Yunnan guide
At 3,280 m this is the highest and most Tibetan of Yunnan's destinations, and the one that rewards a slower pace than most itineraries give it.
Shangri-La was called Zhongdian until the 2001 naming, and it still feels like a Tibetan plateau town rather than a resort. Dukezong, the old quarter, has a restored old town gate, a hilltop prayer-wheel structure and whitewashed houses with tiled roofs. The prayer wheels are turned clockwise, by hand.
Songzanlin Monastery, founded in 1739 and the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan, sits just outside town with a pagoda in front of it and a panoramic walkway behind. It is a working monastery, so dress for a place of worship: covered shoulders, no photo during services, and walk clockwise.
Potatso National Park (Pudacuo) is the reason most people come: a high wetland of lakes, meadows and forested slopes around 3,500 m, with a wooden boardwalk network that makes it walkable. The colour of the water and the density of the forest in the valley make it the most scenic drive in Yunnan.
Napa Lake, on the plateau edge above town, is a shallow seasonal lake ringed by grassland and backed by the snow peaks. It is the place to watch the sunset and to ride a horse across the grass, which is how the surrounding villages have used it for generations.
At 3,280 m, the altitude is the thing to plan for. Give yourself a first day with no driving, keep the first night in town rather than straight at the park, and treat headaches as a signal to rest rather than push on. The park itself sits higher still.
From Lijiang it is roughly 4 hours by road; from Kunming, a bus takes most of a day, and a flight into Diqing is the sensible option if you are short on time. Two nights is the minimum that makes the plateau comfortable rather than exhausting.