Lijiang to Walnut Grove (Tiger Leaping Gorge)

Today was one of the most spectacular rides of the trip. From the outset, we had to ride up 4 km of extremely slippery cobblestones in the pouring rain to the summit (at 3200 m) of the road passing through the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Yulong Xue Shan) scenic area and then along the ridge for about two hours – and we were all so wet and cold at the tea break that we decided not to ride the 30-kilometer descent, but to load the bikes into the van.

Fortunately, Cathy called ahead and they had a fire waiting for us at our lunch place, so we were able to warm up and drain our shoes. The meal was fantastic – simple, diverse (particularly different local vegetables) and very tasty – chili, garlic, chives, soy sauce, minced pork...

Then, we had to load our gear onto a mule, and sherpas carried our bikes down to the Yangtse River, for the ferry ride across to the other side with many locals and their animals.












 The 14-kilometer ride up from the riverbed and into Tiger Leaping Gorge was not easy, as it was raining, the road was unpaved, muddy and slippery – and there were active rock slides. By the time we arrived Chateau de Woody, we were all pretty tired.

Despite the drama, Anne could not help noticing the fresh road cuts, exposing some fantastic geology, including huge masses of serpentinite and thick layers of chert, formed on the ocean floor. The gorge is considered to be the world’s deepest canyon, at 2500 m, with cliffs reaching upward for another 3000 m above the riverbed. The setting, climate and rock and wood construction reminded us of Ticino (Versasca Tal?) in Switzerland.

But the working conditions for the road crews were definitely not up to Swiss requirements. Groups of workers lived in makeshift scrap wood and plastics tents, with no electricity or facilities of any kind, on the side of the road. Most of the work – even breaking stone – is done by hand. And, as we came to understand later, the location was also precarious.