Marvelous alpine vistas! Enjoy these views from around the Haba region

Here we look north from the summit of Wenhai Mt (文海山), elevation 3,880 meters and some 30 km away from Haba Snow Mountain (哈巴雪山). Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山) dominates the scene with Haba just visible on the left. Snowflake Village (雪花村), inhabited by the Yi ethnic minority, appears in the valley below. The telephoto makes manifest the rugged nature of Haba’s East Face. The view from a hang glider is similar, with Haba at left and Jade Dragon at center. Wenhai Mt sits directly under the latter.

The Jade Dragon massif has been described as a mini-mountain range, ranging 30 km in extent. Here at far left we see the 5,596-meter main peak from the east. To the right and appearing higher is Snow Lotus Peak (雪莲峰), but actually lower at about 5,250 m. Snow Lotus may possibly be the easiest 5000-meter trekking peak in Yunnan. Photo center left and right are the tops of four- and five-thousand meter summits lining Tiger Leaping Gorge (虎跳峡). From within the gorge they soar into the sky as a jagged bulwark of inaccessible peaks. Continuing right we encounter the East Face of Haba Snow Mountain, 5,396 m. Next is the far lower Gan Mountain (干山), 4,010 m, rising above Haba Village. To the right of Gan, the Tianshan Mountains are faintly visible on the horizon. Photo taken near the north entrance station to Yulong Snow Mountain National Scenic Area and National Geological Park.

This expansive view is from atop Shika Snow Mountain (石卡雪山) near Shangri-La City (香格里拉市). Four mountain groups populate the horizon. From left to right: Noname Range, highest summit ca. 4,700 meters; Tianbao Snow Mountains (天宝雪山) with a patch of snow, main summit about 4,700m; heavily glaciated Haba Snow Mountain (哈巴雪山), 5,396m; and the slightly higher Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山), 5,596m. The distance from Shika to Haba is 70 km.

This view looking north is from the summit of Wenbi Mountain (文笔山), 3,430 m, located south of Lijiang City. The twin brother peaks of Haba and Jade Dragon appear, the slightly higher Jade Dragon massively dominating the scene. The top of Haba peeks over Wenhai Mountain. Lashi Lake (拉市海) at lower left, Saddle Mountain (马鞍山) and Lijiang valley lower right.

Taken on a flight between Shangri-La and Kunming, these photos offer up an unusual perspective of the Haba high country. Note the blue-roofed buildings in the right-hand photo. They are part of an abandoned tungsten mine.