[2025 Xinping Attraction] Travel Guide for Sea of Clouds Sunrise Viewing Platform (Updated May)

I stayed an extra night at a B&B on Ailao Mountain to see the sea of clouds, but unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate. However, it was still a wonderful experience thanks to the B&B's dog, Chou Chou. When we went out to see the sea of clouds, we suddenly noticed a Corgi following us. After confirming, we realized it was accompanying us. When we arrived at the viewing point, we spent CNY 31 to get a good spot, but after waiting for almost an hour, it was still foggy. Disappointed, we returned and found Chou Chou waiting for us at the entrance. As soon as it saw us, it immediately accompanied us back. The staff there seemed to know it, like a little star. If I had known I would meet such a heartwarming dog, I would have stayed another night. Unfortunately, I had already booked the Dolphin Bay Hotel in Fuxian Lake. I checked out with regret at noon and drove nearly two hours to the new hotel. Dolphin Bay is perfect for family trips, with outdoor and indoor children's play area, a large fish tank, and a dolphin show (the hotel gave us tickets, but we didn't go in the end). This hotel is suitable for a short break during a family trip. You can eat nearby and play at the hotel. However, if you want to see the scenery, you should definitely choose the Hilton. We stayed at the Hilton the following night, and in terms of scenery, the Hilton was the clear winner.

🏔️Itinerary: Day 1: Kunming City-Shimen Gorge in Yuxi Gasa-Farmhouse for meals and accommodation The next day: Farmhouse - Sea of ​​Clouds Sunrise Observation Deck - Jinshan Forest Park - (New) Tea Horse Road - Gasa Town (New Farmers Market) - Kunming City 🕒Time: Two days and one night, starting at 10 am on the first day and arriving home at 7 pm on the second day (if you drive by yourself, you may have more time) 1⃣️Kunming City-Shimenxia Scenic Area: 270km4 hours Estimated play time: 3 hours Single-track round trip hike to the scenic spot: 4 kilometers Departing from Kunming city in the morning, it takes a total of 4 hours to reach the Shimen Gorge Scenic Area in Gasa, including two hours on the expressway and two hours on the newly built winding mountain road (very easy to walk). Arrive at Shimen Gorge at around 2 pm and leave for sightseeing at around 5 pm. , just went to eat. For the specific guide to the Shimenxia Scenic Area, you can refer to my previous note. There are various precautions in the scenic area for reference. 2⃣️Shimenxia Scenic Area-Farmhouse: 15km and half an hour Go to the farmhouse for dinner at 5:30 in the afternoon. Choosing a farmhouse near Yunhai Observation Deck can save you the journey back to Gasa Town for dinner. The farmhouses in this area can still enjoy the authentic Gasa flavor at an affordable price and are close to Ailao Mountain. Due to the unique conditions, there are often seasonal wild vegetables and free-range livestock, which are delicious. You can choose a suitable farmhouse for meals and accommodation according to your personal consumption needs. 3⃣️Farmhouse - Yunhai Observation Deck: Walk for about 20 minutes to get there Play time: sunrise time - around 8 o'clock You can ask the owner of the farmhouse when the sun rises. Friends who must see the sea of ​​clouds recommend going around November. Personally, I think it doesn’t matter if there is no sea of ​​clouds. At this time, you can see the clouds and mist shrouding the town of Gasa, and the sunrise is also beautiful. . Walking in front of the Yunhai Observation Deck, you can go to the Yanziya Waterfall Observation Deck to take some photos, and then return to the farmhouse for a bowl of breakfast. 4⃣️Farmhouse-Jinshan Forest Park: 20km, 40 minutes Ticket: 20 yuan Play time: 2 hours Scenic area loop hiking: 2km 5⃣️Jinshan Forest Park-(New) Tea Horse Road: Walk for 5 minutes towards Zhenyuan Tickets: Not required Play time: 3 hours Single-track round-trip hiking in the scenic area: 4km The newly built Tea Horse Road does not charge entrance fees for the time being. You can reach it by walking in the direction of Zhenyuan. This place is called "Jinshan Pass". There is a shop on the roadside where you can drink hot hand-brewed coffee for 35/cup and rice. You can eat fried potato cakes at normal prices. It was about one o'clock in the afternoon. 6⃣️The Ancient Tea Horse Road-Jasi New Farmers Market: 45km2 hours When I go back to town to buy souvenirs, please refer to my last note for the location and guide of the Jiasa Farmers Market. I can’t write it down anymore. Car-free party: I didn't drive, so I took a ride back and forth for convenience. To go to the farmhouse and back to Gasa Town, there was a bus in the direction of Zhenyuan. You can ask the locals around you about the bus time. #Travel guide #Yunnan travel #Kunming travel #Where to go on the weekend #Eleventh travel diary #National Day travel #Yuxi Jiasa

1️⃣: Depart from Kunming at 9 a.m. on the first day, arrive at Gasa Town at 12 o’clock, and enjoy the local specialty beef soup pot in Gasa Town. We chose Soup Pot King (Daiyuan Branch). 2️⃣: After lunch, visit in the afternoon: Nanen Waterfall (ticket 15 minutes), Longxi Clan Manor (ticket 20, about 40 minutes), Shimen Gorge (ticket 30, about 3 hours). In the evening, we returned to the Sea of ​​Clouds Sunrise Observation Deck for dining and accommodation (we stayed at the Yunzhu Bojing Banshan Hotel). 3️⃣: Go to the Sea of ​​Clouds Sunrise Viewing Platform early in the morning to watch the sunrise over the sea of ​​clouds (we recommend the Yanzi Cliff Observation Platform, where you can see the sea of ​​clouds and the Yanzi Cliff Waterfall). You may not be able to see the sea of ​​clouds, it depends on luck and weather. 4️⃣: After watching the sunrise, go to Jinshan Forest Park and experience the virgin forest of Yunnan Worm Valley (ticket 10, about one hour). Then go to the viewing platform at the Jinshan Pass of the Ancient Tea Horse Road and climb up to overlook the depths of Ailao Mountain. (about 2.5 hours). It's just across the road next to Jinshan Forest Park, just ask and you'll find it. Then enjoy lunch and return to Kunming. #yuxi#爱拉山#yunnantourism

📅 **Travel Plan**: Spring is in full swing, choose a sunny day and treat yourself to a two-day, one-night getaway. 🎒 **Travel Essentials**: Hiking shoes👟, sunscreen☀️, water bottle🥤, camera📷, and a heart ready to explore the unknown! 📍 **About the Location**: Swallow Cliff, a hidden paradise on the outskirts of Kunming, with clear mountains and rivers, swallows dancing and butterflies flying, as if stepping into a fairyland. 🚗 **About Transportation**: It is recommended to drive by yourself, navigate to "Kunming Swallow Cliff Scenic Area", and enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way. If self-driving is inconvenient, you can take a bus from the city passenger station to the nearby town, then hike or rent a car to enter. 🏞️ **Scenic Spots Introduction**: - **Swallow Cliff Waterfall**: The water is majestic, like silk and thread, with a faint rainbow under the sunlight, a perfect spot for photography!📸 - **Ancient Plank Road Hiking**: Walk along the winding ancient plank road, shuttle through the mountains and forests, every step is a scenery.👣 - **Cliff**: A game for the brave, standing on the edge of the cliff and looking into the distance, the mountains are like ink, and your mind will be broadened.🏞️ 🍽️ **Special Food**: Don't forget to taste the local farmhouse dishes, wild mushroom soup🍲, bamboo tube rice🍚, extremely delicious, let your taste buds travel too! 📸 **Photo Spots**: Besides the waterfall and plank road, don't forget to leave your beautiful image on the viewing platform under Swallow Cliff and take a photo with nature! 💡 **Warm Tips**: - Pay attention to safety, especially when hiking, please do what you can. - Protect the environment, take your trash with you. - The temperature difference between morning and evening is large, please prepare clothes. Come to a spontaneous trip to Swallow Cliff and let your social media be filled with beautiful photos!💥

⛰️ Ailao Mountain is located in Xinping County, Yuxi City, Yunnan Province, with rich natural vegetation and is a famous natural scenic area in Yunnan Province. 🌈 Highlights: Shimenxia Scenic Area, Cloud Sea Sunrise, Nan'en Waterfall, Swallow Cliff Waterfall. 🎫 Ticket Information: Shimenxia Scenic Area 30 yuan/person, other natural attractions are free. 🚗 Transportation Strategy: Drive to "Cloud Sea Sunrise Viewing Platform", where parking is available. Descend from "Zhongzhai" village to Swallow Cliff Waterfall. ✅ Hiking Route: Cloud Sea Sunrise Viewing Platform — Zhongzhai Village — Swallow Cliff Waterfall The one-way trip is 3km, with an additional exploration around the waterfall and the return trip, the total distance is about 6.5km, with an altitude climb of about 600m. 🍜 Must-Try Food: At the foot of Ailao Mountain is Gasatown, which has now developed into a tourist town with its own characteristics. Gasatown Soup Pot is a local specialty, similar in taste to Xi'an's beef and mutton paomo. ✏️ Fun Tips: 1. Check the weather before you go, the scenery is better on sunny days, and take sun protection measures. 2. Friends who want to watch the sunrise and sea of clouds can stay in Gasatown the day before, or in a homestay on the mountain. 3. The hike to Swallow Cliff Waterfall is mainly on small paths and slopes, which are steep, dusty, and have many mosquitoes. Take precautions, the stones around the waterfall with water are very slippery, pay attention to safety during the visit. 4. There are no supply points along the hiking route, bring your own food and drink, preferably more water, followed by fruits and snacks, take care of the environment, and bring your own garbage bags. 5. Equipment is optional: quick-drying clothes and pants, sun hat, sunglasses, gloves, knee pads, anti-slip hiking shoes, floral water, band-aids, etc.

Travel tips. Yuxi Ailao Mountain | Nan'en Waterfall|||"A Complete Guide to Sunrise and Sea of ​​Clouds at Ailao Mountain" 🌞Be sure to like and collect it🌞 🌞Ailao Mountain Sea of ​​Clouds Season From the end of October to February of the following year🌞 🌞Best viewing location Yaonan Village Sea of ​​Clouds Sunrise Observation Deck🌞 🌞Recommended route Kunming-Gasa 3 hours self-driving 🌞 🌞Gasa-Yaonan Village 50 minutes winding mountain road🌞 🌞Warm reminder Observation deck free Parking fee 10 yuan🌞 🌞Big temperature difference between day and night, wear thick clothes to watch the sea of ​​clouds🌞 Sunrise and sea of ​​clouds Sunset and sunset, Milky Way starry sky, sunrise and sea of ​​clouds gave myself a great ending to the Year of the Ox. The beauty of Ailao Mountain really cannot be described in words. It is the most beautiful when you see it with your own eyes! Especially when you are quietly waiting for the sunrise, the crescent moon and stars are still hanging in the sky, and the clouds are surging like the sea. Every sunrise is like the magic and greatness of the birth of life. 🌞Nan'en Waterfall🌞 No tickets are required for Nan'en Waterfall on the roadside Just park your car and go Nan'en Waterfall is suitable for vertical drone shooting Nan'en means "silver-white water" in Dai language. As the meaning of Dai language, Nan'en Waterfall in October is in the clouds and mist, and silver-white water rushes out from the Ailao Mountains, like the Milky Way. When we arrived at the waterfall, we discovered that it was a magnificent 100-meter-high waterfall that rose from the primeval forest in the eastern part of Ailao Mountain, merged into the Gasa River at the foot of the mountain, and stretched across the Ailao Mountains. If you just want to visit Nan'en Waterfall, one day is enough. It takes about three hours to get there from Kunming. You can eat something in Jiajiu on the way. There are also some small meals for sale at the Nan'en Waterfall Observation Deck. Nan'en Waterfall is located on the way from Kunming to Ailao Mountain, and it takes about half an hour to reach it from Jiajiu.

250km from Kunming city to here It is recommended to stay in a nearby town one night in advance Then get up early and head up the mountain to watch the sunrise Be sure to arrive at the observation deck at least half an hour in advance to see the sunrise and leave enough time. Because it was very foggy in the early morning Mountain roads are not easy to drive on You must use time-lapse photography when taking photos The sea of ​​clouds is so beautiful that it looks good no matter how you take pictures Yuxi Xinping Sea of ​​Clouds Sunrise Observation Deck