HomeDestinationsChinaTea Horse Road: Dali to Shangri-La Drive
Moderate
On-Road
🇨🇳 China
Satellite

This track was identified and mapped via high-resolution satellite imagery.

ID: CN-YN-01

Tea Horse Road: Dali to Shangri-La Drive

Added on 9 Oct 2026
Logged by @mk47

Mountain drive up the Yunnan branch of the Ancient Tea Horse Road through Shaxi's market square and Lijiang's old town to Shangri-La on the edge of the Tibetan plateau.

Trail Map

Initialising Map Engine...

Trail Profile

General Instructions

Shangri-La sits above 3,000 m; allow a day to acclimatise.

Weather check

At Start
2036m

Sampling Micro-Climate...

25.6945, 100.1586

Slide to preview conditions across the entire route • Point: 25.6945, 100.1586 @ 2036m

Quick Stats

Distance
403.31 km
Type
On-Road Sector
Elevation Range
1968m - 3487m
Max Elevation
3487 m
Max Gradient
38.2%
41.8%

Highlights

  • Shaxi Sideng market square
  • Lijiang Old Town
  • Songzanlin Monastery

Field Radio Protocol

VHF-UHF Communication

Emergency Simplex
146.520MHz
Team Coordination
446.006MHz
Scout Primary
146.400MHz

Propagation Telemetry

Ridge Line

92%

Gorge Floor

18%

Sector Relay: Sector Alpha Relay• 12-18 KM Range

Regulatory Compliance

VHF/UHF frequencies are for monitoring and emergency coordination only. Transmitting on these bands may require an Amateur Radio License or regional government permits. Check local telecommunications laws before operation.

Technical Analysis

Total Ascent

+8895 m

Total Descent

-7650 m

Ruggedness Index

Terrain Roughness Index

Vertical displacement per km. Typical range: 0 (Smooth) to 100+ (Extreme Mountain).

0 (Smooth)50 (Steep)100+ (Extreme)
41

41.0

Tortuosity Index

Route Curviness Index

Ratio of actual path to straight line. Typical range: 1.0 (Direct) to 3.0+ (Switchbacks).

1.0 (Direct)2.0 (Winding)3.0+ (Serpentine)
1.67

1.67

Gradient Distribution

Flat (0-3%)65%
Moderate (3-8%)22%
Steep (>8%)13%

Surface & Hydrology

Paved84%
Unpaved16%

Surface Spectrum Analysis

Asphalt
84%
Gravel
11%
Dirt Track
5%
Water Crossings

Includes only technical water fords where the vehicle actively enters a stream or riverbed. Permanent bridges are excluded from this count.

0

Difficulty Analysis

SCORE: 37

Difficulty is determined by a technical multi-vector analysis of elevation profile, surface quality, and topographic intensity.

Resulting CategoryModerate

Bounding Box (WGS84)

MIN LAT: 25.693758
MAX LAT: 27.825146
MIN LON: 99.693968
MAX LON: 100.234515

Point Spacing: 43 m • Engine: TrailX Precision GPX ANALYTICS v1.0.0

Reviews & Discussion0

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Plan this trip

Before you go: Tea Horse Road: Dali to Shangri-La Drive

Best time to go

Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov

Spring (April to May) and autumn (September to November) suit most of the country. South China is hot and humid in summer, with typhoons from July to September. The G219's high passes are most reliable from June to September.

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