom of Wa survival and community life.
Day 7: Cangyuan – Ximeng – Lancang
1 stop
Meals: breakfast
Accommodation: Ctrip 4-Diamond rated hotels or equivalent boutique guesthouses throughout the journey (twin room for 2 travellers)
Mengsuo Dragon's Pool
3h
Arrive at Mengsuo Dragon Pool, known as the "Kidney of Ximeng" — a serene highland lake ringed by dense rainforest, its mirror-still waters home to rare waterbirds and said to share an underground water source with a sister lake across the border in Myanmar. Follow the lakeside boardwalk through wetlands and forest, passing lotus ponds, a holy spring, and ancient banyan trees along the way. Continue on to Longmoye, tucked within the same scenic area — the most sacred spiritual site of the Wa people, shrouded in mist and mystery deep in the Awa Mountains. Thousands of buffalo skulls hang from cliffs and trees here, offerings accumulated over generations, where tribal leaders have held solemn annual ceremonies for centuries to pray for blessings and protection.
Day 8: Lancang – Jingmai Mountain – Lancang
2 stops
Meals: breakfast
Accommodation: Ctrip 4-Diamond rated hotels or equivalent boutique guesthouses throughout the journey (twin room for 2 travellers)
Jingmai Mountain
2h
Admission ticket included
Spend the morning exploring Jingmai Tea Mountain. Walk through thousand-year-old ancient tea gardens and visit Wengji Ancient Village, where the Blang ethnic people still live alongside centuries-old tea trees, hand-picking and processing leaves using traditional methods passed down through generations.
Nuogang Mountain
2h
In the afternoon, walk through Nuogan Ancient Village, the best-preserved Dai traditional settlement on Jingmai Mountain, where bamboo houses nestle beneath ancient shade trees and time seems to stand still.
Day 9: Lancang – Xinping
2 stops
Meals: breakfast
Accommodation: Ctrip 4-Diamond rated hotels or equivalent boutique guesthouses throughout the journey (twin room for 2 travellers)
Ning'er County
1h
Pass through Nakeli, a historic stop on the ancient Tea-Horse Caravan Road, and trace the footsteps of the mule caravans that once carried tea and goods across Yunnan's mountains. This is a natural stop en route from Lancang to Xinping, near the Pu'er city area.
Xinping County
2h
Visit Xinping Ethnic Culture Square to learn about the Huayao Dai, a Dai subgroup renowned for their elaborately colourful traditional dress and distinctive folk customs.
In the evening, admire Wucai Pavilion, a striking architectural complex blending Dai, Yi, and Hani ethnic design elements, glowing in vibrant colour under the sunset and evening lights.
Day 10: Xinping – Kunming
2 stops
Meals: breakfast
Accommodation: Not included
Mt. Ailao Natiaonal Natural Reserve
2h
Admission ticket included
Explore Jinshan Primeval Forest Park, located within the visitor-accessible zone of the Ailao Mountain Nature Reserve — an ancient forest known as the "Oasis on the Tropic of Cancer" and one of Yunnan's most biodiverse regions. Towering, moss-draped trees create an otherworldly atmosphere, and rare plants and wildlife may be glimpsed among the dense canopy. Travellers stay within designated, developed trails with safety railings; access to the undeveloped core reserve is prohibited by law.
Xinping County
2h
From Gasa Town, follow the scenic mountain road up into the Ailao range to Nan'en Waterfall, where water cascades down a 100-meter drop across sheer cliffs — dramatic and easily viewed right from the roadside. Continue along the same route to Shimen Gorge, a deep, narrow canyon flanked by towering cliffs and natural stone "gates," often called the "Jiuzhaigou of the Ailao Mountains" for its crystal-clear streams and lush greenery.
Location
Activity location
LOB_ACTIVITIESLOB_ACTIVITIES
Stone Forest
652200, Shilin County, Yunnan, China
Meeting/Redemption Point
PEOPLEPEOPLE
Stone Forest
652200, Shilin County, Yunnan, China
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