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Tiger Leaping Gorge - China Road Trip 2017 - 29
Tiger Leaping Gorge is the deepest gorge on earth, formed by the ridges of two 5,000m peaks the Yulong and Haba Snow Mountains and the Jinsha River, a large tributary of the Yangtze River.
It gets its name from the story of a tiger cornered by a hunter. It managed leaps of 10m across the river using the above rock which is still there.
Recently the gorge was saved after the Chinese abandoned (for now) a plan to dam the river. Instead they make heaps of money by charging tourists to visit the place. The choice is stark: lose the beauty under a series of dams or else risk ruining it with extra roads and endless guest houses with accompanying ugly litter. At least this way it is still there to see and so are the ethnic Naxi people who can enjoy supplementing their meager living with tourism.
Hiking along the gorge is said to be in the top ten 'hikes to do before you die', about 20 miles there and back, or just there and a bus back. Sadly we decided it wasn't safe to do it with four small children who could easily fall down a precipice. So near and yet so far, maybe I will be able to go again one day, plenty of shacks with B&Bs and food to stay in along the way, and the most beautiful scenery. There is an upper road from which you can enjoy the views, and a lower road nearer to the river, which they are improving all the time (see above) but which is subject to landslides etc in the rainy season.
When we went the river was relatively quiet and low, come rainy season and it would have more of a roar to it.
Tiger Leaping Gorge - China Road Trip 2017 - 29
Tiger Leaping Gorge is the deepest gorge on earth, formed by the ridges of two 5,000m peaks the Yulong and Haba Snow Mountains and the Jinsha River, a large tributary of the Yangtze River.
It gets its name from the story of a tiger cornered by a hunter. It managed leaps of 10m across the river using the above rock which is still there.
Recently the gorge was saved after the Chinese abandoned (for now) a plan to dam the river. Instead they make heaps of money by charging tourists to visit the place. The choice is stark: lose the beauty under a series of dams or else risk ruining it with extra roads and endless guest houses with accompanying ugly litter. At least this way it is still there to see and so are the ethnic Naxi people who can enjoy supplementing their meager living with tourism.
Hiking along the gorge is said to be in the top ten 'hikes to do before you die', about 20 miles there and back, or just there and a bus back. Sadly we decided it wasn't safe to do it with four small children who could easily fall down a precipice. So near and yet so far, maybe I will be able to go again one day, plenty of shacks with B&Bs and food to stay in along the way, and the most beautiful scenery. There is an upper road from which you can enjoy the views, and a lower road nearer to the river, which they are improving all the time (see above) but which is subject to landslides etc in the rainy season.
When we went the river was relatively quiet and low, come rainy season and it would have more of a roar to it.