3 Days Kunming Private Tour with Golden Temple

Day 1 Kunming Arrival

Your Kunming guide meets you at the train station or airport with a welcome sign and transfers you to your hotel for check-in.

Flower and Bird Market

After a short rest your guide takes you to the local Flower and Bird Market, one of the busiest shopping areas in Kunming. Strolling along the lane, you pass stalls of all kinds, many of them devoted to flowers, birds and fish.

Here you get a close look at everyday local life, and your guide can explain the habits of the neighbourhood. If time allows, your guide will show you around.

After the tour, return to your hotel in Kunming.

Day 2 Kunming

Stone Forest

After breakfast, drive about 85 km to the Stone Forest, a classic karst landscape. Walk into the Greater Stone Forest among clusters of grey-black stone peaks, and climb a pavilion for a wide view over the formation.

The park covers about 2,670 square kilometres and is divided into several scenic areas, including the Greater Stone Forest, the Lesser Stone Forest, the Outer Stone Forest, the Underground Stone Forest, Stone Forest Lake and the Da Dieshui Fall. The karst formed roughly two to thirty million years ago, and the area holds peaks, pillars, stalagmites, sinkholes, underground rivers and caves. The stone pinnacles rise sharply from the ground like a dense forest, and many are linked to local legends.

Lunch is arranged at a local restaurant popular with residents rather than a tourist stop. Lunch is at your own expense; if you have special dietary needs, ask your guide to recommend other restaurants.

Golden Temple

In the afternoon, visit the Golden Temple on top of Mingfeng Hill, about 5 miles from the city centre. A Taoist temple, it is the largest copper temple in China. You climb a series of winding stone steps and pass through three heavenly gates before reaching the temple. The hillside around the Golden Temple is rich in trees and flowers, most of them camellias.

After the tour, return to your hotel in Kunming.

Day 3 Kunming

Green Lake Park

After breakfast you check out and spend the morning at Green Lake Park, also called Cuihu Park, on the west side of Wuhua Mountain. Two long banks divide the lake into four parts, and the banks are lined with willows and dotted with lotuses. The pale green of the willows against the coloured blooms makes the park a favourite of nature lovers. In winter, black-headed gulls migrate here from Siberia, circling and snapping up bread tossed into the air by visitors and sold by local vendors.

After the tour, transfer to Kunming train station or Kunming airport for your onward journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I do on my first day in Kunming?

After you arrive and check in, your guide takes you to the Flower and Bird Market, a lively local shopping lane known for its flower, bird and fish stalls.

How far is the Stone Forest from Kunming?

The Stone Forest is about 85 km from the city, roughly an hour and a half by car each way, and it is the classic karst landscape of the region.

What is special about the Golden Temple?

Set on Mingfeng Hill, the Golden Temple is a Taoist site and the largest copper temple in China, reached by a flight of stone steps and three gateways.

Are meals included in this 3-day tour?

Lunch at the Stone Forest is at your own expense so you can eat at a local restaurant. Other meals follow the inclusions listed in your itinerary.

When can I see the migratory birds at Green Lake?

From the colder winter months onward, black-headed gulls from Siberia gather at Green Lake Park, where visitors feed them by hand.

How does the tour end?

On the final day you visit Green Lake Park in the morning, then transfer to the Kunming train station or airport for your onward journey.

Price Per Person in US Dollars