Arrive at Kunming Airport during the day. Your driver will meet you at the airport exit with a sign bearing your name and transfer you to the 5* Grand Park Hotel, located in a pleasant neighborhood in central Kunming. The rest of the day is free to recover from your long flight and enjoy a few leisurely visits. You can walk from your hotel to Emerald Lake, where locals like to stroll, sing, dance, and play music. You can also extend your walk to the Yuantong Buddhist temple, located 5-10 minutes away on foot. Dinner is not included.

Meet your guide at 8:00 a.m. Morning drive to the old town of Dali for a stroll through its narrow streets and lunch (not included). Transfer to the pleasant Bai village of Zhoucheng. Walk through its old streets to meet its inhabitants (learn more about the batik dyeing process, practiced here for generations) and its small, old-fashioned but charming temples. Next, discover the small and quiet village of Xizhou, where we suggest you spend the night in a superb, very comfortable traditional Bai-style residence. Then take a local ox-drawn cart to your small boat for a cruise on the great Erhai Lake and a traditional fishing session with cormorants. Return to the hotel. Dinner at your leisure at the hotel restaurant.

Visit the morning market in Xizhou, walking from your hotel. Then drive to Shaxi. Lunch on your own along the way. In the afternoon, explore Shibaoshan Mountain, a superb collection of Buddhist sculptures carved into the rock and Zen temples. After the visit, you can walk down a small path to the old town of Shaxi, or take a vehicle. Explore Shaxi, a former major trading center on the tea and horse caravan route. Stay in the heart of the old town at the Laomadian Inn, a beautifully renovated former caravanserai with all the necessary comforts. Dinner on your own at the hotel restaurant.

Drive to the Tibetan region of Shangri La. After passing through the town of Jianchuan, discover the different stages of pottery making in a rustic workshop by the side of the road: from kneading the clay with buffaloes to shaping the pottery and loading the kilns before firing (visit possible if the artisans are at work). Second stop of the day at the site of the first bend in the Yangtze River, and walk through the small village of Shigu. Continue to the Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the deepest in the world, through which the Yangtze River flows, between Haba Mountain (5,400 m summit) and Jade Dragon Mountain (5,600 m summit). Short 40-minute walk to the bottom of the Gorges (lots of Chinese tourists here, but not many alternatives for seeing the site). Continue along a beautiful mountain road to Shangri La. Upon arrival, check into the beautiful Timeless Inn guesthouse located in the center of the old town. Rest of the day and dinner at leisure.

Day trip to Shangri La and the surrounding area, starting with the magnificent Tibetan monastery of Songzanlin. Visit the local market, then stroll through the old town, including the Bai Ji Si temple, which offers beautiful views of the Shangri La area and the Shika mountains. Lunch on your own. In the afternoon, explore the Tibetan countryside on foot or by bike (several routes are possible, to be discussed in the morning with your guide according to your desires and abilities). Stop at random along the way and meet a Tibetan family, always welcoming, to taste yak butter tea, “Tsampa” and yak butter cheese, local specialties and staples of their daily diet. Watch and participate if you wish in the spontaneous evening dances of the locals in the old town square. Dinner at your leisure. Overnight stay at the Timeless Inn guesthouse.

Morning drive to Lijiang. Lunch on your own in Baisha Village, where you can stroll around, and in Yuhu Village, at the foot of Jade Dragon Mountain. Continue to Lijiang. Check in at the beautiful Zen Garden Lion Hill boutique hotel. Rest of the day at leisure.

Day trip through the old town of Lijiang and its narrow streets, now very touristy and commercial, then on to Black Dragon Pool Park. Visit to the Dongba Museum. Rest of the day free to stroll through the old town. Dinner on your own, then transfer to Lijiang train station for the night train to Lijiang (VIP compartment for 2 people).

Welcome by your new driver. Breakfast, then transfer to the Stone Forest site. We offer a walk of about 2 hours inside the site, between rocky peaks and sometimes through narrow paths. Lunch on your own. In the afternoon, drive to Jianshui (3 hours). Check in at a charming 3* hotel housed in the superb residence of the Zhu family, one of the best preserved in Yunnan, consisting of a series of courtyards, pavilions, and gardens. Dinner on your own.

Breakfast at the hotel. Morning walk through the old town of Jianshui, including the Chaoyang Gate, which houses a small bird market. Then on to the Confucius Temple, the second largest in China after the one in Qufu, the master’s birthplace. The complex consists of a large park with a pond, several courtyards, superb porticos, temples, and pavilions. Lunch with a family living in the heart of the former Zhang family residence, located in the center of Tuanshan village. Discover the pretty old double dragon bridge before continuing on to the Yuanyang region and the small village of Duoyishu. Check in at the charming Flowers Residence, located opposite the terraced rice fields. Dinner at your leisure.

After breakfast, take a walk through the rice fields around Duoyishu. Continue on to a small village where a song and dance performance has been organized by villagers belonging to the Yi minority. Charming and touching… Note that all proceeds from the show will go directly to the families. Lunch will then be served by one of the families who participated in the show. In the afternoon, hike for 2 to 3 hours through beautiful landscapes of terraced rice fields and small villages. Dinner on your own and overnight stay at the same inn as the previous night.

Breakfast at the hotel. Visit Niujiaozhai market. Meet different ethnic minorities, including the Yi, Hani, and Dai. Then head towards Vietnam along the Red River to Hekou, a town on the border with Vietnam and the city of Lao Cai. Lunch on your own along the way. Border crossing. Arrival in Sapa in the afternoon. Free time and dinner on your own in town. Accommodation at the 3* Hmong Sapa Hotel.

Today is devoted to a walking tour starting from Sapa via the Black Hmong village of Lao Chai to the Giay village of Ta Van. Beautiful terraced rice fields can be seen along the way. Picnic lunch at noon. Take a shower after the hike, then transfer to Lao Cai for the night train to Hanoi (soft sleeper compartment).

Early morning arrival in Hanoi. Before having breakfast in town, discover Hanoi’s flower market, which opens early in the morning. Transfer to Hai Phong. Take a hydrofoil to Cat Ba Island. Arrival in Cat Ba around 10:30 a.m. Visit Cat Ba’s fish market, where we will meet fishermen returning after a night’s work. Take a stroll around the island. Our journey begins at 12:15 p.m. at Ben Beo Port on Cat Ba Island, where you will board your private junk. After a welcome drink, the junk will pass through the first floating fishing village and then slip into Lan Ha Bay. If the weather is favorable, the junk will head towards Dau Be Island. After an hour of sailing, we will arrive at the floating village of Dau Be, drop anchor, and serve you a seafood lunch. You will disembark at a floating fishermen’s house to discover their way of life and visit the fish pond below their house. Back on board, the crew will offer you a cup of coffee or tea, followed by a moment of relaxation on the deck or in the lounge while the crew stops the engine and sets sail for Ong Cam Bay. Our junk sails away from the tourist areas and we drop anchor for dinner and the night aboard our 4-cabin CatBa Impériale junk.

After breakfast, you can take a boat or kayak ride to the tunnel at Ca. Once you have passed through the tunnel, you will enter a lake surrounded by cliffs. Return on board and continue our cruise northeast to discover Halong Bay, sailing through thousands of “sugar loaf mountains” emerging from the waves in areas of natural world heritage, but always away from the tourist routes, you will feel as if you are in a world of animals fossilized millions of years ago. After lunch, we disembark at Hon Gai port around 12:00 p.m. to make our way back to Hanoi. Walk through the ancient streets of Hanoi, visit the Temple of Literature. Water puppet show in the evening. Dinner. Accommodation in a 3* hotel (La Dolce Vita or Golden Lotus).

Free time before transfer to Hanoi airport for your flight to your next destination. End of our services and the Yunnan and Vietnam tour.