Welcome everyone to explore Meili Snow Mountain in Deqin County and check in to see the natural scenery of the sunlit golden peaks
As a travel blogger, you will definitely fall in love with Meili Snow Mountain in Deqin County—this sacred land known as "Kawagebo" in the hearts of the Tibetan people is the ultimate destination for countless photographers, hikers, and pilgrims. Today, I have customized a high cost-performance 3-day 2-night in-depth guide for Meili Snow Mountain, with a budget controlled within 2000 RMB (excluding major transportation), integrating **natural wonders, Tibetan culture, photo spots, and content creation tips to help you create viral travel content!
📍 Destination: Meili Snow Mountain, Deqin County, Diqing Prefecture, Yunnan Province (Feilai Temple, Wunongding, Mingyong Glacier)
📅 Duration: 3 days 2 nights
💰 Total Budget: 2000 RMB (including accommodation, meals, tickets, local transportation)
🎯 Core Highlights:
- Witness the sacred moment of the "Sunlit Golden Mountain" (99% photo success rate)
- Get up close with Tibetan Buddhism beliefs and the pilgrimage culture
- Explore Mingyong Glacier with a light hike through the primeval forest
- Off-the-beaten-path photo spots + cultural documentary style, highly unique content
🎒 Style: Sacred mountain pilgrimage × Photographer’s guide × Light luxury wild experience
🌤️ Pre-trip Tips (a must-read for bloggers):
- Meili Snow Mountain altitude is about 3300–3500 meters; no obvious altitude sickness in Deqin town, but avoid strenuous exercise.
- Best season: October to May next year (more sunny days, clear snowy peaks, high chance of sunlit golden mountain)
- Key to seeing the "Sunlit Golden Mountain": 6:30–7:30 AM, best views at Feilai Temple viewing platform or Wunongding village
- Shooting the peak of Kawagebo is prohibited (Tibetans regard it as the residence of deities), please respect the belief
- Recommended to bring: tripod, telephoto lens, hand warmers, windbreaker, headlamp (for star photography)
📅 Detailed Itinerary
🔹 Day 1: Arrive in Deqin → Wait for the sunlit golden mountain at Feilai Temple viewing platform → Check in to a scenic guesthouse
- Morning: Take a bus from Shangri-La to Deqin (about 5 hours, ticket 120 RMB)
🌄 Stop by Jinsha River Great Bend and Baima Snow Mountain Pass (altitude 4292m) for photo stops
- Afternoon: Arrive in Deqin town, carpool to Feilai Temple viewing platform (about 15 minutes, carpool 20 RMB)
- Evening: Check in at [Feilai Temple · Songtsam Meili Mountain Residence] or [Jixia Mountain · Meili] scenic rooms (budget options available for affordable scenic guesthouses)
✅ Recommended accommodation: Meili Past · Scenic Guesthouse or Kawagebo Scenic Hotel (with window view rooms)
💰 Price: Off-season about 280 RMB/night, peak season 400+ (this guide is based on off-season)
✅ Accommodation: 280 RMB × 2 nights = 560 RMB
- Before sunset: Climb to Feilai Temple viewing platform (free), set up tripod, wait for the sunlit golden mountain!
📸 Photo tips: Use wide-angle to capture the golden peaks, telephoto to catch the moment the main peak lights up
- Dinner: Tibetan-style dinner at the guesthouse (butter tea, yak meat stew with radish)
✅ Meals: 50 RMB
📌 Blogger Tips:
- Book a mountain-facing scenic room in advance on "Shangri-La Tourism" or "Trip.com" to ensure the view
- Interview the guesthouse owner about the legend of "thirteen years without opening the face" for vlog material
🔹 Day 2: Wunongding viewing platform → Mingyong Glacier hike → Return to Feilai Temple
- Early morning: Wake up at 6:30, wait again for the sunlit golden mountain (higher success rate)
🌅 If you missed it the day before, you will likely catch it today; locals say: "Kawagebo only reveals itself to those destined"
- Morning: Carpool to Wunongding viewing platform (quieter and fewer tourists than Feilai Temple)
✅ Transport: Carpool 20 RMB (can stop to shoot smoke from Tibetan villages along the way)
📸 Photo spot: Wunongding cross prayer flag array, snow mountain + prayer flags + morning light, perfect vlog opening
- Noon: Carpool to Mingyong Glacier entrance (about 1 hour, carpool 40 RMB)
✅ Ticket + eco-shuttle: 125 RMB (student discount about 80 RMB)
- Afternoon: Hike up to the glacier viewing platform (optional horse ride one way 100 RMB, hiking round trip about 3 hours)
🌲 Route: primeval forest → waterfall → glacier terminus, altitude rises from 2700 to 3500 meters, gentle slope
📸 Photo tips: glacier blue light, avalanche marks, Tibetans hanging prayer flags for blessings
- Evening: Return to Feilai Temple, shoot snow mountain silhouette under starry sky (shoot Milky Way if weather permits)
- Dinner: Try Tibetan pizza "Lumo" or yak yogurt
✅ Meals: 50 RMB
📌 Daily expenses: Transport 80 + Tickets 80 + Meals 50 = 210 RMB
🔹 Day 3: Visit Tibetan villages + Return to Shangri-La
- Morning: Visit old street in [Shengping Town] or Tibetan artisan homes in [Adong Village]
🎥 Shoot: Thangka painting, silverware forging, elders spinning prayer wheels, Tibetan costume experience (rental about 50 RMB)
📸 Cultural tips: use slow shutter for spinning prayer wheels, or drone for village panorama (observe no-fly zones)
- Noon: Lunch in Deqin town (recommended Tibetan noodle shop or Sichuan small restaurant)
✅ Meals: 40 RMB
- Afternoon: Take bus back to Shangri-La at 13:00 (120 RMB, about 5 hours)
✅ Can shoot Baima Snow Mountain tunnel and Lancang River canyon on the way
- Evening: Arrive in Shangri-La, end of trip
📌 Daily expenses: Transport 120 + Meals 40 = 160 RMB
✅ Total Budget Summary (based on off-season):
- Transport: Shangri-La ↔ Deqin round trip 120×2 = 240 RMB
Local carpool (Feilai Temple, Wunongding, Mingyong Glacier) ≈ 80 RMB
- Accommodation: 280×2 = 560 RMB (scenic room, cost-effective choice)
- Meals: 50+50+40 = 140 RMB
- Tickets: Mingyong Glacier 80 RMB (student discount)
- Horse ride/Tibetan costume/souvenirs: reserve 200 RMB (optional)
- Emergency reserve: 100 RMB
🟰 Total: about 1400 RMB
💡 Remaining budget 600 RMB can be used for:
- Upgrading accommodation to [Jixia Mountain · Meili] (about 1200 RMB/night, blogger cooperation may apply for exchange)
- Adding 1 extra day to visit Yubeng Village (requires hiking or horse riding, budget extra)
- Buying Tibetan incense, Thangka postcards, mountain protection blessing certificates as content merchandise
🌟 Exclusive Tips for Travel Bloggers (Content Creation Guide):
🎬 Video script ideas:
1. "I waited three days just to see the true face of Meili Snow Mountain"
2. "Tibetans say: Kawagebo never reveals itself easily" — Sacred mountain belief documentary
3. "At 3500 meters altitude in the early morning, I captured China’s most beautiful sunlit golden mountain"
📸 Photography/drone spot recommendations:
- Feilai Temple viewing platform: wide-angle for peaks + prayer flag array
- Wunongding cross: snow mountain + Tibetan village + morning mist
- Mid-section of Mingyong Glacier plank road: upward shot of glacier crevices
- Night: behind Feilai Temple for starry sky snow mountain silhouette (tripod required)
📱 Xiaohongshu/Douyin caption example:
> "Before coming to Meili Snow Mountain, I thought I was here to see the scenery.
> After coming, I realized
> the scenery was watching me."
>
✨ Conclusion:
Meili Snow Mountain is not just a mountain, but a belief.
As a travel blogger, you record not only light and shadow but also the reverence between humans and nature.
May Kawagebo reveal itself to you, and may your lens carry the divine light.
If you need me to generate:
✅ PDF guide (with map annotations)
✅ Vlog storyboard template
✅ Xiaohongshu graphic layout suggestions
🏔️📸📿