Tiger Leaping Gorge

Setting off early in the morning, we began our relatively easy descent compared to the laborious accent we had completed the day before. After a grueling, yet rewarding, 15 km hike on the Upper Tiger Leaping Gorge trek starting from 2,200 m to 2,670 m and back down to 2,300 m elevation, we turned back to the direction we had come for our second day.

Shortly after departing from where Tina's Guesthouse resides, I was met with this spectacular view of the Jinsha River carving through the valley between the grandiose Yulong Snow Mountain and Haba Snow Mountain foothills. Though Tolkien may have never seen this valley before, I instantly saw how anyone could be inspired to write based on the serene magnitude of the mountainous valley in front of me.