It was early morning as we drove through the streets of Lijiang heading roughly north west up into the mountains. We travelled along a triple lane highway , long tunnels, smooth roads through a landscape that in parts was dotted with farms being intensively cultivated, past hills covered in pine forests in various stages of growth, there were small villages, the odd clump of highrise buildings mostly unfinished. We travelled 125 kms reaching Qiaotou in less than two hours. By the time we arrived it was steadily raining mmmm. Not a good start. We purchased our tickets, unearthed our rain gear from our packs donned both and headed up the road out of town. Even having read masses of info about this place i was unprepared for the reality of it.

it was an uphill slog getting to our first sign post…

view from the naxi family guesthouse…

the sun still shining on the tops of the mountains….
Views of the yangtze river….the colours of the wild flowers were intense….this pony followed us up up and up around the 28 bends.

our horseman and his pony who patiently followed us up through the 28 bends


And steep it was!!
Awesome landscapes wherever you looked!

more wild flowers….. more views and we are now about halfway through. To be continued : ))


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