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Gran tour de 8 días por Yunnan: Kunming-Dali-Lijiang-Shangri-La cover photo
★ 8-day itinerary

Gran tour de 8 días por Yunnan: Kunming-Dali-Lijiang-Shangri-La

Ocho días para conocer lo mejor de la provincia de Yunnan. Días 1-2 Kunming, días 3-4 Dali, días 5-6 Lijiang, días 7-8 Shangri-La. Vuelos internos o HSR conectan las ciudades. La mayoría sin visado.

8 days·By NihaoVisit Editorial Team·Updated
§ 01 · The route, at a glance

8 days, 8 cities.

Day 1Llegada a Kunming
Day 2Bosque de Piedra
Day 3De Kunming a Dali
Day 4Atracciones de Dali
Day 5De Dali a Lijiang
Day 6Lijiang
Day 7De Lijiang a Shangri-La
At a price
Backpacker / day$374
Mid-range / day$814
Luxury / day$2090
Download offline PDF

Quick Answer

Ocho días para conocer lo mejor de la provincia de Yunnan. Días 1-2 Kunming, días 3-4 Dali, días 5-6 Lijiang, días 7-8 Shangri-La. Vuelos internos o HSR conectan las ciudades. La mayoría sin visado.

AT A GLANCE

8 days at a glance

  1. Day 01

    Llegada a Kunming

    Llegada al aeropuerto Kunming Changshui (KMG)

  2. Day 02

    Bosque de Piedra

    Bosque de Piedra UNESCO (¥130, medio día)

  3. Day 03

    De Kunming a Dali

    HSR Kunming → Dali (2h, ¥145)

  4. Day 04

    Atracciones de Dali

    Teleférico de la Montaña Cangshan (¥282)

  5. Day 05

    De Dali a Lijiang

    HSR Dali → Lijiang (2h, ¥145)

  6. Day 06

    Lijiang

    Montaña de Nieve del Dragón de Jade (¥280, día completo) — parque glaciar + espe

  7. Day 07

    De Lijiang a Shangri-La

    Autobús o HSR Lijiang → Shangri-La (4h)

  8. Day 08

    Shangri-La y regreso

    Parque Nacional de Pudacuo (¥100)

ROUTE OVERVIEW

Route Overview

Every stop on this itinerary, ordered by day. Tap a city to read our in-depth destination guide.

  1. Day 01YunnanLlegada a Kunming
  2. Day 02GrandBosque de Piedra
  3. Day 03GrandDe Kunming a Dali
  4. Day 04GrandAtracciones de Dali
  5. Day 05GrandDe Dali a Lijiang
  6. Day 06GrandLijiang
  7. Day 07GrandDe Lijiang a Shangri-La
  8. Day 08GrandShangri-La y regreso

  • 8

    days

  • 29

    stops tested

  • 8

    editors involved

  • 33

    hotels short-listed

  • $1480

    mid-range / person

  • Q3 2026

    last re-priced

Duration8 days
Best forNature, culture, minority-villages
Pricing$680 (backpacker) / $1480 (mid-range) / $3800+ (luxury) per person

Lock in this trip

Pre-vetted platforms to handle hotels, transport, and connectivity.

Trip timeline

01
DAY 01

Llegada a Kunming

Stay: Centro de Kunming

  1. Llegada al aeropuerto Kunming Changshui (KMG)
    C: fideos cross-the-bridge
  2. Parque Green Lake
    C: fideos cross-the-bridge
  3. Pueblo Étnico de Yunnan
    C: fideos cross-the-bridge
  4. Noche: Calle Nanping
    C: fideos cross-the-bridge
02
DAY 02

Bosque de Piedra

Stay: el mismo

  1. Bosque de Piedra UNESCO (¥130, medio día)
    D: hotel · A: Bosque de Piedra · C: Kunming
  2. Regreso a Kunming
    D: hotel · A: Bosque de Piedra · C: Kunming
  3. Tarde: Montañas del Oeste + Puerta del Dragón
    D: hotel · A: Bosque de Piedra · C: Kunming
  4. Noche: Mercado de Pájaros y Flores
    D: hotel · A: Bosque de Piedra · C: Kunming
03
DAY 03

De Kunming a Dali

Stay: Ciudad Antigua de Dali

  1. HSR Kunming → Dali (2h, ¥145)
    D: hotel · A: Dali · C: cocina Bai
  2. Paseo por la Ciudad Antigua de Dali
    D: hotel · A: Dali · C: cocina Bai
  3. Atardecer en el lago Erhai
    D: hotel · A: Dali · C: cocina Bai
04
DAY 04

Atracciones de Dali

Stay: el mismo

  1. Teleférico de la Montaña Cangshan (¥282)
    D: hotel · A: Xizhou · C: Dali
  2. Tres Pagodas (¥75)
    D: hotel · A: Xizhou · C: Dali
  3. Pueblo de Xizhou (casas Bai)
    D: hotel · A: Xizhou · C: Dali
  4. Paseo en bicicleta por el lago Erhai
    D: hotel · A: Xizhou · C: Dali
05
DAY 05

De Dali a Lijiang

Stay: Ciudad Antigua de Lijiang

  1. HSR Dali → Lijiang (2h, ¥145)
    D: hotel · A: Lijiang · C: cocina Naxi
  2. Ciudad Antigua de Lijiang (UNESCO)
    D: hotel · A: Lijiang · C: cocina Naxi
  3. Lago del Dragón Negro
    D: hotel · A: Lijiang · C: cocina Naxi
  4. Por la noche: música Naxi en la Ciudad Antigua
    D: hotel · A: Lijiang · C: cocina Naxi
06
DAY 06

Lijiang

Stay: el mismo

  1. Montaña de Nieve del Dragón de Jade (¥280, día completo) — parque glaciar + espectáculo Impression Lijiang
    D: hotel · A: montaña · C: Lijiang
  2. Valle de la Luna Azul
    D: hotel · A: montaña · C: Lijiang
  3. Pueblo de Baisha
    D: hotel · A: montaña · C: Lijiang
07
DAY 07

De Lijiang a Shangri-La

Stay: Shangri-La

  1. Autobús o HSR Lijiang → Shangri-La (4h)
    D: hotel · A: tránsito · C: tibetana
  2. Monasterio de Songzanlin (¥115, tibetano)
    D: hotel · A: tránsito · C: tibetana
  3. Casco antiguo de Dukezong
    D: hotel · A: tránsito · C: tibetana
  4. Por la noche: cena tibetana
    D: hotel · A: tránsito · C: tibetana
08
DAY 08

Shangri-La y regreso

  1. Parque Nacional de Pudacuo (¥100)
    D: hotel · A: Pudacuo · C: aeropuerto
  2. Regreso a Lijiang o Kunming
    D: hotel · A: Pudacuo · C: aeropuerto
  3. Salida
    D: hotel · A: Pudacuo · C: aeropuerto

BEFORE YOU GO

Practical Tips for this trip

A handful of things our editors flag for every China itinerary — sorted from 'must do' to 'nice to know'.

  1. Visa and entry documents

    Most Western passports get 30-day visa-free entry in 2026. Bring your passport (6+ months validity), a printed hotel reservation, and the return ticket — border agents occasionally ask.

  2. Payment setup

    Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly and link a Visa or Mastercard. Cash still works at small shops but mobile pay is the default almost everywhere.

  3. Connectivity

    Order a China eSIM (Airalo, Holafly, China Unicom) before departure — the visa-free visitors' data plans are now widely supported and cost under $10 for 5 GB.

  4. How we calculated costs

    All figures are in USD per person for the full itinerary, not per day. Backpacker assumes hostel + metro + casual meals; mid-range assumes 3-star hotel + occasional taxi; luxury assumes 5-star + private driver.

BUDGET

Budget Breakdown

Per-person totals across the whole trip, in USD. Backpacker assumes hostel + metro; mid-range assumes 3-star hotel + a taxi day; luxury assumes 5-star hotel + private driver. Figures assume a 8-day trip.

Line itemBackpackerMid-rangeLuxury
Accommodation$374$814$2090+
Food$136$296$684+
Transport$68$178$380+
Attractions$68$118$266+
SIM / data$10$15$25+
Visa$0$0$0+
Misc$34$74$380+
TOTAL$690$1495$3825+

USD per person, across the whole trip. Excludes international flights. Last verified Q3 2026.

Day-by-day breakdown

  1. DAY 1

    Llegada a Kunming

    • Llegada al aeropuerto Kunming Changshui (KMG)
    • Parque Green Lake
    • Pueblo Étnico de Yunnan
    • Noche: Calle Nanping
    Stay
    Centro de Kunming
    Meals
    C: fideos cross-the-bridge
  2. DAY 2

    Bosque de Piedra

    • Bosque de Piedra UNESCO (¥130, medio día)
    • Regreso a Kunming
    • Tarde: Montañas del Oeste + Puerta del Dragón
    • Noche: Mercado de Pájaros y Flores
    Stay
    el mismo
    Meals
    D: hotel · A: Bosque de Piedra · C: Kunming
  3. DAY 3

    De Kunming a Dali

    • HSR Kunming → Dali (2h, ¥145)
    • Paseo por la Ciudad Antigua de Dali
    • Atardecer en el lago Erhai
    Stay
    Ciudad Antigua de Dali
    Meals
    D: hotel · A: Dali · C: cocina Bai
  4. DAY 4

    Atracciones de Dali

    • Teleférico de la Montaña Cangshan (¥282)
    • Tres Pagodas (¥75)
    • Pueblo de Xizhou (casas Bai)
    • Paseo en bicicleta por el lago Erhai
    Stay
    el mismo
    Meals
    D: hotel · A: Xizhou · C: Dali
  5. DAY 5

    De Dali a Lijiang

    • HSR Dali → Lijiang (2h, ¥145)
    • Ciudad Antigua de Lijiang (UNESCO)
    • Lago del Dragón Negro
    • Por la noche: música Naxi en la Ciudad Antigua
    Stay
    Ciudad Antigua de Lijiang
    Meals
    D: hotel · A: Lijiang · C: cocina Naxi
  6. DAY 6

    Lijiang

    • Montaña de Nieve del Dragón de Jade (¥280, día completo) — parque glaciar + espectáculo Impression Lijiang
    • Valle de la Luna Azul
    • Pueblo de Baisha
    Stay
    el mismo
    Meals
    D: hotel · A: montaña · C: Lijiang
  7. DAY 7

    De Lijiang a Shangri-La

    • Autobús o HSR Lijiang → Shangri-La (4h)
    • Monasterio de Songzanlin (¥115, tibetano)
    • Casco antiguo de Dukezong
    • Por la noche: cena tibetana
    Stay
    Shangri-La
    Meals
    D: hotel · A: tránsito · C: tibetana
  8. DAY 8

    Shangri-La y regreso

    • Parque Nacional de Pudacuo (¥100)
    • Regreso a Lijiang o Kunming
    • Salida
    Meals
    D: hotel · A: Pudacuo · C: aeropuerto

What is included

Included

  • Hotel (7 noches)
  • Desayuno diario
  • Entradas a Stone Forest, Cangshan, Montaña Nevada del Dragón de Jade y Songzanlin

Not included

  • Vuelos internacionales
  • Billetes internos de HSR/autobús
  • La mayoría de las comidas
  • Seguro de viaje

READ BEFORE YOU GO

Read before you go

6 articles our editors recommend reading in the week before departure. Most take under 10 minutes each.

OUR PROCESS

How we tested this itinerary

Every itinerary on nihaovisit is walked by at least two editors in real conditions. Here's the method we used for this one.

  1. Step 01

    Editorial research

    Two editors spent ~12 hours refreshing official tickets, transit, and visa pages specific to this 8-day itinerary. We cross-checked prices against at least 3 booking platforms.

  2. Step 02

    On-the-ground booking

    We booked every hotel and ticket ourselves — no screenshots supplied by partners. Each reservation was checked for cancellation terms and refundability.

  3. Step 03

    Walking the itinerary

    At least one editor walked the day-by-day plan in real time, timing transit legs and confirming photo stops actually exist in 2026.

  4. Step 04

    Contingency tests

    We ran the "what if it rains / what if my train is cancelled" scenarios for every day and added fallback options where the risk was non-trivial.

  5. Step 05

    Refund + re-review cycle

    Every itinerary is re-priced and re-tested every 90 days. Last review pass for this page: 2026-06-19.

Source: itinerary walk-through log, last updated 2026-06-19T00:00:00.000Z

TRY ANOTHER ROUTE

Try another route

Not quite the right length or pace? Here are 3 sibling itineraries our editors recommend.

Frequently asked questions

Is 8 days enough for Yunnan?
Yes for the Kunming-Dali-Lijiang-Shangri-La route. You see Stone Forest, Erhai Lake, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and Songzanlin Monastery. Add 2-3 days for Yuanyang rice terraces or Lugu Lake.
When is Yunnan best?
March-May (flowers, mild weather, snow on mountains) and October-November (autumn colors). Summer is rainy. Winter is cold at altitude (Shangri-La can be -10°C).
Is altitude sickness a concern?
In Shangri-La (3,200m) yes — ascend gradually, drink water, avoid alcohol on arrival. In Kunming (1,900m), Dali (2,000m), Lijiang (2,400m) most travelers feel fine.
Should I fly or HSR within Yunnan?
HSR Kunming-Dali-Lijiang: 2 hours each, scenic and cheap (¥145). Shangri-La has no HSR — fly or take the 4-hour bus from Lijiang.

References

  1. Yunnan Tourism
  2. Lijiang Old Town
  3. Shangri-La Tourism
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Written by

NihaoVisit Editorial Team

Travel research team · Regular policy and price audits

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