We did a road trip in Yunnan &Xishuangbanna and we are sharing our experience of a crazy 5 days trip: Kunming – Yuanyang – Mengla – Menglun – Jinghong – Kunming… about 2000 km and no less than 38 hours drive. No need to explain why wewould recommend you either to take a longer holiday or visit less places.

We went there Mid of March. No rain, reasonable temperatures (even rather cold at night in Yuanyang). As we have our driving licence in China, we rented a car in Kunming for ~ 1065 RMB for 5 days.

We will be sharing one article per main attraction later on.

DAY 1: Kunming 昆明 -> YuanYang 元阳

• About 5 hours drive,~ 320 km

• What to see there: Yuanyuang is well known place for its rice terraces. More and more tourists are visiting this area, villagers are building facilities… The area covers number of villages (see map)
  • Qingkoutraditional village
  • Sunset inLao Huzui
  • Stay in Duoyishu

• Stay there:
  • Sunny guest house (Puogao laozhai, Duoyishu Village, Yuanyang County, China) -多依树阳光客栈 (胜村乡多依树普高老寨)
    • http://www.chinese.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Sunny-Guest-House/yuanyang/49805
    • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1410718-d1586126-Reviews-Sunny_Guesthouse-Yuanyang_County_Yunnan.html
• More Info:
  • http://www.yunnan.fr/yunnan/yuanyang.html
  • http://www.yunnan-roads.fr/voyage/yuanyang.htm

DAY 2: YuanYang 元阳 -> Mengla勐腊

• Drive: > 13 hours~ 890 km.
  • Duoyishu (Yuanyang元阳县)
  • Lvchun西双版纳 邮编
  • Jiangcheng 江城江城江城
  • Mengla勐腊县

• Hotel: local hotel in Mengla

DAY 3: Mengla勐腊 -> Menglun 勐仑

• Drive:
  • Mengla to Wangtianshu (Rain forest)
  • Wangtianshu surroundings (Banana trees)
  • Mengla -> Menglun (~ 1h30, ~ 80 km, along the railway works)

• Visit: Rainforest park Wangtianshu 勐腊望天树
  • http://en.ynta.gov.cn/Item/3215.aspx

DAY 4: Menglun 勐仑 -> Jinghong 景洪

• Drive: ~ 5 hours, ~ 150 km
  • Menglun 勐仑镇 to Galanba 橄榄坝
  • Galanba 橄榄坝 to Nannuoshan南糯山 (via Jinghong, along Mekong river)
  • Nannuoshan 南糯山 to Jinghong 景洪港

• Visit:
  • Menglun Botanical gardenhttp://english.xtbg.cas.cn/
  • Traditional village (Dai ethnie) (Galanba 橄榄坝)http://en.ynta.gov.cn/Item/2865.aspx
  • Tea fields(Nannuoshan)
• Stay in:Jinghong (Inn)
• Dinner : Meimei cafe 美美咖啡屋(owner is Belgian guy married to a Chinese lady from Dali, Yunnan).
  Check also Mekong Cafe.

DAY 5: Jinghong 景洪 -> Kunming 昆明

• Drive: ~ 7 hours, ~540 km. A lot of speed control during the whole trip!

Sources:

China Horizon Travel agency, Les miroirs du cielhttp://chinahorizontravel.com/Pekin-prix.asp?tourid=51