Mount Kawa Karpo (Meili Xueshan) is widely known as Snow Mountain in Deqin County, northwest Yunnan. It is a UNESCO natural site with great hiking and is a good 18-hour bus ride from Kunming.
Mount Kawa Karpo is a part of the celebrated Three Parallel Rivers protected area of Yunnan. It offers striking landscapes and a look into Tibetan culture, although is not for those who enjoy creature comforts and are averse to remoteness. There are many peaks in the mountain range, with Mount Kawa Karpo itself the highest at 6,740m.
It is an unconquered mountain and has tough climbing, yet there are many pilgrim trails and temples to walk to on the Yunnan Trek. Mount Kawa Karpo also boasts the huge Mingyong Glacier, the lowest glacier in China.
Yubeng village is at the foot of Mount Kawa Karpo and is a nice place to start a trek. It is an isolated village surrounded by beauty, with unbeatable views of the mountain and nearby waterfalls.
Getting There & Away
Buses run from Zhongdian, the main town in the northwest, to Deqin in around 4 or 5 hours. Minibuses then run onto the Mingyong Glacier for Meili trekking. Deqin is on highway G214 and is around 17 hours by road from Kunming, where the province’s main international airport is located. Zhongdian’s Diqing Airport is a 50-minute flight from Kunming.