It's more forest education than forest bathing; they learn about the local flora and fauna, especially mushrooms, for which the region is famous. 🍄
She also organizes trips to small Muslim-Chinese villages around Dali, where a very interesting minority lives - the Hui people who worship Allah. ☪️
She picked us up in her jeep at the place we requested. During the trip, she gave her all, showing us hard-to-reach areas. ⛰️
The previous photos showed the view from her home, and now other lovely people we met who gave their whole hearts. ❤️
The girl we traveled to Tibet with - Aruna. She comes from Inner Mongolia, lives and works in Dali (one of the most beautiful cities in Yunnan), organizing forest trips for tourists from other regions of China, mostly families with children. In the photo with her partner.
I have not encountered anything like this on such a scale in any other part of the world. My companion has a similar experience, with...
Taking advantage of the holiday, I signed up for OTC Town's two-day Shangri-La pastoral hiking activity @Dali Cangshan Hiking Home. For the first time seeing snow-capped mountains and pastures up close, I still can't forget that feeling full of freedom and sacredness.
Maybe humans always get excited about unpredictable extreme weather! Waking up in the herder's house and seeing the rain that had been falling all day, I inexplicably worried about the activity experience. But when the car drove to the foot of Tongbao Snow Mountain and I saw the slowly falling snowflakes, I suddenly realized that this might be even more worth visiting than a sunny snowy mountain.
The mysterious snow mountain hidden behind the snow curtain, the yak herds shuttling through the jungle, the purple azaleas shining in the snow—all summoned the deep desire for freedom within me. I finally became a child of nature again!
We kept hiking until we reached a small wooden cabin in the snow. Everyone sat around the fireplace. Who knows how powerful the stewed yak meat with a huge amount of instant noodles was at that moment? We, from different places and countries, chatted about common topics, watching the gradually slowing snow scene outside the window. Thus, we stored precious moments of life in Shangri-La.
I recommend this activity again. The two guides, Aruna and Xiaoqi, were reliable and humorous. We stayed at the summer pasture, ate Tibetan food, drank highland barley wine, acted as wild plant hunters, and the hiking route had no tourist crowds. The two-day experience was better than the entire holiday.
One day, we will meet again, Shangri-La.
Arura found such beautiful scenery. It was effortless even with a child, and we could enjoy the pasture and snow-capped mountains. I loved it so much!
This trip deep into the Shangri-La pastoral area was fantastic. The two guides were very thoughtful, providing not only tea and energy snacks but also restaurant-level food. Staying at a Tibetan home, we could ride bicycles and enjoy the sunset and grassland views—truly relaxing~
In the distance, smoke curled upward from chimneys, beautiful like a painting~ The next day we went up the mountain and saw many alpine plants along the way. These are plants that in Kunming Botanical Garden are kept in glasshouses where you can't enter. I never thought I'd climb the mountain and see them with my own eyes—a very special and unforgettable experience!
This immersive life experience in the pastoral area of Shangri-La was truly wonderful. The two-day trip let me feel the unique local culture and customs, highly recommended for travel lovers. Glad to meet sister Aruna, friends, and the local aunties, experiencing a different attitude towards life.
Nature gives us room for self-reflection... Quietly accompanied by grass, trees, cattle, and horses, finding ourselves amidst busy work and life, and relaxing!
Meadows, yaks, stars, various alpine plants. The two-day-one-night trip was very rewarding. Hard to imagine that in just three hours you can go from the romantic Dali to a highland pastoral area and experience a different culture. Thank you, Aruna. Hope to see you again!
