When to go, how to get around, and what only locals know — quick guides for all seven destinations.
Yunnan has three climates in one province: the dry, sunny plateau around Kunming and Dali, the high Tibetan edge at Shangri-La, and the tropical south. The dry season, October to April, suits most itineraries.
Kunming sits at 1,890 metres and Shangri-La at 3,300, with the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain cable car reaching 4,506. How to acclimatise gradually, what the symptoms mean, and when to descend.
How to sequence Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La in five to seven days, which legs are worth a train and which need a car, and where to add a night rather than rush.