When you’re in a country where more than a billion people live, it is hard to imagine how you can find a place which is as non-crowded and as far away from city life as possible. But there is such a setting – the Gaoligon Mountain Range which is located in the Yunnan Province of southern China.
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| Gaoligong Mountain |
The Importance of Getting a Casual Guide
The Yunnan Province borders Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam along with other Chinese provinces. Its heart lies in the Kunming Prefecture which is one of the sixteen districts in the province. Filled with gorgeous sceneries of greenery, rolling hills and a gorgeous landscape, you will never go wrong when travelling to this part of China.
Don’t expect to mingle with other tourists, however, especially if your target is to travel through what is known as one of the loneliest roads in the country, one which leads through Yunna’s Gaoligong Mountains. The few tourists who decide to venture this far out in China would have to hire casual guides – because even the locals may have problems trekking through the unfamiliar, not-so-often travelled roads.
Back in the days, the roads leading to the Gaoligong Mountains was an important supply route for caravans of mules. Such ancient form of transportation carried exotic goods to and from the country, but the mountain trail has now been abandoned with the construction of newer, better roads. Also known as the Ambassador Road, this is a place where you will encounter more donkeys than cars.
The handful of people whom you will encounter by the roadside are probably farmers who will welcome you with open arms – as long as you’re willing to sleep in farmhouses while drinking rice wine.
Moreover, the road leading to the Gaoligong Mountain range stretches through hundreds of kilometres in the UNESCO biosphere reserve which is situated within the province. It really is a world’s away from the overpopulated urban centers in China, so much so that you might feel as if you are not in the same country anymore.
Aside from prepping yourself for endless hours of trekking, be prepared to accept the kindness of strangers – very few of whom you will encounter as you travel through the roads while basking in the stunning landscape at the same time.
Travelling through the Gaoligong Mountain Range
An example of a trek that you can take here is a 200-kilometer walk from one of the first towns that you will get to which is Yongping. From there, you can travel through Tengchong. If you have a pretty knowledgeable casual guide, you can stop by to bathe at some natural hot springs or marvel at the beautyf of icy waterfalls. That is if you’re willing to walk through rickety wooden bridges and eat the local produce through the rest of your journey.
To get to the Gaoligong Mountain range’s Ambassador Road, you can take a local flight in any of the major cities in China to Kunming. From there, take a bus to Yongping and travel your way down to Tengchong and the far southwestern part of China.
The Ambassador Road may be the loneliest to trek through in China, but the journey of self-discovery and being one with the magnificence of nature is well worth your temporary isolation from the rest of the world.
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