Songtsam Lijiang Linka
松赞丽江林卡
This lodge is the start of the Songtsam Circuit: you can hand the group a fortnight and be driven lodge to lodge from Lijiang to Lhasa, staying in the same small company's houses the whole way, with its own guides and vehicles.
- Indicative nightly rate
- ¥1,800-3,200 a night
- The collection
- Songtsam
- Setting
- Lijiang · 42 rooms
Courtyard buildings at Songtsam Lodge Lijiang
Why stay here
A small lodge in Ciman, a working Naxi village about five minutes' drive outside Lijiang Old Town, with views to the Old Town, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Lashi Lake. Rooms run from 45-square-metre deluxe doubles to 72- and 80-square-metre suites; one tour operator gives the lodge 42 rooms while a booking platform indicates 15. There is a four-room spa and sauna cabins.
Songtsam is a Tibetan-owned group founded in 2000 by Baima Duoji, a former documentary filmmaker who converted his own family house in Shangri-La into the first lodge. It now runs sixteen properties as a driving circuit across Yunnan and eastern Tibet, and this is the southern gateway to it — the Yunnan-Tibet route starts here and ends at Songtsam Linka Lhasa. Nothing else in western China offers that.
This lodge is the start of the Songtsam Circuit: you can hand the group a fortnight and be driven lodge to lodge from Lijiang to Lhasa, staying in the same small company's houses the whole way, with its own guides and vehicles. Songtsam Tours is a Virtuoso preferred supplier.
Rooms worth asking for
A Deluxe Suite at 72 square metres facing the mountain. The 45-square-metre deluxe rooms are good but the suites buy the aspect.
Note the exact room or suite name before opening the booking provider, along with any connecting-room, step-free access or celebration requests.
Dining & the evening ahead
One dining room: Lijiang hot pot, Naxi dishes and Yunnan cooking. No Michelin or Black Pearl listing confirmed.
Request restaurant availability alongside your stay. Tasting menus, private dining and dietary arrangements should be confirmed separately.
Spa, pool & wellbeing
Four therapy rooms and sauna cabins — unusually complete for a lodge this size, and welcome after the drives the circuit involves.
Ask which facilities are included with your room, whether treatments require advance reservations, and whether any seasonal closures affect your stay.
Photos & films
Videos open on their publisher’s site. YouTube is unavailable in mainland China; watch before travelling.
Lijiang, at your pace
Destination photography · explore the surrounding city.
Lijiang Travel Guide: Black Dragon Pool, Shuhe and Baisha towns, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and moreVince Travel · A guide to Lijiang's spread-out sights, including Black Dragon Pool, the Shuhe and Baisha old towns and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain trip.Watch on YouTube ↗Lijiang 3-Day Itinerary 🇨🇳: Ancient Towns & Jade Dragon Snow MountainAdventures of Lauren & Jason · A three-day Lijiang plan that pairs the old towns with a day on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.Watch on YouTube ↗Videos open on their publisher’s site. YouTube is unavailable in mainland China; watch before travelling.
Before you decide
Published room counts and categories differ between booking platforms and I could not establish a firm total. You are in a village, not the Old Town, so every evening out is a drive. Almost all assessment available is from Chinese booking platforms — strong scores at 9.6 from 166 reviews, but no professional review in English I could retrieve. Songtsam's own property count has been quoted as twelve and as sixteen in different years, so check which lodges are actually open before committing to a circuit.
Location. Ciman village, Gucheng District — about 5 minutes' drive to Lijiang Old Town, 3km to the Lashihai tea-horse road, 26-31km to the airport.
Prices are indicative, not live availability. Confirm the total including taxes, meals, transfers and cancellation terms on the provider’s checkout before committing.