An open ended ticket to the trail is \50 (\25 for students) purchased from the ticket booths at either end of the trail. Some trekkers have avoiding the entry fee by setting off early before the ticket booth opens or sneaking past when the guard is out.
Typically the hike is spread over two days but a slower pace will afford you to time contemplate the natural surrounds while unwinding in the quietude of the villages.
The trail stretches between Qiaotao and Walnut Grove, the more adventuresome types can continue to Daju or Baishuitai. Maps showing distances and guesthouse locations are available from the ticket office, Margos of downloaded from Seans website.
A little used side-trail to a remote waterfall just outside Walnut Garden is not shown on most maps but is marked with yellow arrows. The path is a challenging but worthwhile detour, passing through shady stands of bamboo to the base of the waterfall where the crashing water flows into tranquil jade-green pools.
A misleading fake path before the school forks off at a brick wall painted with fading arrows. People may tell you it is the right way, but stay on the road to the school.
On the trail there are endless efforts of varying legitimacy to help you part with your cash. At regular intervals old women, young girls and sundry others will demand small fees for using optional parts of the path. Some, such as the descent to the river below Tina's guest house, are particularly annoying, as you'll be asked for money at what seems like every step of the way, with an elaborate story to explain the cost. All claim to have constructed their particular part of the track without government funds, and no, your \50 entrance fee does not cover this. Be prepared to pay at least \25 per person at various 'checkpoints' on the way down to, along, and back up from the middle gorge, regardless which of the paths or ladders you take. While this part of the gorge is spectacular, it is by no means an essential part of the trek and could quite easily be skipped. Also be aware that some guest houses may try to mislead you about your hiking options. Tina's guest house has been known to insist that while you may descend to the river below, you must hike back up, and may not continue along the river to Walnut Grove - one of the most spectacular sections of the trail.
Numerous family run guesthouses are conveniently dotted along the trail. Prices rise during the peak periods but outside of these times guesthouses are cheap and blissfully quiet. Qiaotou has a handful of comfortable hotels but there is little reason to stay. Starting the walk at midday leaves ample time to reach Naxi Guesthouse or push on to 5-Fingers Guesthouse. In (average) time and distance order from Qiaotou along the high trail.
When we had finished our walk, Jane's help was invaluable with catching those impossible buses out of Qiaotao (ie. you have to get to bus-stop at the right time on bus route from Shangri-la to Lijiang or Dali, and even then the bus might already be full). Jane was happy to do anything to help us, and when travelling such a long way, we really appreciated this - it saved us so much time and money. This was the most helpful guesthouse I saw in Yunnan. Beds in guesthouse were comfortable. Bathrooms okay. A bit of partying nearby by the locals (as in every single guesthouse in China) but we still slept well. A great place to stay, very cheap, fantastic food cooked by Jane's parents. You can leave store your backpacks with Jane too.</sleep><!-- facts correct as of April 2009 -->
'''To/from Qiaotao/Walnut Garden:''' Minivans do the 30min trip between either end of the trek. The cost should be \80 for the entire van. Drivers will ask for more.
If you are heading north to Zhongdian or coming from there, take the east alternative road instead of the main road. It is a little bit longer but quieter with fantastic mountain landscapes. The tarmac is very good for bikes. You can think about doing some camping along this road.
At the east end of the gorge there is a ferry for bikes/people that allows to reach the south side of the river then to continue towards Lijiang.
Daju is a sleepy concrete town which you can use as one end of the Tiger Leaping Gorge walk. It seems like Daju is slowly becoming a ghost town as tourists numbers are declining, but despite the fact Daju isn't picturesque, it is a peaceful place to relax and the people are very friendly (the Tiger Leaping Gorge Inn, at one end of the concrete road and overlooking the town square, is run by a very helpful and friendly woman who speaks enough English to get by - her food is simple but delicious).
From a Qiaotou start, just keep walking down the road from Walnut Grove and past the ticket office. There are two options for crossing the river to the Daju side. Either keep walking down to the permanent ferry, or not too far out of Walnut Grove you'll see a coloured sign on a pole to the winter ferry. It will tell you the ferry doesn't operate in July, August, and September because the water is too high (hence you continue to the permanent ferry). At this sign (there is also a faded red arrow painted on the road) you turn directly right off the road and start descending down a dirt trail to the river. This trail is quite steep. As you're descending you'll see the ferry and a hut on the far side of the river.
When you get to the bottom hopefully the ferryman has seen you from the top of the cliff on the far side (always a good idea to yell out "ni hao" - great echo here), and he'll make his way down, calling out as he does, to bring the ferry across. The crossing costs \30 per person. The only reason he might not see you is he's just taken other tourists to Daju in his minivan, in which case you'll be waiting at least an hour for his return.
It's a steep but short climb to the carpark at the top of the cliff and if you've nodded when the ferryman said something about "Daju" and "minivan" he'll be right behind you and will drive you to Daju for \20 per person. Alternatively you can walk the about 8km into town.