The best way from Kunming to Dali got to be high speed train. It only takes around 2.5 hours to arrive at Dali. Probably 3.5 hours include waiting time and going to train station.
Driving to Dali probably takes 1.5 hours more. I decide to drive to Dali because of the flower viewing at Kunming, and I want to enjoy the view along the way. Afterall, it’s not that often for me to drive such a long time in Hong Kong. It took me around 6 hours to arrive (it can be much faster coz I kept stopping at rest area).
Day 1: Changsha South
Day 2: Kunming (Altitude : around 1850m)
Day 3 – 4: Dali (Altitude : around 1890m)
Day 5 – 7: Lijiang
Day 8 : back to Kunming
Day 9: Return
If you are driving / going to Dali on a highway, this restaurant at Yao’an Service Area (姚安服务区) is the recommended place to have a lunch. At least the food is more decent and much better than the one at Kunming Old Street.
Dali
Dali altitude is around 1890m. People normally don’t have high altitude sickness here.
It took quite some time for us to decide for accommodation as 90% of the places are ranked 4.5/5 and above with pricing similar to one another. We finally choose one that turns out to be value worth stay. Click here to check out the accommodation review (to be posted very soon) as well as dinner suggestion .
Dali Ancient Town
Most people probably choose Dali Ancient Town for the first time coming to Dali. And so are we.
It took us 1 hour 42 mins to arrive at the ancient town because of the speed limit as well as traffic jam. Fortunately we manage to get a car park slot right near the ancient town. You can try the car park at the South gate, and if it’s full then go just a little further along the way. There are a few more car parks available.
Lunch @ Dali Royal Place
Mushroom is one of the recommended dish in Yunnan in rainy season. Because it is also mushroom season. However, I prefer getting mushroom at a higher altitude, believing that it should taste better at Lijian (and it really does).
We tried Dali Royal Place out of many restaurants available in Dali Ancient Town. Still much better than Kunming Old Street. The sour spicy fish is made with passion fruit as a sour base. It’s still spicy even though I have requested less spicy.
Some visitors like to try poisonous mushrooms (an example of it shown in last image, red color mushroom). There are a few poisonous mushrooms available for eating. However, there are cases which tourists got poisoned after consuming not fully cooked mushrooms.
Restaurants normally put a timer on the table to tell customers that mushroom can only be eaten after at least 20 – 30 minutes.
Catholic church
This is probably the main reason why I decided to go Dali Ancient Town. The church is built by a French in 1927. The structure of the building is designed to combine with Western and Eastern culture.
Photo taking at Dali Ancient Town
Around the Catholic church area, there are a few cafes with rooftop that you can go and take images with Dali Ancient Town as a background. You can stay at the cafe as long as you like under the condition that each person needs to purchase at least one thing in the cafe.
Each drink costs at least RMB70++.
A must try snack in Dali?
Grilled Rushan Cheese. Some said you got to try it out. It looks like roti prata , the hard version. Seriously, I got no idea why it’s a must try food in the street. But as a visitor, you really need to try it out. Just one will do among your group.
Yunxiang Dali Mountain
One of the best places for photo taking in Dali. It’s VERY rare for foreign visitors coming over here to chill as visitors need to either rent a vehicle or book one to go up. I think coming over here for the whole day is better than going to the ancient town. From ancient town to here takes around 1 hour. It’s around the same if you go from the guesthouse that I recommend.
Picture depicts millions words. Just take a look of the images to find out why.
There is an area further down the road where the trees located. Those areas require visitors to purchase at least one drink per head in order to get inside for image taking.
We didn’t stay long here because it’s quite late by the time we arrive. It took us 1 hr 25 mins back to our accommodation. One hour longer than expected.
The sunset time here in Dali is around 8 something in the evening before it goes dark in this season.
Erhai lake
I enjoy driving along the Erhai lake even though we got slowed down along the way. Lots of people are walking on the road, causing the two way road to become a one way road. Check out the video in my IG profile / facebook page to have a look on the ride along the Erhai lake. It won’t disappoint you.
You can also rent a vehicle to drive around Erhai lake. There are a number of car rental companies nearby. I saw a number of people rent convertible to drive around.
Conclusion
I recommend staying at the guesthouse to chill for one whole day or just go to Yunxiang Dali Mountain. The feel of visiting Dali Ancient Town is similar to Fung Huang. If it’s not peak season, it’s still good to visit if you got more time staying in Dali.
There are other places for image taking but actually it’s all the same view with the Erhai lake as the background. A few particular places don’t worth to spend time while some others are full of people and vehicles.
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Other related articles:
-> Yunnan Tour Itinerary Tour Guide – Changsha Tour
-> Yunnan Tour Itinerary Tour Guide – Kunming Tour
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