Best of the Rest - Discover China - page 696

Tiger Leaping Gorge
ROLF RICHARDSON/GETTY IMAGES ©
The following route starts at Jane's Guesthouse . Walk away from Qiaotou
, past the school, for five minutes or so, then head up the paved road branch-
ing to the left; there's an arrow to guide you. After about 2.5km on the road the
gorge trail proper starts and the serious climbing begins.
The toughest section of the hike comes after Nuoyu village, when the trail
winds through the 28 agonising bends, or turns that lead to the highest point of
the gorge. Count on five hours at normal pace to get through and reach Yacha
village. It's a relatively straightforward walk on to Bendiwan . About 1½ hours
on from there, you begin the descent to the road on slippery, poor paths.
After the path meets the road at Tina's Guesthouse , there's a good detour
that leads down 40 minutes to the middle rapids and Tiger Leaping Stone ,
where a tiger is once said to have leapt across the Yangzi, thus giving the