Dali
Dali sits between Erhai Lake and the Cangshan range, and people who came for two days stay for two weeks. Cycle the lake, walk the mountain, do very little.
- Region
- Yunnan, Southwest
- Best
- Mar–May, Sep–Nov
- Airports
- DLU
- Stay
- 3–5 days
Overview
The old town is a Bai walled town with a backpacker layer on top. It is pleasant, but the reason to come is the landscape: the lake to the east, the 4,000-metre ridge to the west, and villages of white-walled Bai houses in between.
Rent a bike or scooter and ride the lake road through Xizhou and Shuanglang. Take the cable car up Cangshan and walk the Cloud Traveller's Path. Eat rushan cheese from a stick.
Yunnan runs on Beijing time but sits far to the west, so sunsets come late. Evenings are long and the light is famous.
Getting there
Dali (DLU) has flights from Kunming and the big cities. Trains from Kunming take about two hours to Dali station in the new town (Xiaguan), then a 30-minute bus or taxi to the old town. Lijiang is two hours north by train.
Rail tip. Your passport is your ticket. Book on 12306 or Trip.com, then go straight to the gate. See Getting around. The Trip.com link earns us a small commission at no cost to you (how that works).
Stay online. Google, WhatsApp and Instagram are blocked on Chinese networks; a travel eSIM that roams gets around it. Install one before you fly — Saily takes US$5 off a first plan with the code CHINA. See Staying online. The code earns us the same amount in Saily credits, at no cost to you (how that works).
Where to stay
Book on Trip.comOld town
大理古城Walkable, sociable, a little touristy. Fine for a first night.
Guesthouses in every lane. Renmin Road is the café strip; the quieter courtyards are north and west of it.
Xizhou
喜洲A Bai village of merchant mansions among the fields.
Twenty minutes north of the old town. Restored courtyard houses to stay in, a morning market, and the famous baba flatbreads.
Shuanglang and the east shore
双廊Lakeside guesthouses with the mountains across the water.
Boutique inns stacked on the shore. Views are the point; it is a longer trip to anything else.
Booking. Compare hotels in Dali on Trip.com, filtered to its China travel essentials list: English-speaking staff, foreign cards, guest rating 8 or higher. See Where to stay. Booking through this link earns us a small commission at no cost to you (how that works).
Things to do
Erhai Lake loop
洱海Cycle or scooter the lake road through the villages. A full day, or two easy ones.
Cangshan Mountain
苍山Cable car up, then the flat Cloud Traveller's Path along the ridge.
Three Pagodas
崇圣寺三塔Tang dynasty pagodas against the mountain. The classic Dali view.
Xizhou village
喜洲古镇Bai merchant houses, a morning market, and baba flatbreads from the griddle.
Eat
Bai cooking: rushan (grilled cheese with rose jam), er kuai rice cakes, lake fish in sour soup, and wild mushrooms in summer. The old town has every kind of café; the villages have the real food.
From travellers in Dali
3 posts · 3 tips · 0 questions · 0 stories
The whole country runs on Beijing time, so Dali's evenings arrive late
Panda · 1 month ago
Give the old town one night, then move to a village on the lake
Panda · 1 month ago
Take the lake road slowly, and think twice about the scooter
Panda · 1 month ago
