Dali is one of the highlights of my trip to Yunnan province. I will always remember the immense clouds at the top of the mountains surrounding the city when we first arrived. The sight was spectacular. The most famous landmarks in Dali are the Three Pagodas, which is why we chose to stay at a hotel located near the Dali Ancient City that had a rooftop with a jaw-dropping view of these wonders. Legend has it that Dali used to be a swamp inhabited by breeding dragons and when humans arrived they built those pagodas to defend themselves from them.
Dali has three major sights :
Dali has three major sights :
- The Three Pagodas
- Dali Ancient City
- Erhai Lake
The Three Pagodas
They are located between Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake. Honestly, a lot of people say it’s not worth it because of its price. If you are on a budget, I understand that you might want to cut that out from your trip, especially if you have seen many pagodas in your life. Maybe you can try to find a restaurant or cafe that has a view and will be satisfied with it. But to me, this is pretty new, and I believe that if you travel all the way to Dali, it’s too bad to miss out on the most important landmark of the city to save around 7 dollars. The entrance is at the bottom, where you’ll have a clear view of the three pagodas. When you walk around them, you will see several gardens and temples. If you decide to go, you will need half a day to reach the farthest Buddhist temple, as it keeps going up and up, and you won’t truly see the end until you are finally there. Several times you will think “Ok, this one is the last one”, and you’ll be wrong haha. From the outside, the temples look alike. But if you peek inside, you will see many cool sculptures and artifacts which I thought were truly interesting. I wish I had a guide because I’m sure I missed a lot of cool information. Here are a few things you might find interesting about these pagodas. Made of bricks and covered by white mud, they are famous for their resistance over the years as they have survived many natural disasters like the 1925 earthquake that destroyed all the temples around them and had to be rebuilt. The one in the center was known as Chongsheng Temple, and used to be the royal temple of the Dali Kingdom in the 9th and 10th century. With its 70m height, it has 16 stories, and is one of the highest pagodas in the country. The left pagoda leans to one side because of mistakes when building its foundations.
“Fun” fact: I almost stepped on a snake in the Buddha Garden so be careful there! It was so sneaky, I was walking down the stairs and saw its head, then its whole body came sliding down. I told a few locals but they couldn’t care less. They might be used to it?
Dali Ancient Town
It was within a walking distance from my hotel, so I went there several times over the course of my trip. Here I will mostly talk about where to EAT as, let’s be honest, that’s pretty much all we did there.
Dali Ancient Town is an adorable place where you can shop and explore Bai culture, go to restaurants, cafes…
There is this restaurant called Blue Gecko where we got breakfast (burritos and crepes).
Another one is called Serendipity, but unfortunately it was closed so we ended up at Kaiyi’s Kitchen, which has AMAZING black truffle pasta and caramel macchiatos. Probably the best ones we’ve had, ever.
My ultimate favorite cafe is Cafe Tang, which has several floors with unique outdoor and indoor spaces. They have several rooftops, and you can have views of the city. I had an affogato which comes with a surprising ice-cream flavor : Rhum Raisin. Everything was dope there. I’d go back in a heartbeat.
Erhai Lake
Because the lake area is so fascinating and there are several villages where you can go, it deserves its own article. Click here to see what my top spots were!
Surprising discoveries
There are pink cars everywhere. After investigating the phenomenon a bit, it turns out Chinese tourists love renting out those cute cars to drive around the Erhai Lake!
Locals love braiding their hair and adding different fun colors in. So there are many places for tourists to try out a new look for their holiday.
At the Three Pagodas site, you can pay people to carry you in a chair to the top of the mountain. I attached the picture of the chairs so that you can see what it looks like. King privilege haha.
We tried lemon flavored chips, and it turns out it’s unexpectedly delicious!
What’s your favorite place in Dali?
At the Three Pagodas site, you can pay people to carry you in a chair to the top of the mountain. I attached the picture of the chairs so that you can see what it looks like. King privilege haha.
We tried lemon flavored chips, and it turns out it’s unexpectedly delicious!
What’s your favorite place in Dali?
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