Tea Horse Caravan Trail Ethnic Village 10 Days Trip

Overview

Discover the ancient Tea Horse Road through traditional villages of Bai, Naxi, Yi and Tibetan ethnic groups, from Dali to Shangri-La.

The Tea Horse Caravan Road of Southwest China is less well known than the famous Silk Road. Its route crosses some very high and dangerous terrain. It begins from Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, runs along the eastern foothills of the Hengduan Mountains, then crosses deep canyons of several major rivers—the Yalong, the Jinsha (upper Yangtze), the Lancang (Mekong), and the Nu (Salween).

The name of the road (Chamadao in Chinese meaning the tea and horse road) indicates its importance in the trade of tea and horses. Horse caravans carried tea, sugar and salt from Sichuan and Yunnan to Tibet and brought back colorful local mountain goods. The road served as a significant corridor for migration and cultural communication among ethnic groups in western China.

One route starts at the original place of the famous Pu'er tea production and passes through Dali, Lijiang, Zhongdian, Deqin in Yunnan and continues to Lhasa in Tibet, then heads south through Gyantse to Burma, Nepal and India.

Average daily itinerary:

• 07:00 Wake up yoga meditation
• 08:30 Breakfast, explore the village on foot
• 12:30 Lunch
• 14:00 Free time
• 19:00 Dinner
• 21:30 Meditation yoga, rest

Trip Itinerary:

• Day 1: Kunming to Dali - Board overnight train or flight
• Day 2: Dali Mountain - Visit old town, museum, Bai village legends. Cable car or trek Cangshan mountain. Stay in traditional Bai ethnic hotel
• Day 3: Dali to Shaxi - Ancient tea horse caravan trail, wood carving, traditional theater, tea horse family garden. Stay in tea horse caravan hotel
• Day 4: Shibao Mountain to Lijiang - Buddhist rock carvings over 1300 years old, Nanzhan Kingdom treasures. Lijiang old town, Black Dragon Pool, Naxi musical performance
• Day 5: Baisha Village - Incredible frescoes, Lijiang morning market, Rock's residence, Shuhe to Yuhu village pilgrimage, Naxi and Yi ethnic culture at foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountains
• Day 6-7: Tiger Leaping Gorge to Haba Village - Stone Drum Town, First Bend of Yangtze River, gorgeous gorge hiking, colorful Haba village with 5 minority ethnic groups
• Day 8: Haba to Shangri-La - Trek to lake, view Haba snow mountain glacier and base camps
• Day 9: Shangri-La - Gedan Songzanlin temple, Dabao Treasure holy temple, Tibetan family visit in Napahai lake, Yak butter tea and cheese, Tibetan dancing
• Day 10: Fly Shangri-La to Kunming, transfer to international destination

About Shaxi:

Shaxi's historic Market Square in the old village of Sideng was a vibrant staging post along the Tea and Horse Caravan Trail, channeling trade in tea, horses and valuables between diverse ethnic groups beginning in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Sideng flourished for five centuries throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).