Deqin Travel Guide
Deqin is a slice of Tibet on Chinese turf. It's a small town up in the wilds of northwest Yunnan Province, lying at altitude and having access to some excellent hiking.
- Worth It?
- Yes, especially for hikers.
- What to Do
- hike and trek.
- Best Time to Go
- year-round; April and October for the best weather.
- How Long?
- At least a few days in the area.
- Trivia
- eighty percent of Deqin's residents are Tibetan.
Deqin is most popular with hikers as it has a year-round reputation amid a breathtaking part of the country. It sits in the lofty Hengduanshan Mountains at an altitude of 3,550m. The nearby mountains and valleys are impossibly steep, although there are many kilometers of hiking paths for all levels.
The best hiking in Deqin Prefecture is in Meili Xue Shan Nature Reserve, where visitors can hike to the Tai Zi Temple and Minyong Glacier. In town, the Migratory Bird Café on Feilai Si is the place to head for information on maps and hikes of the region.
Travel to Deqin - Getting There
Zhongdian, better known as Shangri-La, is the gateway town for trips to Deqin, lying 50kms south and on the G214. The bus journey takes a good 5 hours from here. Buses from Kunming take 12 hours. Shangri-La has an airport - Diqing Airport - with convenient flights from the capital.
Deqin Things to Do
Deqin Attractions
Side trips from Deqin
- Felai Si
- a small village 10kms from Deqin with the most remarkable views of Snow Mountain (Meili Xue Shan). There is also a temple here with accommodation.
- Yubeng Village
- a Tibetan village largely inaccessible and having great appeal to purists, yet it is only 18kms from town.
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