Amazing!Tiger Leaping Gorge

About 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of Lijiang Old Townlying between Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Yulong Xueshan) and Haba Snow Mountain (Haba Xueshan) is Tiger Leaping Gorge (Hutiao Gorge), which is one of the deepest gorges in the world. From the top of the gorge you look down the steeply angled (70-90 degrees) mountain slides to the rushing Golden Sands (Jingsha) River with its 18 frothing rapids more than 200 meters (about 700 feet) below.

This gorge is considered one of China’s best hikes. It isn’t very strenuous except for the initial climb along a series of switchbacks near the entrance to the gorge at Tiger Leaping Gorge Town. If one walks the trail 

slowly, takes advantage of the accommodations and is in good shape, the trail isn’t strenuous. The inns and hotels for backpackers along the way make the trek comfortable. It is strenuous if y
ou attempt to do the whole thing too quickly however. The scenery is spectacular, and backpackers generally say that it is worth it. Though it is one of China’s popular trails, it is not crowded. Mainly foreigners, Americans, Europeans, and Israelis, take the high path above the river. Few Chinese tourists hike it, though you’ll see the native people using the route and grazing their animals. So it isn’t a crowded tourist pathway. According to what some people say, you may pass about one group of hikers each hour.

The valley is part of a UNESCO natural preservation area called the Three Parallel Rivers World Heritage Site, and it is also a part of China’s Three Parallel Rivers National Park. This area is important ecologically for wildlife preservation and is the headwaters for three of Asia’s biggest rivers. Because several ecological zones meet in the region and there is a range of climate zones, it is called an ecological hotspot with an unusually large number of different kinds of plants and animal species living in the same region. The gorge area is where some rare plants and animals live. Tiger Leaping Gorge is a sceni
c and natural highlight.