Together, we can determine which trails will best fit your needs and preferences and we can base our choices upon your experience, how much walking you wish to do, the time you have available and, to a lesser extent, the equipment you have at your disposal.
We can then map out potential treks with varying levels of difficulty and an assortment of landscapes.

The dates of your stay in Yunnan will also play a major role in choosing a route in order to limit the inconveniences of the winter chill and the summer rains. The ideal times to come are in the spring and autumn, when you can wander freely across Yunnan and enjoy everything the province has to offer. Trekking in the summer and winter are nevertheless also possible: in the summer, you can hike due north, to the borders of Tibet, to escape the southern monsoons; in the winter, you can head south into the XiShuangBanNa region (which borders Laos and Vietnam) to trek through the mountains and rice fields in a more temperate clime!

E-mail us at custom@amiwa-trek.com (or on the website’s contact page) for further information on these custom-designed treks. Feel free to provide us with your dates of availability, initial thoughts and any other information that will enable us to best respond to your needs.

Starburst-style trekking, meaning returning regularly to a fixed base camp before heading off in another direction, has the distinct advantage of reducing the weight of your backpack as all the essential camping equipment need not be carried and supplies can be limited to the day’s needs. The drawback, however, is that you are not able to reach mountain summits or the most remote areas as the group must return to the village or guesthouse after a day or two of trekking.

This system of trekking works well with more cultural exploration and provides greater flexibility with respect to pacing (it is easy to take a day off or choose tomorrow’s itinerary based on how tired the group is today).

On ’‘adventure’ treks, the group treks for several days (preferably for about a week minimum) without an intervening return to the point of departure. These kinds of treks are somewhat more demanding as more equipment and supplies are carried with you. Region by region and depending upon the desired level of comfort, varying degrees of autonomy are possible. It is often possible to sleep in local residences, sometimes even in guesthouses or hotels, as you travel through villages where new supplies can be picked up in local markets.

This system of trekking has the added benefit of permitting travel into more wild natural environments or, at the very least, environments that have been better preserved from foot traffic; on an adventure trek, you can truly immerse yourself in nature.

Below you will find three examples of treks that can be adapted to meet your needs and limits. Don’t hesitate to contact us so we can discuss which treks would be best for you; we can also provide you with other examples that may spark your imagination and fuel your desires to hit the trail!

1 to 4 days of walking, depending upon the number of excursions desired.

Starburst-style day-hikes around the city of ShaXi, long-inhabited by the Bai ethnic group, offer an opportunity to discover both this ancient crossroads for tea and horse caravans and the nearby hills, home to the ShiBaoShan Buddhist grottos. ShaXi is the second most populous Bai city after Dali.
Shaxi’s old town has benefited from a partnership with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and from UNESCO support to renovate and preserve its cultural heritage.

Several day-hikes, including ShiBaoShan (石宝山, difficulty level: 2/5) and in the surrounding villages (WenFeng, ChangLe, MiZiPing, etc.).

Level of difficulty: 1/5
Lodging: guesthouse.

It is also possible to trek north to the city of JianChuan (剑川).


1 to 3 days of walking, depending upon the number of excursions into nearby villages.

BingZhongLuo, a one-street village on the banks of the Salween (NuJiang), is surrounded by mountains whose peaks are blanketed in snow for three to five months of the year.  Several kilometres from the Tibet border, this village lies along the ancient trade route for tea and horses.
One potential day-hike will lead to the village of ZhongDing (重丁) and its Catholic church; the village is home to various communities of the Nu, Lisu and Dulong ethnic groups.

Level of difficulty: 1/5
Lodging: hotel/guesthouse

An adventure itinerary of 4 days could take us from the Tibetan village of YongZhi, located along the kora (Tibetan Buddhist pilgrimage route) of the famous Kawakarpo mountain to the village of CiZhong, known both for its Catholic church built in the nineteenth century by French missionaries and for the vineyards they left behind.


Model itinerary:
- Gongshan 贡山
- Bingzhongluo 丙中洛
- Dimaluo 迪麻洛
- Yongzhi 永芝
- Cizhong 茨中

Level of difficulty: 3/5
Lodging:guesthouse, tent and mountain hut.


7 to 8 days of walking, departing from Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Model itinerary:
- Lijiang 丽江 (departure by car or bus)
- Tiger Leaping Gorge 虎跳峡
- Daju 大具
- Baoshan 宝山
- Lugu lake 泸沽湖

This adventure trek takes you to the edges of Sichuan Province, to the ‘kingdom’ of the MoSuo, one of China’s last remaining matriarchal societies.
Along the path back to LuGu Lake, you will pass by BaoShan, the ‘City of Stone’.
It is possible to travel various trails in Tiger Leaping Gorge of different duration and difficulty, most especially to avoid tourists and to gain a height advantage on the gorge. Serious mountain climbers can even attempt the ascension of HaBa Mountain (5396 metres).

Level of difficulty: 3 to 4 /5
Lodging: guesthouse, tent.