3 Days Kunming Tour to Stone Forest & Jiuxiang Cave

Full Itinerary Day by day

Day 1 Kunming Arrival

Welcome to Kunming, the Spring City of China! Upon arrival at the Kunming airport/train station, the local tour guide and driver will meet you in the arrival hall and escort you to your hotel and help you check in. The rest of the day is on your own to explore the comfortable cityscape and leisure atmosphere there! Have a good rest!

After a short break, drive to explore Kunming Flowers & Birds Market. Walk along the narrow paths lined with various shops selling birds, fishes, flowers, antiques, fishing gear, etc. and watch local people finding their best things to buy with sounds of bargaining, chirping, etc.

Next, go to enjoy a cultural visit to Yuantong Temple that is one of the top oldest Buddhist temples in Kunming with more than 1,200 years’ history. Take your stroll there to feel the rich Buddhist atmosphere of three Buddhist sects filling the antique halls and houses specially designed into a traditional Chinese garden layout for a quite different appreciation of temple in China.

Then, walk to Kunming Green Lake nearby. This pretty park with a lovely lake, old-styled pavilions, corridors, flowers, etc. is the most popular place for an authentic feeling of local Kunming people’s leisure life with citizens singing, dancing, talking, exercising, etc. During November to the next March, Black-headed Gulls from Siberian will never be late to fly there for their expecting comfortable warm winter holiday. Do not miss playing with those adorable and vigorous elfin during your relaxing roam!

After today’s visiting, be escorted back to your hotel. Enjoy a good sleep!

Arrival Ideas: You can take a direct flight from more than 110 domestic cities and some international destinations including Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, San Francisco, Tokyo, London, and Los Angeles. Also, you can take a bullet train from Chengdu (5.5 hours), Chongqing (4 hours), Guilin (8 hours), Guiyang (2 hours), Guangzhou (7 hours), Beijing (11 hours), Shanghai (11 hours), Hong Kong (7.5 hours), etc. with convenience!

Day 2 Kunming - Stone Forest - Jiuxiang Scenic Area - Kunming (B, L)

Good morning! After breakfast, your local guide and driver will meet you at your hotel and then escort you to discover Stone Forest first for about 1.5 hours’ riding (85km)!

Kunming Stone Forest as the “Essence of World Karst Landform” has been listed as the UNESCO World Natural Heritage with the incomparable coverage of 12 square kilometers’ stone pinnacle groups. Take the sightseeing bus to visit the Greater Stone Forest Scenic Area to admire the typical concentrating cinerous stone pinnacles by walking through the maze of stone peaks and jumping high for the panorama of the forest of protruding stone peaks. Also, you will see the famous peak on many photos and even stones towering over 40 meters.

Then, continue to ride the bus to explore the Lesser Stone Forest to closely look at the iconic stone “Ashima” like a young lady, listen to the touching love story of Ashima, and fill your eyes with the emerald garden-like park of wilder stone peaks surrounded by lush green plants and blossoms. Take the sightseeing bus to exit the scenic park.

There is a saying goes: See stone forest above ground and explore Jiuxiang underground. After stone wonderland exploration, let’s go to discover Jiuxiang Scenic Area after driving about 40 minutes (36 kilometers). Boasting more than 100 different sized Karst caves, Jiuxiang is praised as the “Museum of Karst Caves” and the “Hometown of Karst Caves” for world visitors to explore the incredible underground palace. You will take a sightseeing boat at the emerald gorge and then go down to be immersed into the dazzling world with diverse shaped stalactites lit in rich colors, layers of amazing stalagmites like terraced fields, iridescent underground river, etc.

After today’s visiting, be escorted back to your hotel in Kunming downtown. Have a good sleep!

Day 3 Kunming & Kunming Departure (B)

Today, your guide and driver will escort you from your hotel to visit the famous Western Hills which is called “Sleeping Beauty Hills”, looking like a beautiful young lady lying beside Dian Lake (the largest freshwater in Yunnan and famed as the “Pearl on the Plateau”). It is a particularly pleasant experience to walk in such verdant forest mountain park with elegant sightseeing and a series of cultural relics and sites, including some old temples. You will not miss the symbolic visit to the magic Dragon Gate as it says “If you do not visit Western Hill, you haven't visited Kunming; if you do not come to Dragon Gate, you haven't been to Western Hills”, where to admire the colorful old grottoes on the wall and catch the panoramic view of the large peaceful Dianchi Lake and Kunming City. (You can visit the temples if interested. Huating Temple and Taihua Temple are included in the ticket.)

After that, drive back to Yunnan Nationalities Museum for a wonderful understanding of the 25 ethnic minority groups in vast Yunnan. This largest minority museum in whole Asia boasts a collection of over 20 thousand pieces (units) of precious cultural relics to show you the beautiful costumes, diverse ethnic festivals, daily life scenes, exquisite musical instruments, brilliant cultural texts, and so on to know the essence of Yunnan culture!

After the visiting, you’ll be escorted to the airport or train station to catch your flight/train (after 17:00) to next destination or home! (Note: If the departure time will not match your trip schedule, our travel consultant will help you adjust the itinerary to well suit your time. Please feel free to contact us.)

Service ends!

The quotation for this trip is from $472 Per Person

1. This price is for one person, based on a group of 2 adults sharing one standard double-bed room in 4-star hotel and traveling with our private tour in low seasons.
2. This price is subject to change according your traveling season, group size, hotel class, change of activities in your itinerary and possible fluctuation of currency exchange rate. If you want a lower price, you can get more people to join you, or use economy class hotels.
3. This price is only valid to March 31, 2025.
4. Reference exchange rate of USD 1=RMB 7.00. The final quote is based on current exchange rate. It may change according to the currency fluctuation, while the RMB quotation will be remained the same.

How Our Teams Serve you at China Discovery

"Highest Standards of Quality and Honesty" is the core value of each specialized team at China Discovery.

Eveyone in our company is working hard for only one goal, which is to ensure the highest level of service, luxury, and attention to detail from the minute you begin planning your trip, to the day you return home.

1-on-1 Travel Consultant

Our travel consultants are professional, experienced and responsible, helping you from the very beginning to the end of your China trip!

After sending us an inquiry, one of our travel consultants will get back to you within 0.5~23.5 hrs. In the next few days, he/she will be working closely with you to formulate a customized tour plan, as well as providing professional suggestions based on your travel interests, time, and budget.

Beside, he/she will keep in contact with you during your entire tour in China, continually checking if everything is going well as planned.

We're working at Chengdu Bamboo International Tours, local based in Chengdu.

Local Tour Guides

Our local guide in every destination is not only very friendly, enthusiastic but also very informative and knowledgeable.

Once you arrive in the destination, the patient and punctual guides will pick you up and take you to get under skin of the city at your own pace. By in-depth discovery and explanation, they’ll show you more about the history, culture, customs and authentic local life. Throughout the journey, they're not only expert guides who take care of all the details but also fellow travelers who are dedicated to help you explore in comfort and style.

Our guides are passionate about what they do, and it shows all the way!

Local Drivers & Vehicle

Using our private transfer service makes you comfortable, relaxed and worry free all the way!

Our private service includes licensed drivers with many years’ driving experience and air-conditioned, non-smoking, clean and well-maintained cars/vans. Drivers are local, polite, friendly and helpful, taking you to your tourist sites, hotels, airport/train stations in safety. All kinds of vehicle are offered, and yours depends on the size of your group. Usually, we offer sedan cars, SUVs, business vans (MPV) and different types of buses, all with extra space for your luggage.

Our private transfer service guarantees you the highest comfort!

Comfortable & Homelike Hotels

In each destination, you’ll enjoy a comfortable stay in a great location!

The hotels we choose are based on star rating, great locations, well-equipped facilities, cozy bed, high quality service and guests’ feedbacks. Choices are a lot ranging from luxury 5 star, comfortable 4 star to budget 3 star. You could decide where to stay to best suit for your budget and likes. Generally, the hotels have both Western and Chinese breakfast with a wide choices.

If you have already got an ideal hotel, please feel free to tell our travel consultants and they'll book the hotel for you.

Have good sleep in our well-selected hotels in all the destinations of China.

Meals & Dining

We can satisfy all the dietary requirements no matter you want Chinese local food, western food, vegetarian food or muslin food.

The restaurants we will take you for lunch or dinner are all designated tourist restaurants approved by local tourist administration bureau. They have very good sanitary conditions and the food is prepared fresh and clean.

There will be some meals excluded in your itinerary as you like, and your private guide will be delighted to give you some suggestions and take you to the local restaurants to taste like Beijing Roast Duck, Xian Dumpling Dinner, Sichuan Hotpot, etc., if you are interested in local food tasting.

All the dining options will satisfy your stomach!

Check What our delighted customers are saying about our services

Hi Jack,

My wife and I returned from our China trip yesterday. The crowds at most sites were overwhelming and something that we are not used to. However, I want to let you know that we had a wonderful time mostly due to China Discovery's wonderful tour guides!

Each guide enriched our experience with both their knowledge of the cities, sites, cultures, people, and foods. They were all prompt, patient, and engaging. They were very helpful in navigating the complexities of visiting China. My wife and I enjoyed their company and conversation greatly. I don't believe we would have had the same experience in China if we had traveled there by ourselves.

All the drivers were also very courteous, on-time, and helpful!

Unfortunately, my wife caught a respiratory illness on the Yangtze River Cruise and was quite sick at ZJJ. Our guide Tim, however, was there to assist at night and brought her to the hospital to see a doctor. Tim helped us navigate the Chinese health system, stayed with us throughout the hospital visit, and brought us back to the hotel late at night! We are very grateful to Tim's extraordinary assistance!

Although we provided a paper review at the end of each location, if China Discovery has an overall review of our trip that needs to be completed, please let me know!

Again, thank you for your assistance in all the planning prior to the trip and your quick responses to my questions during the trip. Knowing you were there to assist us throughout our journey was a great source of comfort!

Regards,

Alex

Alex‚ USA, October 31, 2024

Hi Wonder,

Yes, you responded swiftly and clear. Both drivers pick up and drop off were good. Our guide, Gavin was a very good guide, and driver, he's attentive, knows history well, kind and well organized. We're very happy with him. Hotels Holiday Inn Express were OK, they served good breakfast. Location might be a bit stranded but perhaps chosen because most our trips are outskirts and not inner city.

Vivi

Vivi‚ Indonesia, October 31, 2024

Hi Wonder,

Yes! The suzhou & hangzhou tour are fantastic. I will prepare the review soon when I return to Singapore tomorrow.

Shirley

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Shirley‚ Singapore, October 31, 2024

Hi Wonder,

Very lucky whole journey no rain at all...The weather was good...So we can enjoy amazing view.

Stevany

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Stevany‚ Indonesia, October 30, 2024

Hi Reya,

Loved the entire trip planning and journey. Ms Lily our tour guide was remarkable and very informative. We had a great journey throughout the trip.

You were very responsive and what can I say, our guide Lily made the trip enriched with her hospitality. Beijing is indeed memorable.

Tqvm. This is really so kind of a 7-seat private car and thoughtful of your agency. Transportation in Beijing is so convenient and your upgrade did help. Tq again.

It was indeed a great trip! Loved every moment of it.

Thank you and your agency have made this trip memorable. Tq China Discovery!

Dan

Dan‚ Malaysia, October 30, 2024

Check What our customers are saying about us on Tripadvisor.com

We are one of the few China travel agencies who have kept active and received lots of feedbacks and reviews during pandemic years

Ginagerri

"My email to China Discovery started in April, 2024 for a trip to Cheng du in September. Our travel consultant Phoebe Gao from Chengdu office was patience and extremely helpful. She had put together..." read more »

Reviewed on October 13, 2024

Lily T

"My trip to Guilin was successfully planned & executed with the help of Reya, our travel consultant with Chengdu Bamboo tours (part of China Discovery). We're a group of 4 elderly people..." read more »

Reviewed on October 31, 2024