Ladies in traditional costumes on their way to the Sacred Waterfall in Yubeng, China. — Photos: KOO WEE HON
There is a stone carving located in Yubeng, a wondrous village in China’s Yunnan Province, that says: “Heaven is on the left, Yubeng is on the right.”
I don’t think this is an idle boast.
It is not difficult to get to this arcadian paradise from Shangri-La County, a mystical destination named after the famous book and movie. The journey can be done in two days to slowly acclimatise to the altitude, as you would be going from a height of about 3,100m to 3,900m.
It’s also so you can enjoy all the natural wonders that you’ll come across along the way.
After six hours of mesmerising mountain views, deep valleys, meandering rivers, and stupas perched on terraced fields, my wife and I arrived at Feilaisi for an overnight stay. The Meila Snow Mountains – eight snow-capped mountains that are simply magical during both sunrise and sunset – were the main reasons for our stop.
The next morning, we went to Xidang, which is the starting point of any journey to Yubeng. There is a park entrance fee and the price depends on how you want to get to the village, which is a 12km trail. The cheapest, but hardest, way is to hike your way up, but you can also pay for a donkey or pony ride or go on a 4WD drive.
Hot food and drinks are served at the base camp, so you can replenish your energy for the final push to the Glacial Lake.
We took the fastest, most convenient option: the 4WD, going through narrow dirt roads with tricky hairpin turns.
Yubeng itself is divided into Upper Yubeng and Lower Yubeng. Upper Yubeng is bigger and more developed and has supposedly better food, so we stayed there. Lower Yubeng, as the name implies, is 1.6km downhill.
The two villages are nestled on slopes and surrounded by forested mountains and majestic snow-capped peaks all around. It took our breath away, and I am sure many others who have been to Yubeng would agree.
Yubeng, though well developed for hiking activities and tourism, remains pastoral. Ponies, yaks, cows, goats and chickens roam freely on the narrow paths.
Glacial Lake is the most popular trail and is a 5.8km hike that goes from an elevation of 3,228m to 3,854m. The first part of the hike for us was a pleasant wander through a meadow and aged forests, with ponies grazing in most areas. These ponies were likely having a day off from carrying visitors up the steep trail.
You can pay for a guide and pony to take you up to the Glacial Lake.
A gushing river marked the end of the meadow; this is where our climb began. There were more ponies on the trail, this time all saddled up and carrying visitors up the mountain.
The enchanting woods, lovely streams, early spring blossoms and abundance of rhododendron bushes laden with flowers of different hues and sizes made the difficult climb a lot more pleasant.
Midway, we came across a plateau of flat terrain as well as the base camp. It’s also a canteen of sorts for hikers, where you can get snacks and simple meals like hot pot noodles.
We continued our way through more flat-ish terrain, and then some snow-covered rocky trails until we got to a brow. We stepped over the brow and saw the magnificent Glacial Lake.
Because of the snow, we couldn’t make out where the edge of the lake was, but we were just happy to be there, marvelling at this natural wonder.
The Glacial Lake is surrounded by snow-capped mountains.
The next day, we trundled down to Lower Yubeng to hike to the Sacred Waterfall, a 5.4km trail with an elevation of 3,567m.
A vast pasture with a gurgling stream and the whole gamut of farm animals including yaks greeted us at the start of the hike. Prayer wheels straddled the stream and were turned endlessly by the flowing water. There was a monastery nearby, and we sensed that this was a pilgrimage trail.
Along the way we saw more signs that explained the religious significance of the route. Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags were festooned all over. Most of the people on the trail were pilgrims dressed in traditional clothing, which I thought added some colour to our hike.
This route was not as steep as the day before. Apart from a forested section, the trail was mostly exposed or open.
The trail ended at a rock face where two separate waterfalls plunged over the edge. The cascading water turned into sprays of fine mist below. There were pilgrims praying here, with some of them standing right under the fall for more blessings.
Sacred Waterfall is a beautiful and serene spot and it is not surprising that the locals regard it as a holy place. I think that even visitors of different beliefs may feel a kind of divinity and sacredness in the area.
We said a little prayer and asked for blessings.
When we got back to Lower Yubeng, we hopped into a cafe. We thoroughly enjoyed our coffee, with a glorious view of the pasture and the snow-covered mountains beyond. Right then, we had a revelation that Yubeng was indeed on the right side of heaven.
The views expressed are entirely the writer’s own.
