A Thousand Tortoise Mountain

The Liming music festival came to a close at lunch time and we peeled off for a meal in a local cafe to prepare for the afternoons adventure. Our interpreter and general guide Shelly, thought we should make the most of the afternoon and ride up to Thousand Tortoise Mountain. Liming has one of the most magnificent attractions in Yunnan which most of the tourist guides either appear to have omitted or only given a brief mention to.

I hope the following pictures give you a true idea of how magnificent this place is .

The trail up to Thousand Tortoise Mountain is steep and not something we wished to attempt on our first day. Shelly hired a number of horses/ ponies for the afternoon to take the stress of walking at 10,000 feet easier on the lungs and legs. These small horses have been used for hundreds of years in this region to transport tea and silk etc over the ancient tea trail across the Himalayas. Sweet little beasts of burden, they are like four legged teddie bears with their soft brown shaggy coats.

Once we had ridden most of the way the last part was down to us to climb, which is fine if you are feeling fit and healthy so the girls scampered up the last part leaving me behind wheezing my way to the top. Once on this strange mountain a sign pointed out we should take our shoes off if we were to continue our climb. The sandstone rock is quite soft and I can imagine thousands of Chinese tourists would soon grind down this amazing natural phenomenon if they were to wear shoes.

This prominent rock is revered by the locals, as are so many unusual looking rocks. The story goes it represents two lovers who absconded after their disapproving parents tried to prevent them from getting married. Nothing new there.