Luoyang Departure: Shangri-La and Meili Snow Mountain, 5 Days 4 Nights

The plane lands at Lijiang Sanyi at 2,200 metres, a thousand lower than Shangri-La, and the first night is spent here to let the body adjust. Into the old town in the afternoon, from the water wheels to Sifang street, the flagstones worn smooth and water running in the channels beside the lane. Dinner is rib hotpot, the copper pot bubbling, with a plate of water greens. The old town is busy after dark.

Attraction introduction: Lijiang old town sits in the middle of the Lijiang basin at about 2,400 metres and took shape between the late Song and early Yuan, later a market town on the tea and horse road. There is no city wall; water is drawn from Black Dragon Pool and split into three channels through the streets.

Tips: On the first day, do not wash your hair and go straight out into the wind; a cold at altitude is more trouble than on the plains. Guests generally find oxygen bottles in the old town cost twice what a pharmacy charges. In practice, sleep early, because tomorrow climbs to 3,300 metres.

North after breakfast, three hours with the altitude climbing, past the Xiaozhongdian meadows into Tibetan country. Lunch in the old town, butter tea salty and tsampa to be rolled by hand. In the afternoon to Songzanlin, the shuttle from the gate, then a hundred-odd steps that leave you short of breath, and from the terrace the grassland and the villages spread out below. Back in the old town in the evening, where the great prayer wheel needs ten people.

Attraction introduction: Ganden Sumtseling was founded in 1679 in Jiantang and is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan. The whole complex climbs the hillside, the two main assembly halls capped in gold, the monks quarters packed around them, which is why it is called the little Potala.

Tips: Hats off and long trousers inside the halls, no photographs of the images, and the wheels turn clockwise. Guests generally find the steps are steep and continuous, and that pausing every few steps is easier than pushing on; afternoon light flatters the gold roofs. In practice, keep the visit for the afternoon and use the morning for the drive.

Away at eight along the G214. Past Benzilan the road begins to climb, the Jinsha River bending through the valley below in muddy yellow. The Baima pass stands at 4,200 metres with snow at the roadside; two photographs and back into the car, the wind cutting. At Feilaisi by mid afternoon, bags down, then walk to the platform to see where to stand at dawn. Toward evening the cloud breaks and the summit of Kawagarbo shows, white and hard.

Attraction introduction: Meili is part of the Nushan range in the Hengduan mountains, thirteen peaks averaging above six thousand metres running north to south. Kawagarbo, at 6,740 metres, is the highest point in Yunnan and has never been climbed; after the 1991 avalanche that killed seventeen climbers, climbing was banned.

Tips: Feilaisi sits at 3,400 metres, higher than Shangri-La, so slow down and do not run. Guests generally find heating and hot water vary a lot between guesthouses, so ask about underfloor heating and electric blankets. In practice, drink less in the evening so the dawn watch is not interrupted.

Up at six, on the platform by twenty past, a pale line along the horizon. The sun comes from behind the snow line and the summits redden one after another, bright orange for seven or eight minutes, then gold, then a white that hurts to look at. Breakfast back at the guesthouse, away by nine, fish for lunch at Benzilan. Pudacuo at three, the shuttle to Shudu lake, three kilometres of boardwalk with the meadow gone yellow and the water flat as glass.

Attraction introduction: The sunrise on the peaks happens when sunlight strikes the summits at a very low angle, lasting only the ten or fifteen minutes around sunrise, and depends on an open eastern horizon and a clear sky. Pudacuo runs between 3,500 and 4,159 metres, with Shudu and Bita lakes among spruce and fir.

Tips: The platform is cold and windy, so hat and gloves, and tripods blow over. Guests generally find the odds are better in the dry months than in the rainy season, though some wait three days and see only cloud. In practice, hold the expectation loosely and enjoy the mountain either way.

No alarm, then a last walk through the old town. The flagstones are pale in the low sun and the shops are still shut, only the stalls with butter and dried cheese set out. Two bags of yak jerky, the vendor saying it was dried at home. To the airport at ten, twenty minutes, and the wait looks out on meadow and ridge. The flight east passes over the folded ranges of Hengduan.

Attraction introduction: Shangri-La was called Zhongdian until 2001 and lies where Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet meet, at an average of 3,300 metres. The climate divides into wet and dry seasons, and from November the dry season brings strong sun, little rain and a swing of fifteen degrees between day and night.

Tips: Ultraviolet is fierce at this altitude even under cloud, and lips crack, so carry balm. Guests generally find afternoon flights are calmer, since morning fog on the road to the airport can make an early departure tight. In practice, buy jerky in the old town and check the date on the packet.