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If you stay in Kunming downtown, you can take the bus to Stone Forest and Dongchuan Red Soil. You will take the bus at the Kunming East Bus Station to Stone Forest and after visiting return to Kunming in one day. On next day you can take the bus at Kunming North Bus Station Dongchuan Red Land. The site is also available for a day round trip.

From Kunming to Dali, you can choose to take the bullet train directly. It usually takes two hours to get to Dali. And from Dali to Lijiang, you can take the regular train, or take a bus from Dali North Bus Station to Lijiang Passenger Station. If you arrive at Lijiang Railway Station, you can take bus No.18 from the railway station to Lijiang old town. If you arrive at Lijiang Passenger Station, you can take bus No.12 to the old town. I kindly suggest you take a local tour or charter a private car to go to the scenic spots of Lijiang, which will be much more convenient. After Lijiang tour, you may take the bus from Lijiang Passenger Station to Shangri-la, which takes about 4 hours on the road.

Yes. It is fine to visit Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-la within six days. In Dali, I would recommend you to visit the Dali Ancient City, Three Pagoda Temple and Erhai Lake. In Lijiang, you can explore the Lijiang Old Town and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. There are direct shuttle buses from Lijiang to Shangri-la, but the bus is non-stop. If you want to visit the Tiger Leaping Gorge, you can take a bus to Qiaotou first and then charter a car to the gorge. After sightseeing, you can get back to Qiaotou and hail a bus bound for Shangri-la. Tiger Leaping Gorge contains three sections, and you can take pictures at the upper section. The main sights in Shangri-la are Songzanlin Temple, Bitahai Lake and Shudu Lake.

These cities are all famous tourist cities with convenient transportation. However, they can not be compared with the big international cities like Beijing, Shanghai, so I would suggest you join in a local group tour or travel with others especially when you go to some remote areas.

Thank you Katie, for your kind advice.

How far is the Qiaotou to the Gorge? I will be carrying my suitcase with me, is there a place where I can keep while I visit the upper section of TLG, before heading to Shangri-la?

I agree that it's a good idea to join a local group tour, as private tour is very expensive. Do you have any suggestion or websites where I can look into that?

Thank you once again.

The distance from Qiaotou to Tiger Leaping Gorge is about 10km (6 miles). As for your luggage, you can keep it at the checkroom which is at the entrance of Tiger Leaping Gorge or in your hotel.

If you want to join in a local tour, maybe you can contact TravelChinaGuide who will help you to customize a private tour in Yunnan.

Since I am on the way to Shangri-la, I have to check out of Lijiang hotel and therefore, will not be able to keep the luggage in the hotel. Can I carry the luggage in the bus from Qiaotou to Tiger Leaping Gorge, and then keep it at the entrance of TLG for just 1-2 hours? Do they have a locker for a 28" suitcase? Do you know how much it would cost?

Thank you, Katie.

Yes. According to what I know,there is a luggage deposit area at the entrance of Tiger Leaping Gorge. Besides, you can also deposit your luggage in a shop near TLG upon arriving at the upper section if there is no luggage deposit area. The cost would be around CNY 10-20 per locker.

As to the specific charges, you can ask the staffs when you arrive.

Great. Thank you, Katie!

There are public buses between each city. You can take bus from Lijiang Bus Terminal to Qiaotou and then transfer to Tiger Leaping Gorge. After visit, you may wait by the road for the bus bound for Shangrila. However, to save time, you may consider chartering a car or joining a guided tour.

If you want to do a normal hike, you can visit the upper gorge, which needs 2-3 hours. Middle gorge requires more intense hike, so it is not suggested if you have elderly people or children.

The altitude in Lijiang and Shangri-la is higher than other areas in Yunnan, especially for Shangri-la. Generally, it is fine to visit these places, but few people may not feel good due to the altitude sickness. I would suggest you consult your doctor before leaving and take some medicines if necessary.

You can take overnight train to Lijiang, but the same cabin can not be guaranteed. You can make request when you book the tickets.

I think you may go see Kunming, Dali and Lijiang. That is enough for 6 days.