Tiger Leaping Gorge

Legend has it that a tiger once leaped across a 20 metre wide part of one of China's largest gorges to escape an approaching hunter. This gorge has now become a famous trek in Yunnan province- we spent two days/three nights discovering this stunning area. The gorge, although only 20 meters wide at its narrowest point, is a remarkable 4000m from the raging river to the sheer snow-capped mountain tops.

The first night we stayed at the start of the gorge and woke up early the next morning to begin the trek. This section of the gorge is dominated by terraced farmland, with the trekking path slowly winding its way up to and over the first mountain ridge.

The start of the trek- this river becomes the Yangtze a little further downstream

A little trick photography to scare the folks!

We spent our second night in a wonderful wooden guesthouse inaccessible by road. We had a spectacular view from our balcony, watching the sun set in front of the snowy mountains directly in front of us.

In the evening clouds rolled in over the mountains creating a moody atmosphere

The second day of the trek saw us walk through quaint farming villages set high up on the slopes and gradually decend back down to the river level.

This village is perched on the edge of the gorge- its a vertical kilometre down to the river

Heading down to river level, we were lucky to have trekked most of the gorge with very few people in sight