Top Places to Visit in Yunnan

Yunnan is a great province in China to travel to. There are amazing landscapes, a variety of ethnic minority groups and ancient towns oozing culture and history. All of these aspects make Yunnan a fantastic province to explore and my number one destination in China to visit. Below, I have listed the  most popular places in Yunnan to visit in 2022 and I hope you find this information useful and inspiring.

Bike riding, sunset watching, hiking, mountain climbing and elephant watching are just some of the main activities in Yunnan province. Still, the number one activity that comes to mind whenever I talk about Yunnan Province is the 2 day hike across Tiger Leaping Gorge. This hike is famous and attracts thousands of tourists every year. Read on to find out more about each stunning location within Yunnan province and the reasons why they are the top places to visit in 2022.

Location with Top Places to Visit

What are the Top Places to Visit?

First off, if you don’t have an endless amount of time to explore Yunnan, but want to see those must visit spots, then you are in luck. I have selected the very best things to do and places to go in Yunnan. Each location has something special to offer and you will not be disappointed, wherever you go! The places I will cover are Kunming, Dali, Xishuangbanna, Lijiang and Shangri-La. These are the most popular places to visit and for good reason. Check out my Google Map above to see the locations of each place.

Top Place to Visit Number 1: Kunming 

Kunming: Go and See a UNESCO Site of Giant Rock Formations

Kunming is the capital city of Yunnan and your most likely starting point. Many flights go in and out of here, so it’s the easiest place to reach first. I recommend spending a short amount of time in Kunming as there is so much more to see elsewhere. However, Kunming does have a main attraction and that is The Stone Forest. This is a UNESCO heritage site and is land covered with giant, naturally formed limestones. Daniel and I definitely enjoyed our time visiting this unusual place and would recommend visiting it if you have time. There are many crevices and formations that you can squeeze yourself through when exploring and it makes for a fun day out. It will also only cost you 130RMB to enter and we spent roughly 4 hours exploring the land.

Top Place to Visit Number 2: Dali

Dali: Go and See Pagodas, Ancient Towns and a Peaceful Lake

Next on the top places to visit in Yunnan, is Dali. Dali is a very popular tourist destination and for good reason. It is a very relaxed, rich in history town and covered in local blue and white tie dye clothes. You can walk through cobbled streets and see all the handmade crafts and feel the culture. The blue and white tie dye materials remind me of Greece, but actually represent the blue, famous Erhai Lake. A lot of people in China flock to the lake in the summer months to ride a bike and watch the sunset on the lake. It is so peaceful and a special place to visit for sure. Furthermore, the deep history and culture is evident from the buildings and the Three Pagodas of Chong Sheng Temple. These are iconic of Dali and represent the culture and infused Buddhist religion. Lastly, what makes Dali a top place to visit is the natural scenery. It is nestled between the Cangshan mountains and has the beautiful lake with many places to stay on it.

Top Place to Visit Number 3: Xishuangbanna 

Xishuangbanna: Wild Elephants, Monkeys, Thai Temples and Rainforests

The furthest South of Yunnan is Xishuangbanna and for most people, its a top place to visit. You can see ‘wild elephants,’ monkeys, birds and butterflies surrounded by the natural rainforest. Plus, it is also a short flight from Dali, so visiting it whilst you are in Yunnan is easy. What makes Xishuangbanna unique is that it boarders Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. This has massively influenced the culture and you will find many elephant statues, temples, restaurants and coffee stands with a Thai look. As you can imagine, this is unusual in China, which makes it all that more attractive to visit. Furthermore, there are also some cool attractions like the busy night markets and Snoopy cars to rent. Although, I have put this in my post about top places to visit, it is not my favorite location for animal respect/conservation. Check out my post on Xishuangbanna to find out why. The reason I have included it in here is that a lot of people visit Xishuangbanna for the rainforest and Thai vibes that it offers.

Top Place to Visit Number 4: Lijiang

Lijiang: Snow Peaked Mountains, Crystal Blue Waters, Tiger Leaping Gorge

After getting a taste of tropical weather and nature, head to Lijiang. The north of Yunnan. I recommend taking a flight as it is only 300RMB and will take you 1hr 30 to get there. This is my favorite place in Yunnan because it is the most stunning landscape. It has also the most outdoor adventure activities, which I absolutely love to do. Visiting Lijiang, you can’t miss seeing the Yaks, crystal blue water, and snow-peaked mountains at Blue Moon Valley and Jade Dragon Mountain. Once you’ve explored these natural scenes and walked through the Ancient City, you can then do the best hike in China. This is the ultimate thing to do in Lijiang and will take you 2/3 days to complete. This is, of course, Tiger Leaping Gorge. It can be quite tiring, but absolutely worth it. The views, the quietness and the challenge makes Tiger Leaping Gorge an excellent thing to do at the end of your Yunnan adventure.

Top Place to Visit Number 5: Shangri-La

Shangri-La: A Buddhist Temple that Sparkles Gold

Finally, the last stop on the top places to visit in Yunnan is Shangri-La. After completing Tiger Leaping Gorge, you can take a bus straight from the hike to Shangri-La. As we were pretty exhausted from the hike, we only spent a few days there. The one culturally significant and best thing we did was see the Songzanlin Monastery. It is the largest Tibetan Buddhist Temple in Yunnan and it is so bright yellow and gold, that it really catches your eye.

To Sum Up the Top Places to Visit in Yunnan

The above post explains some top places to visit in Yunnan Province. This list doesn’t include everything you can do in each place, but it ensures you see a range of great activities and key places in the province.  Lastly, if you want more information about each place, just click on the links within this post. Alternatively, visit https://www.chinahighlights.com/yunnan/ which details amazing activities and tours you can take all around Yunnan and China.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post, please feel free to ask me some questions in the comments or tell me if you visited some cool places in Yunnan.

Charlotte x