6 days / 5 nights
Start & End in: Shangrila (DIG)
From $1,235 USD per person
Go Beyond Shangrila for Wine & Tibetan Culture of Yunnan
The Essentials:
Spend 6 days traveling throughout Yunnan’s Tibetan region wine tasting, feasting on incredible Tibetan and local minority cuisine, visiting small ethnic minority villages, and enjoying the incredible high-altitude landscape.
Price
Join-in trips start at $1,235 USD per person, which may increase slightly due to seasonality. You can browse the calendar for each trip’s specific price. A $500 USD per person deposit is required to reserve your spot. Click here for more pricing details.
Group Size
Small groups of 4-10, or contact us to ask about a private trip
Accommodations
All accommodations are clean and comfortable local guesthouses and hotels. As we’ll be off the tourist track for most of this trip, high-end accommodations are not available.
Inclusions
- 5 Nights Accommodations
- All Meals, Including Soft Drinks & Beer
- All Tickets/Entrance Fees
- Transportation, Including Airport Transfers
- English Speaking Lost Plate Trip Leader
- China Travel Guide PDF
- Online Pre-trip Briefing & Q&A Session
Highlights
- Wine Tasting at 3 Wineries
- Songzanlin Monastery
- Shangrila's Old-Town
- Tofu Making
- Lisu Minority Home Visit in Hada Village
- Home-Cooked Meals
- Explore Shangrila's Grasslands
Quick Links:
Day to Day Itinerary:
This itinerary is subject to changes and adjustments based on seasonality and local operations.
Shangrila
- Arrive and check into the hotel in Shangrila at any time, airport pick up is available on this day until 3pm.
- Free time to explore the cobblestone streets and shops of Shangrila’s old-town by foot.
- We’ll kick things off at a local Tibetan restaurant to meet your trip leader and fellow travelers, within walking distance of your hotel.
Driving: None
Hotel: A boutique guesthouse in Shangrila old-town
Shangrila > Hada Village
- Depart Shangrila and head deep into the mountain canyons to Hada, a beautiful small village nestled inside a green river valley.
- After a local lunch we’ll visit a winery just up the hill from Hada village, with the best valley views around. Lounge on the patio and sample the only white wine’s we’ll be trying on this trip.
- Tofu-Making: At a local home, we’ll be taught by our hosts how their family has made tofu since ancient times. You’ll be making your own tofu to enjoy over dinner with a fantastic selection of local seasonal dishes.
Driving: 2.5 hours from Shangrila to Hada Village.
Hotel: Local Guesthouse in Hada Village.
Hada Village > Cizhong Village
- After breakfast, we’ll depart for a rustic hillside village hidden completely off the tourist track that hasn’t changed in decades. It’s so old, in fact, it’s the oldest and most preserved Lisu minority village left in Yunnan. We’ll explore the 300 year old houses and see local life like you never have before.
- Local Lisu minority lunch: The real highlight here is the food, a local cured ham leg porridge that stews for 4 hours before being served. One of our favorite meals of the trip!
- We’ll head further up the canyon into Cizhong village, with one of the oldest cathedrals in China founded by a French missionary in 1867, where locals still practice catholicism. From France, he also brought a type of wine grape that has since died out there – making Cizhong the only place in the world with this grape. Among the cathedral and grape vines deep within the canyon, you’d forget you’re in China.
- Wine tasting session and dinner at the winery: Relax on the patio (with wine), walk the vineyards (with wine), and learn about how grapes are picked, harvested, and processed (with wine), while enjoying their red wine that you’ll literally only find here!
Driving: 2.5 hours from Hada Village to Tongle Village, and then 1.5 hours from Tongle Village to Cizhong.
Accommodations: Local guesthouse in Cizhong Village.
Cizhong > Shangrila
- After a leisurely morning, we’ll start our drive back to Shangrila, stopping for lunch and a tasting at our 3rd winery situated deep inside a mountain canyon with Tibetan vibes.
- Free Time in Shangrila: There’s a lot to do here, and we’ll let you follow your curiosity. Window-shop for awesome local handicrafts, or check out the local tea and coffee scene. Before dinner, we’ll visit the biggest Tibetan prayer wheel in the world. This is all walking distance from your hotel.
- We’ll arrive in Shangrila just in time for dinner. We’ll try big staples like: Tibetan “Pizza”, highland barley yogurt, yak meat, and Tibetan craft beer.
Driving: Approx 3 hours from Cizhong to Shangrila, with stops at a winery and river viewing along the way.
Accommodations: Shangrila Boutique Guesthouse within the old-town.
Shangrila
- Enjoy breakfast at a local family home and try Tibetan milk tea, homemade yogurt, and freshly baked highland barley sweet bread. This is a very unique and authentic experience you don’t want to miss!
- Take in the ultimate views of the incredibly vast Shangrila grasslands where you’ll see horses and yak graze and local Tibetan villages skirt the mountains.
- BBQ Lunch: Large slabs of white stone are heated up and brought to your table where we’ll grill a selection of local meats and veggies, plus melt-in-your-mouth tofu, directly on the stone.
- Songzanlin Monastery rests above a pedestrian-only village that features a handful of authentic Tibetan temples. We’ll climb up to see the largest Tibetan Monastery in Yunnan, dating back to 1679. Its grand appearance, full of frescos, sculptures, and immaculate architecture offers sweeping views of the nearby highland landscape from a viewpoint 3300 meters high.
- Enjoy dinner with a side of culture in a Tibetan restaurant that features a local performance.
Driving: We’ll be in and out of the car for about two hours while we visit the nearby grasslands and monastery, otherwise just short drives in and around Shangrila.
Accommodations: Shangrila Boutique Guesthouse (same as previous night).
Shangrila
- Enjoy your last moments in Yunnan before you depart. Feel free to explore Shangrila old-town for some last minute shopping or cafe hopping. Airport drop-off is included any time today.
- For those departing later, we’ll be happy to make some recommendations for the day. Or, if you’re heading to Lijiang we can help you with bus/train schedules or private car service.
Must-See Tour Highlights:
Spend 6 days exploring the ancient villages and landscapes of Yunnan’s Tibetan autonomous region on this food-forward adventure. This tour is recommended to those who enjoy wine, Tibetan yogurts and milk teas, and all manner of rich soups and stews, as the region’s grasslands and canyons create the perfect conditions and appetites for all of the above. You’ll try dozens and dozens of plates while stopping at wineries and enjoying areas that are far off the tourist path.
The nature of this trip is remote and off the beaten path, which means it’s perfect for those with an adventurous spirit. It also means longer bus journeys and visits to small, remote villages with fewer conveniences and shopping. The entire tour takes place at high altitudes up to 3,300 meters above sea level.
If you’re looking for a more relaxed journey with free time exploring Yunnan’s popular ancient towns and villages, then our trip from Dali to Lijiang along Yunnan’s Tea & Horse Road will be more appropriate.
Where We'll Stay:
- Shangrila (1 night)
- Hada Village (1 night)
- Cizhong Village (1 night)
- Shangrila (2 nights)
Shangrila Guishi Guesthouse
Weisihada Jingchen Manor
Shengjing Yiju Hotel
The villages visited during this trip do not offer well-known hotel brands. Accommodations may change based on group size and availability. If so, an equivalent will be used.
- Join-in trips require a minimum of 4 people to operate. You should only purchase your transportation to/from Yunnan after you receive a tour confirmation notice. Private tours (for an additional fee) are always an option if your join-in trip does not hit the minimum amount of people.
- A deposit of $500 USD per person is required to secure your spot. This deposit is non-refundable for any reason unless the trip is cancelled by Lost Plate due to the minimum group size not being met.
- Solo travelers not sharing a room will incur a single occupancy fee of $243 USD. See more details in our FAQ below.
- Payment of your remaining balance will be collected 14 days before the trip starts.
- If you need to cancel, the amount you have already paid cannot be refunded. This is because spots on each trip is limited, and because we arrange accommodations when you reserve your spot. You are able to transfer your spot to someone else.
- Payments can be made by credit card, WeChat, or Alipay.
Spend 6 days exploring the ancient villages and landscapes of Yunnan’s Tibetan autonomous region on this food-forward adventure. This tour is recommended to those who enjoy wine, Tibetan yogurts and milk teas, and all manner of rich soups and stews, as the region’s grasslands and canyons create the perfect conditions and appetites for all of the above. You’ll try dozens and dozens of plates while stopping at wineries and enjoying areas that are far off the tourist path.
The nature of this trip is remote and off the beaten path, which means it’s perfect for those with an adventurous spirit. It also means longer bus journeys and visits to small, remote villages with fewer conveniences and shopping. The entire tour takes place at high altitudes up to 3,300 meters above sea level.
If you’re looking for a more relaxed journey with free time exploring Yunnan’s popular ancient towns and villages, then our trip from Dali to Lijiang along Yunnan’s Tea & Horse Road will be more appropriate.
Shangrila Guishi Guesthouse
Weisihada Jingchen Manor
Shengjing Yiju Hotel
Accommodations may change based on group size and availability. If so, an equivalent will be used.
- Join-in trips require a minimum of 4 people to operate. You should only purchase your transportation to/from Yunnan after you receive a tour confirmation notice. Private tours (for an additional fee) are always an option if your join-in trip does not hit the minimum amount of people.
- A deposit of $500 USD per person is required to secure your spot. This deposit is non-refundable for any reason unless the trip is cancelled by Lost Plate due to the minimum group size not being met.
- Solo travelers not sharing a room will incur a single occupancy fee of $243 USD. See more details in our FAQ below.
- Payment of your remaining balance will be collected 14 days before the trip starts.
- If you need to cancel, the amount you have already paid cannot be refunded. This is because spots on each trip is limited, and because we arrange accommodations when you reserve your spot. You are able to transfer your spot to someone else.
- Payments can be made by credit card, WeChat, or Alipay.
