Four of my family and friends are coming to Kunming and I am to organise a 1.5-2 week trek for them in early May. The timing is not ideal. There is snow on some roads in the north of Yunnan I am told (north of Nu Canyon) and I cannot find any ethnic group festivals around that time.

I am considering three options and would like to ask for your advice on them:

1. Trek from Nu Canyon to Mekong river Canyon, but I am not sure if the mountain pass is trekkable in early May.

2. Tengchong. I only know of main attractions there.

3. Lugu Hu trek from the Yunnanese shore of the lake to Sichuan, towards Da Liangshan

My friends have seen quite a bit of the world and for me, I have traveled a lot in China and it is also going to be my holiday, so I want to make the trip interesting.

Any suggestions/advice on weather, interesting places, local people we can rent horses from, monasteries where you can stay overnight, etc, will be very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Marta

I highly recommend the Nujiang. I went there in early February and trekked as you'd like to do from the Nujiang to the Mekong (Lancang) river. It was extraordinary. There was snow when I went but it was perfectly hikeable, there should be even less if you go in May. I'd recommend going thru Alou, a local Tibetan guide in the Nujiang area who runs a guide service and a guesthouse www.geocities.com/aloudekezhan

The only vehicular road that was snowbound when I went was the road into the Dulong valley...in May it should be clear. If you want a really epic trip, try there

Adam

Thank you Adam. This is very helpful. Do you have any tips on how long it takes to drive from Baoshan to Dimaluo assuming one hires a car and does not stop for side trips?

And having asked the question above, what interesting side trips on the way would you recommend?
Marta

From Baoshan to Gongshan by bus I would say 10 hours or so (I'm not quite sure since I didn't go thru Baoshan). If you hire a vehicle however you could probably shave a few hours off of that. From Gongshan to Dimaluo it'll be half hour to the bridge and then you'll most likely have to hike 2 hours along a dirt road to the village. If you have an off-road vehicle you might be able to make it to the village depending on whether they're repairing the road or not. Best thing to to is call Alou and ask him.

Side trips, on the way to Baoshan / Liuku check out Yunlong and Nuodeng, great spots for hikes and interesting cultural experiences. Inside the Nujiang valley, spend a few days in Bingzhongluo or since you have a car, head north from Bingzhongluo to the Tibetan border just to check it out. The scenery north of Bingzhongluo is unrivaled. Have fun!

Hi all. Does anybody have any advice on getting from Kunming to Gongshan by bus with bicycles in tow? I couldn't find any information about direct buses, but I suppose that would be the best, even if it takes an ungodly amount of time.

Otherwise are there any suggested transfer points or routes?

Thanks!

Dan: just show up to the bus station early and talk to the drivers/handlers. If you ask at the ticket office, they'll either say it's impossible, or pretend the bikes aren't an issue.

You'll have to negotiate with the driver directly. The bikes will take up space under the bus, which he'll usually sell to people needing to deliver goods. I've done this a bunch of times, and I've never had any problems, aside from price disputes.

Pretty sure there are no direct buses from KMG to Gongshan, as there haven't been for the past few years. Closest you can get is Fugong (~14-15 hr. ride), there should be two overnight buses from the KMG's Western bus station around 6 or 7 pm. Once you're in Fugong, there should be a connecting bus headed to Gongshan that usually leaves right away (another 4 hours or so). I saw a foreigner bring a bike on the bus up to Fugong without any problems last year.

Thanks for the advice, Xiefei and Ross. I figured that Fugong was gonna be the transfer point and it's good to have it confirmed. Anybody been up there at this time of year? We're thinking of riding from Bingzhongluo to Ruili starting around April 10, and hoping the weather wont be too miserable or the scenery too drab and wintery.