Travelling the ancient trail at Leaping Tiger Gorge

The following pictures were tricky to take. The sunlight was exceptionally bright and as a result it was sometimes difficult to get a good exposure, especially when looking down into the gorge. I hope this selection illustrates the natural beauty and shear size of the place.

This shot should give you an idea of the scale of the trail in comparison with the gorge. The red dot is India on her mule. Click on the image, it's far better full size.

As we were approaching our destination for the night the sun caught Snow Mountain with it's dying rays. The result was a brilliant golden moment ,topping off the mountains in all their splendor.

Parts of the mountain face are covered with bamboo. It looks so graceful and delicate in this strong winter light ,covering vast areas of the mountainside with a pale soft green haze.

This shot offers one an idea of how cold it was on some parts of the the trail. The girls were wrapped up to keep the mountain air at bay but once back in the sunshine we bathed luxuriously in the suns warming rays. On this occasion we had to get off our mules to travel down the hill unassisted.

Here is Shelly,our interpreter and guide,always smiling and full of energy.
Shelly was our voice to everyone we met in Yunnan and also helped answer our constant queries. If you are ever considering such a trip I strongly recommend this type of professional support. It gets one out of the tourist bubble and into the community,which is the only way to travel if you wish to connect.

Our head muler. He is skinny as a rake and as tough as old boots and immune to the bitter cold. A terrific guy with never ending energy. He kept pointing out to the girls that I was very big and it would be far better if I were half the size. As a result I rode on a number of mules to give each one a rest - because of my weight he told me .I think the mules were simply out of condition and only used to carrying rucksacks.