Haba Snow Mountain & Tiger Leaping Gorge: 2026 Trail Closures — What Foreign Hikers Need to Know

On February 10, 2026, the Shangri-La City Government issued an official notice banning hiking and outdoor activities in undeveloped areas of the Haba Snow Mountain Provincial Nature Reserve.

This affects not just Haba’s climbing routes — it also covers sections of Tiger Leaping Gorge, including the famous high trail.

Here’s exactly what’s closed, in plain English.

What’s Closed: The 13 Banned Routes

The government notice lists 13 specific routes now off-limits. If your hiking plan includes any of these, you need to change it:

1. Shuanghu (双湖) → Heihai (黑海) → Wanhai (湾海)
2. Mahuaping (麻花坪) → Jizhi Yakou (几支垭口) → Wanhai (湾海)
3. Haibaluo Sheep Farm (海巴洛羊场) → Sanchahe (三岔河) → Mahuaping (麻花坪) → West Slope Summit (西坡登顶)
4. Shuanghu (双湖) → Camp 2 (二号营地) → West Slope Summit (西坡登顶)
5. Shuanghu (双湖) → Wanhai (湾海)
6. Laoyao Mountain Plateau Loop (老药山坝子环线徒步)
7. Xinyao Mountain (新药山) → Baishapo Yakou (白沙坡垭口)
8. Xinyao Mountain (新药山) → Feipingzi (肥坪子) → Laoyao Mountain (老药山)
9. Laoyao Mountain (老药山) → Xueshan Yakou (雪山垭口)
10. Laoyao Mountain (老药山) → Ertai (二台) → Laoying Rock (老鹰岩) → Yuanbao Mountain (园宝山) → Sanchahe (三岔河)
11. Laoyao Mountain (老药山) → Baicaopo (百草坡) → Xinwozi (新窝子) → Ganhaizi (干海子) → Sanchahe (三岔河) → Jizhi (几支) → Wanhai (湾海)
12. Mianshaba (棉沙坝) → Geinamulv (给纳木旅) → Liangtianwo (两天窝) → Shuijiancao (水涧槽) → Konghuanxi Liangzi (空欢喜梁子)
13. Yangfang (羊房) → Maduochu (马躲处) → Guodixia (锅底洼) → Guoshilong (国史龙) → Shuanghai (双海)

Tiger Leaping Gorge: What’s Affected

This is the part most foreign hikers care about. The notice explicitly names these Tiger Leaping Gorge areas as “undeveloped and closed” (未开发未开放):

What this means: The classic Tiger Leaping Gorge High Trail (虎跳峡高路) — the 22 km route from Qiaotou to Zhonghutiao with overnight at Halfway Guesthouse — is specifically named in the closure order. This is the most famous hiking trail in Yunnan and the one most foreign hikers come for.

We are verifying the current on-the-ground situation. Government closure orders and actual enforcement can differ. Some sections may have active checkpoints; others may be closed on paper but still accessible. We will update this page as we receive ground-truth reports from hikers in the region.

What Activities Are Banned

In the closed areas, ALL of the following are prohibited:

• Hiking, trekking, and mountaineering
• Rock climbing and ice climbing
• Camping and campfires
• Horse riding and off-road vehicles
• Swimming, rafting, and boating in undeveloped waters
• Any commercial guiding, tour operation, or “influencer route” promotion
• Local residents acting as unlicensed guides or providing transport/accommodation to facilitate entry

Translation for foreign hikers: No self-guided hiking. No guided hiking. No camping. If you’re in these areas, you’re in violation regardless of whether you’re alone or with a local.

What’s Still Open

The notice applies to undeveloped areas within the nature reserve. Two routes remain open:

If you have a trip planned in this region, the only thing worth asking your operator: 「哈巴雪山现在开了吗？」(Hābā Xuěshān xiànzài kāi le ma? — “Is Haba Snow Mountain open right now?”). Tiger Leaping Gorge High Trail is closed — don’t waste your time asking.

Why This Happened

The Haba Snow Mountain Provincial Nature Reserve was established in 1984 to protect the primeval cold-temperate coniferous forest ecosystem. The government cites these reasons for the closure:

• Safety: Complex terrain, high altitude, steep slopes, no cell signal in most areas. Getting lost, hypothermia, altitude sickness, and fatal falls have occurred.
• Rescue difficulty: Once an incident happens in these remote areas, rescue cannot arrive in time.
• Ecological damage: Unregulated hiking and camping are degrading the protected ecosystem.
• Unlicensed operators: Local guesthouses and clubs have been illegally organizing trips into restricted zones.

What to Do If You Have a Trip Booked

1. Contact your operator or guesthouse immediately. Ask if your planned route passes through any of the closed areas above.
2. Do not accept verbal reassurances without verification. If an operator says “it’s fine, we know a way,” ask them to show you the specific route on a map and cross-check it against the closed routes listed above.
3. If your route is affected: Switch to alternatives outside the reserve boundary. Cangshan (苍山) near Dali, the Baoshan area, or Jade Dragon Snow Mountain’s developed scenic zones are not affected by this order.

Source

This guide is based on the official Shangri-La City Government Notice (香格里拉市人民政府通告), published February 10, 2026, via the Shangri-La Culture and Tourism Bureau WeChat account (香市文旅局).

Original notice (Chinese): https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/L0imloMrBFpMRvvQ7UZpNw

Official contact numbers (Chinese only):

Related: Haba Snow Mountain Guide | Yunnan Trail Hub | All Zhejiang Trails