shangri la

Posted in: Forums > Travel Yunnan • 14 posts • Newest

• • spunz
    September 7, 2010
    18 posts
  • hi all,

    what is the best way to go from Kunming to Shangri la ?

    thanks

• • rbusch
    September 7, 2010
    21 posts
  • It's a long trip by land, made longer by the fact that they're doing road work on the way to Dali. I usually take the night bus which is about a 14 hour journey right now. Tickets are about ¥200 and you leave from the west long distance bus station near majie.

    The fast way is to fly up there. Takes about 50 minutes.

    The Compass Cafe serves up the best western breakfast I've ever had in China. And the Noah Inn has nice clean rooms if you need a place to stay.

• • Charly Zhao
    September 7, 2010
    17 posts
  • hi! the highway from Kunming to Chuxiong which is a part of the road from Kunming to Shangri-la has beening buiding, so the time is much longer, u could take the train from Kunming to Lijiang, then take the bus to Shangri-la, of course the fastest way is flight trip

• • Xiefei
    September 7, 2010
    135 posts
  • If you've never been to a high altitude place before, I would not recommend the flight. The drive allows your body to gradually adjust to the increase in altitude, but if you fly, it hits you all of a sudden.

    I'd recommend stopping in Lijiang for a day, since it's about halfway between Kunming and Shangri la in terms of altitude. Then take the bus up during the day, because there's some nice scenery along the way.

• • spunz
    September 7, 2010
    18 posts
  • Thanks all!

    being from Switzerland (and living in Kunming for more than 6 month now), altitude doesn't really scare me, but my companion will fly in straight from about sea level. So thanks for mentioning it.

    Thinking of taking a train (since the highway seems to be a problem) to Dali and Lijiang. From there I heard that the scenery would be a shame to miss. So bus or some guide with a car should be an option, I hope. Maybe including the Tiger leaping gorge.

    spunz

• • ethniceast
    September 15, 2010
    28 posts
  • what is the contact phone number for Noah's Inn?

• • Charly Zhao
    September 15, 2010
    17 posts
  • NOAH cafe & inn：0887-8881144 which is in Shangri-la.

• • Charly Zhao
    September 15, 2010
    17 posts
  • Dear ethniceast: could u ask me the number for Noah's Inn, I only know the NOAH cafe & inn of Shangri-la' number 0887-8881144.

• • ethniceast
    September 15, 2010
    28 posts
  • thanks again. we do have a place in zhongdian we plan to stay. i just want to make sure i have a second place hence i ask for Noah's Inn number. thanks again.

• • Elisa
    September 16, 2010
    32 posts
  • Hey there, I've lived in Shangri-la for the past 5 months and strongly recommend the night train to Lijiang. I was miserable on the bus, but that's just me.

    There are a ton of places to stay up here. You needn't limit yourself to Noah's. Also, Compass is ok, but they're really expensive. A new place called Marco Polo opened recently that I find more reasonable, and N's Kitchen seems to be pretty popular too. My husband likes their brownies.

    If you need help, you can give me a ring. 15288189747

• • ethniceast
    September 17, 2010
    28 posts
  • thanks elisa, are you in kunming, lijiang or zhongdian?
    are the 2 new places you suggested in the old city in shangrila?
    if compass is expensive, what is the rate of the 2 new places?

• • Elisa
    September 17, 2010
    32 posts
  • Oh, sorry, I was talking about food :) I'm not sure how much it costs to stay at Compass or N's, and Marco Polo is just a restaurant. Of course the cost depends on what you order, but I got a tasty omelet with a hashbrown at Marco Polo for 25 I think. That said, the cheesy potatoes at Compass are tasty and reasonably priced at like 15 or so.

    NONE of these places are cheap enough for eating every day, IMO. For that, there are noodle places on the edge of Old Town or up into the New town. All of the Tibetan restaurants (and the Indian/Nepalese restaurants) are pretty pricey too.

• • DanTheMan
    February 18, 2011
    235 posts
  • I had an unrelated question about Shangri-la/Zhongdian. I have a friend thinking of going up there in mid to late March. How's the weather up there at that time of year? Any signs of spring?

    Also, does anyone know when the red flowers (狼毒花) come out?

• • jpowers
    March 1, 2011
    6 posts
  • We had a great experience staying at a newer guesthouse called Kersang's Relay Station... reasonably priced and the folks were really nice... try to get a room upstairs as the views are quite remarkable day and night! I think we paid around 250Y per night. Also, it's in the "old" town and within walking distance to everything in old town. Also, highly recommend the restaurant the Tibetian House ... I think we ate there 2 or 3 times in a one week period. Compass has excellent food especially the baked granola... yummmm... A great destination!

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