Shangri-La Travel Guide
Reputed as the “Eden in dream”, Shangri-La is a land of majestic sacred snow mountains, deep and serene gorges, crystal lakes surrounded by lush forest, crowds of flocks and herds wondering on the endless grassland, mysterious ethnic villages and splendid monasteries.
Here are the guide to Shangri-La we collected according to our years of travel experience, which covers the fact and culture about Shangri-La, what to see and how to get to it, the climate and accommodation, the local dining and the recommended itineraries. Hope you will get the exact information you want for your tour to Shangri-La.
Stand at the joint of Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan, Shangri-La County is governed by Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. It was called Zhongdian or “Jiantang” in Tibetan in the past, and was renamed as Shangri-La in 2001. Shangri-La was first noted in the novel of Lost Horizon written by James Hilton in 1939. Since then, it has been linked with a wonderland which can be only found in heaven. Here are more detailed information about Shangri-La, including the fact about Shangri-La, the minority in Shangri-La, the culture and so on.
With the meaning of “the sun and moon in the heart” in Tibetan, Shangri-La is a truly charming destination in Yunnan that attracts a great number of tourists from home and aboard every year with its fantastic beauty. Here are some information and pictures of the attractions in Shangri-La, including the Songzanlin Monastery, Dukezong Old Town, Pudacuo National Park, Meili Snow Mountain and so on. Let’s check out what you will be impressed when you touring here.
Without a railway line and only one small regional airport, Shangri-La is connected with the outside by road transportation. Located in the point where Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet meet, there are main three roads passing through, including Yunnan - Tibet Road, Sichuan - Tibet Road and Xikang - Tibet Road. And traveling in Shangri-La, tourists can take city buses, taxis or chartered vehicles.
Shangri-La is located at an altitude of about 3,300 meters above sea level and belongs to temperature zone and cold temperature zone. The whole year are warm and humid with the average temperature between 4.7°C - 16.5°C. But the temperature here changes much between day and night. The temperature in a sunny day can raise to 30°C, while the night will feel like be in winter. Here are more information about the weather in Shangri-La and the best time to visit.
Since the population in Shangri-La is composed largely of Tibetans, most of the local food are Tibetan style dishes, including zanba, butter tea, barley beer, suolima wine, Dairy Products and etc. Of course, there are Sichuan and Yunnan style restaurants in Shangri-La provide common dishes for tourists and non-Tibetans. Check out for more details about the local Tibetan dishes.
As a hot tourist place, Shangri-La has lots of hotels of all levels in the county, varying from well-equipped stared hotels to best-valued and comfortable hotels, as well as budget youth hostel loved by young people. Most of the tourists come to Sahngri-La will choose to stay in the Dukezong Ancient Town to feel the old unique atmosphere. Here are several hotels in Shangri-La with high reputation among visitors who once came to Shangri-La, hoping you can find the one you would like to stay.
Shangri-La is the "Eden in dream", which is pursued by thousands of people all over the world who dream of the graceful and mysterious face of this paradise on earth. There are two classic itineraries collected by our travel experts: one is about Shangri-la only and another one covers Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-la, which could help you to arrange your tour.
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