Yunnan & Sichuan · China

EAGLE TREK

Shangri-La · Yading · Meili — a low-altitude helicopter journey

Private Helicopter Tour · 5N6D

The only way to see the Three Parallel Rivers from the air — fly to the Three Sacred Mountains of Yading, then complete the great flight to Meili Snow Mountain.

RouteShangri-La → Yading → Meili
Duration5N / 6D
AircraftBell 407 / Airbus H125
Highest StayYading 3,900 m
GroupMax 5 PAX private

Design Philosophy

Fly to the sacred mountain — the eagle's perspective

"The future is a place where we will spend the rest of our lives. It is a place we create, not a place we find. — Beryl Markham, West with the Night"

Since opening China's first long-distance low-altitude civilian sightseeing route in 2019, Songtsam's helicopter journeys have opened a brand-new door to the plateau. The helicopter dissolves the discomfort of long plateau drives and steep mountain roads, and replaces it with an unprecedented perspective — that of an eagle — over a region spanning the Hengduan Mountains, six great rivers, and altitude differences of up to 6,000 metres: dry hot valleys, rainforest, pasture, river gorges and endless snow peaks, all within the same latitude.

The Air Route Pioneers空中滇藏线

The gorges carved by the three great rivers provide natural flight corridors; Songtsam's routes are the only civilian low-altitude window onto the Three Parallel Rivers.

Trip Highlights

What makes this journey

Aerial Shangri-La to Yading

·Shangri-La and Yading are under 100 km apart in a straight line — 40 minutes by helicopter
·The only opportunity anywhere for a bird's-eye view of Yading's Three Sacred Mountains
·More time on the ground for the full Yading outdoor experience

The Three Sacred Mountains

·Xiannairi 'Avalokitesvara' (6,032 m), Yangmaiyong 'Manjusri' and Xianuoduoji 'Vajrapani' (5,958 m)
·The pyramid peak widely believed to be the model for Lost Horizon's Blue Moon Valley

Stays

Three Songtsam lodges across two provinces

Two nights at Songtsam Linka Shangri-La (3,280 m) opposite Songzanlin Monastery, two nights at Songtsam Lodge Yading (3,900 m) inside the scenic area among Kham Tibetan black-stone houses, and one night at Songtsam Lodge Meili (3,600 m) in a five-household village facing Kawagebo.

Stone lodges, diffused oxygen, snow mountains in every window

Lodge-to-lodgeDiffused oxygenSnow-mountain viewsLocal hosts

Itinerary

6-Day Itinerary

Eagle TrekYUNNAN & SICHUAN · CHINA

Altitude profile

Highest point 3,900 m · gradual ascent for acclimatization

DAY 1

Arrival in Shangri-La — Pre-flight Briefing

Arrive at Diqing Shangri-La Airport, just 20 minutes' drive from Songtsam Linka Shangri-La (lunch at the hotel if you land in the morning). The Linka's hand-built Tibetan watchtower architecture sits in a green valley directly opposite Songzanlin Monastery, the most renowned Gelugpa monastery in Yunnan — outside your window, golden monastery roofs, barley racks and grazing horses unfold like a slowly opening scroll of Tibetan scenery. In the early evening the team holds the helicopter-journey pre-trip briefing, covering the flight plan, weather windows and safety procedures for the days ahead. Dinner is served at the Linka, with the first night spent acclimatizing gently at 3,280 m.

0 km · +0 m · -0 m · max 3280 m

Terrain: arrival + acclimatization + hotel
Transport: Private airport transfer, about 20 minutes
Meals: Breakfast: not included; Lunch: not included; Dinner: included
Stay: Songtsam Linka Shangri-La (3,280 m)

DAY 2

Fly to the Three Sacred Mountains — Pearl Lake & Chonggu Temple

After breakfast at the Linka, lift off on the aerial sightseeing flight from Shangri-La to Yading. Though most travelers approach Yading through Sichuan, it lies less than 100 km from Shangri-La in a straight line — the helicopter reaches it in about 40 minutes, and this is the only opportunity anywhere to look down on Yading's Three Sacred Mountains from the air: Xiannairi 'Avalokitesvara' (6,032 m), Yangmaiyong 'Manjusri' and Xianuoduoji 'Vajrapani' (both 5,958 m). Lunch is at Songtsam Lodge Yading, a stone lodge in a 35-household Kham Tibetan village at 3,900 m. In the afternoon, choose a gentle acclimatization walk to Pearl Lake (Zhenzhu Sea) and Chonggu Temple, or simply take afternoon tea at the lodge watching sunset gild Xianuoduoji. Dinner at the lodge.

3 km · +200 m · -200 m · max 3900 m

Terrain: scenic flight + alpine lake + acclimatization walk
Transport: Helicopter Shangri-La to Yading, about 40 minutes of aerial sightseeing
Meals: Breakfast: included; Lunch: included; Dinner: included
Stay: Songtsam Lodge Yading (3,900 m)

DAY 3

Hiking the Songtsam Pathway — In Joseph Rock's Footsteps

Enter the Yading Scenic Area and set out on the Songtsam Pathway, a 'non-conventional' hiking route Songtsam opened along Joseph Rock's century-old line of travel — a tribute to the explorer whose National Geographic dispatches inspired James Hilton's Lost Horizon and gave the world the word 'Shangri-La'. Stand where Rock stood a hundred years ago and witness all three sacred mountains in a single frame, then picnic at a scenic spot specially chosen by Songtsam. Up close are glaciers and a vast U-shaped valley that may remind you of Yosemite or the Dolomites — though neither has a peak as soul-stirring as Yangmaiyong. Weather permitting, an alternative boardwalk route leads deeper to Gongga Tso, or the Five-Color Lake and Milk Lake, depending on fitness. Dinner back at Songtsam Lodge Yading.

8 km · +400 m · -400 m · max 3900 m

Terrain: ridge trail + trekking + picnic
Transport: Short shuttle into the Yading Scenic Area, then on foot all day
Meals: Breakfast: included; Lunch: included; Dinner: included
Stay: Songtsam Lodge Yading (3,900 m)

DAY 4

The Great Flight — Yading to Meili Snow Mountain

After breakfast, take off from the foot of the Three Sacred Mountains for the journey's signature flight: an almost straight line from Yading to Meili Snow Mountain, a route personally test-flown by Songtsam founder Pema Dorjee and National Geographic photographer Michael Yamashita. As the helicopter climbs, Xiannairi and Mt. Kawagebo appear, astonishingly, in the same frame — a view possible only on this flight. Crossing Baima Snow Mountain, the aircraft drops into the Lancang River gorge where Songtsam Lodge Meili hides in Gujiunong, a five-household village whose Tibetan name means 'remote temple'. Lunch at the lodge, then an afternoon tea by the great bay windows, watching cloud and light move across the Meili massif — over 20 perpetually snow-capped peaks, six above 6,000 m. Dinner at the lodge.

0 km · +0 m · -0 m · max 3900 m

Terrain: scenic flight + gorge + lodge afternoon
Transport: Helicopter Yading to Meili across Baima Snow Mountain, about 1 h
Meals: Breakfast: included; Lunch: included; Dinner: included
Stay: Songtsam Lodge Meili (3,600 m)

DAY 5

Golden Sunrise on Kawagebo — Fly Back to Shangri-La

Before dawn, wait by the floor-to-ceiling windows for the 'Sunrise Golden Mountain': a beam of gold crossing the valley to crown Mt. Kawagebo (6,740 m), Yunnan's highest peak and one of Tibetan Buddhism's most revered sacred mountains — never summited, and protected by law since 2001. After breakfast, weather and air-traffic permitting, the helicopter lifts off at the earliest approved slot — this leg's unique advantage, and if you are lucky the golden summit appears again above the clouds. The return flight to Shangri-La passes the main peak of Baima Snow Mountain, Zhalaqueni, at eye level, then follows the Jinsha valley, with Dongzhulin Monastery and Songzanlin Monastery clearly recognizable from the air. Lunch and a reflective afternoon tea at the Linka, then a farewell-ceremony dinner closes the flying days.

0 km · +0 m · -0 m · max 3600 m

Terrain: sunrise viewpoint + scenic flight + farewell
Transport: Helicopter Meili to Shangri-La past Baima's main peak, about 1 h
Meals: Breakfast: included; Lunch: included; Dinner: included
Stay: Songtsam Linka Shangri-La (3,280 m)

DAY 6

Farewell Shangri-La

A last Shangri-La morning at the Linka: breakfast as the first light touches the golden roofs of Songzanlin Monastery across the valley, juniper smoke and the monks' chanting dissolving with the mist. Depending on your departure time, linger on the balcony over the barley fields or browse the lodge's museum and boutique before the transfer to Diqing Shangri-La Airport or the high-speed rail station. The journey ends as it began — in Songtsam's hometown — having crossed Yunnan and Sichuan, three lodges, and some of the greatest mountain scenery on earth, seen the way only eagles see it.

0 km · +0 m · -0 m · max 3280 m

Terrain: departure + transfer
Transport: Private transfer to Diqing Shangri-La Airport or railway station, about 20 minutes
Meals: Breakfast: included; Lunch: not included; Dinner: not included

Difficulty

Trip Expectations

A moderate journey: helicopter legs remove the long plateau drives, but two nights are spent at 3,900 m and the Songtsam Pathway hike asks for reasonable fitness.

Highest stay

3,900 m (Lodge Yading)

Hiking grade

Moderate, with easier boardwalk options

Longest flight

~40 min Shangri-La → Yading

Altitude

The trip moves from Shangri-La (~3,200 m) to Yading (~3,900 m). Lodges above 3,000 m have oxygen generators or in-room diffused oxygen, vehicles carry oxygen equipment, and Songtsam's traditional 'yuan gen' turnip drink is offered free if symptoms appear. Symptoms usually ease within 24–48 hours; cardiovascular patients should consult a doctor first.

About the Area

The Greater Shangri-La, from the air

A hundred years ago the explorer Joseph Rock called these the most beautiful mountains he had ever seen; his dispatches in National Geographic inspired James Hilton's Lost Horizon and gave the world a new word — Shangri-La, from the Tibetan 'Shambhala', humanity's name for the ultimate spiritual home. This region, where Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet meet in the heart of the Three Parallel Rivers, is also Songtsam's hometown.

On the stage of the Three Parallel Rivers, Meili Snow Mountain is the undisputed star: a 150-kilometre massif with more than 20 perpetually snow-capped peaks, six above 6,000 metres. Its main peak Kawagebo (6,740 m), Yunnan's highest, has never been summited — every expedition from 1902 to 1996 failed, and in 2001 climbing was banned by law. Pilgrims still circle it; travelers wait at dawn for the golden light to crown its summit.

Eagle Trek crosses this landscape the way no road can: over the gorges of the Jinsha and Lancang, past Baima Snow Mountain at eye level, between monasteries whose golden roofs flash up from the valleys. It is, in Songtsam's words, a completely new way of traveling the plateau — and the gorges carved by the great rivers are its natural flight paths.

EAGLE TREK

Fly to the sacred mountain — the eagle's perspective

The Air Route Pioneers空中滇藏线

What makes this journey

Aerial Shangri-La to Yading

The Three Sacred Mountains

Three Songtsam lodges across two provinces

Stone lodges, diffused oxygen, snow mountains in every window

6-Day Itinerary

Arrival in Shangri-La — Pre-flight Briefing

Fly to the Three Sacred Mountains — Pearl Lake & Chonggu Temple

Hiking the Songtsam Pathway — In Joseph Rock's Footsteps

The Great Flight — Yading to Meili Snow Mountain

Golden Sunrise on Kawagebo — Fly Back to Shangri-La

Farewell Shangri-La

Trip Expectations

Altitude

The Greater Shangri-La, from the air

The Eagle's View鹰的视角

In Rock's Footsteps洛克足迹

Three Lodges, One Arc三座山居

A Nine-person Team九人保障

The Songtsam Pathway

Yading to Meili — and the golden dawn

Flights & weather

Fitness & eligibility

Weather & packing