Yangshuo Mountains and Minorities
7 Day Cycle and Adventure Tour to Yangshuo, China
One of our most popular tours, taking in a portion of our Trail of the Dragon Tour (featured in National Geographic Adventure Magazine's "World's 25 Best New Trips For 2007"), features one day of hiking through the beautiful rice terraces of Longji and four days of off-the-beaten-track cycling to Yangshuo.
On this tour you will be accompanied by one of our local experts who will show you through the regions fascinating scenery as well as introducing you to local minority people living in the area such as the Yao, Miao and Zhuang.
A true adventure, you'll find yourself cycling on quiet country roads, hiking through rural mountain villages, boating along the famous Li River, walking through markets and feasting on local delicacies.
The cycling is excellent with a mix of hills and flats with some off-road to really get you into the countryside and suited to those that want to experience the advantages of travelling by bike. With Yangshuo as your destination there is plenty on offer if you want to stay longer in the reason.
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Itinerary / Highlights
Day 1 – Arrival Day.Whether you’re coming into Guilin by train or plane we’ll have a Bike Asia representative waiting for you. Once we’ve gone over the week’s itinerary and answered any questions you may have, we’ll introduce you to your guide for the week and you’ll transfer to our guesthouse in the Longji Rice Terraces. After arrival you will need to load up your pannier bags with the luggage needed for the ride. Any excess or unneeded luggage you can leave in the van and we’ll have it delivered and waiting for your arrival in Yangshuo. If travelling with panniers is not your style you can talk to us about having a support vehicle for the entire cycling leg.
Longji is a fantastic place to start any trip in China and if there’s time you can head up to one of the viewpoints for sunset over the intricate network of rice terraces.
Day 2 – Today you have time to take in the extraordinary mountain views from the Zhuang minority traditionally-built guesthouse, nestled on the mountainside in Pingan.
During the day you can do a fully guided hike around the hillside, take a shorter walk to one of the view points over the rice terraces, or simply sit back with a beer and enjoy the view and the atmosphere on the terrace of this very special guesthouse. The owners, Keyin and Lily, always make us feel at home and may offer us a sample of their special sweet rice wine.
Those exploring the walking trails will soon discover that this area is also inhabited by people of the Yao and Miao minorities. Their dress is quite distinctive and Yao women often grow their hair so long it can touch the ground when untied! They’ll be more than happy to demonstrate the way they tie their hair for you!
Highly recommended is the day’s hike from Pingan to Dazhai village. This hike will take you through many rural villages, through the area’s rice terraces and give you an opportunity to see how these hardy mountain people eke out their lives in such dramatic landscapes.
Hike: There are walking tracks covering the whole mountain of Longji which makes it perfect for a day’s hike. The hike to Dazhai takes around 4 hours walking and a two hour return by bus. It is at times steep and hard work, but worth it for the spectacular views.
Day 3 – Our first day on the bikes starts with a fantastic downhill through dozens of switchbacks down the mountainside.
We spend the day on quiet sealed roads undulating through pine and bamboo forests, often passing villages tucked away in the hills. Being close to Guilin delicious Guilin-style rice noodles are available for lunch at the roadside.
In the afternoon we emerge onto a wide valley, but our destination for the night lies up a narrow gorge known as Butterfly Valley, where our hotel is located in a surprisingly picturesque setting. We will have a little free time for people to enjoy the walking paths in the valley.
Cycle: 58 Kms. Sealed roads on hilly terrain.
Day 4 – After breakfast at the hotel it’s back on the bikes for a day of opposites.
A morning of completely flat cycling on the best surface of the tour makes way for an afternoon of dirt road and rough off-road, as we take the most rural back roads towards Guilin. We may get some speed up on the well-made highway, but we wouldn't want to race through the later part of the day as this is classic rural China in the city’s backyard.
We pass rice fields, fruit trees, and vegetable plots, as well as two reservoirs and farmyards full of chickens. Finally the karst peaks of Guilin’s skyline appear in front of us and we roll into town to our hotel. Guilin, one of China’s prettier cities, makes for an interesting place to spend an evening.
With plenty of restaurants and eating options, shopping strips and cafes it’s a good chance to see how the local urbanites spend their evenings.
Cycle: 63 Km’s. Generally flat sealed roads 60%, unsealed dirt roads and tracks 40%.
Day 5 - From Guilin we head out of the city, and alongside the bamboo-lined Li River.
At Caoping we stop for lunch and take in what the Chinese often refer to as “the finest scenery under heaven” – Karst Mountains overhanging the river. After lunch we climb up into the mountains for an even more breathtaking view of this incredible landscape, finally arriving in beautiful Xingping in time to eat, shower and watch the sun set.
Xingping is an old Ming Dynasty era village and boasts some fine streets worth exploring to see architecture that is rapidly disappearing in China. We stay tonight in a quaint family run guesthouse.
Cycle: 72 Kms. Generally flat sealed roads 40%, unsealed dirt roads and tracks 60%.
Day 6 – Our final day of cycling is a great one, but first we take a boat up the most beautiful part of the Li River to Yangdi village.
This section is famous for its beautiful karst mountains and is a fantastic start to the day. We ride away from the river and pass through Putao and Baisha town, where we’ll visit the regions largest produce market, before taking our time riding down the lush and serene Dragon River valley. Nestled amongst paddy fields, overlooked on both sides by majestic karst mountains we will stop for lunch in a local farmer’s restaurant.
Should you have the energy left we can pass by Moon Hill - we highly recommend the climb to the top for spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. From here is just a 10km ride till you emerge in legendary Yangshuo, for good reasons popular with travellers from all over the world, where you have tonight to celebrate the end of the cycling adventure!
Cycle: 65 Kms. Flat but for one 3km steep climb on sealed roads 70%, unsealed dirt roads and tracks 30%.
Day 7 - Free time to spend relaxing or shopping in town before transferring back to Guilin airport. Keep in mind that there are plenty of things to do in Yangshuo so you may wish to extend your stay.
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