We woke up to views of clouds and the sound of rain. As we are carrying everything we need for the two days we had packed light, this meant as we set of wearing pretty much everything in our bags. However within 30mins of setting off we had already started to strip off layers and the rain stopped and the cloud thinned. And wow!

If possible the second day of walking was more impressive than the first. Husbands quote of “just when you think you have seen the best bit, you turn another corner to even more” seemingly summing up the spectacular walk. we passed through pine forest, flower meadows, herds of goat, edged along sheer cliff faces, balanced over tree truck bridges and refreshed our water supply in ice cold water falls. All the time accompanied by stunning vista and views across the gorge.

In summary the gorge was totally epic and worth the effort. It also backs up the 80/20 rule and it was well worth paying the extra to get off the beaten track. The trip was so well organised, cutting out the toughest of the climb and the construction areas, taking out the stress of knowing how long was left and why accommodation would be available at the end. Totally recommend it! Even with kids.

Some may question taking children on such a hike and I’m not gonna lie, there were times when I was terrified due to the heights but at 6,8, 9, 10 and 11 years the children absolutely smashed the 18km hike.

Our bus pick up point was across the river, so from our lunch at Tina guest house we endured an incredibly bumpy drive (Making me wish I had worn my sports bra) down to the river edge. here the currents were so strong that our intended ferry couldn’t pass. Instead we took it on turns to ride a ducky over the fast flowing river… on full power it was only able to inch up stream.

Because crossing an incredibly fast flowing river on essentially a rubber dingy is not adventures enough… out bus picked us up and continued to climb to over 3000m up what must be the windeist roads in China. Hairpin after hairpin we traveled up and down and up the mountain side to our village destination. All of us where very relived to reach our destination and celebrate our achievement with a cold beer and another amazing view!