Tiger Leaping Gorge is divided into three sections: Upper, Middle, and Lower. Upper Tiger Leaping is suitable for children, while Middle Tiger Leaping is suitable for hiking. Lower Tiger Leaping seems to be closed to traffic yet. Tiger Leaping Gorge itself is not high in elevation, but it does have a drop of 3,900 meters. This difference in height is based on the difference in height between the gorge and the snow-capped mountains, so the actual climb isn't that great.
On the day I arrived at Tiger Leaping Gorge, the parking lot was full, so the staff directed me to park on the roadside hillside. I had forgotten to buy a student ticket when booking online, but when I brought my ID to pick up the ticket, the staff noticed and reminded me. While the difference in price was small, the service was excellent. You also need to buy a 5 yuan parking ticket.
From the visitor center, transfer to a bus to enter the gorge. You can get down to the gorge from the bus stop. You can either take the escalator or climb down. The same applies to climbing back up. I recommend walking down and then taking the elevator. There are several platforms on the way down to view the scenery, so the walk isn't tiring.
The walk down the mountain to the riverside, taking in the scenery and taking photos, took only 30 minutes. A platform about 300 meters along the river's edge is located. During the rainy season, the water level can be quite high, and the river suddenly narrows at Tiger Leaping Rock, making the current particularly turbulent. The elevator entrance is at the other end of the platform. It takes about 10 minutes to get back to the station, where we can take the bus back to the visitor center, completing our Tiger Leaping Gorge tour.
We had originally planned to visit the Lashihai Wetland Park on our way back and then see the Lijiang Eternal Love Show that evening. However, we got lazy again and decided to head back to the hotel to rest up and then go directly to the show that evening. So, we set off around 9:30 AM and returned to the hotel at 3:30 PM to rest up.