Benzilan, Yunnan, China

This spacious lodge is tucked up a narrow side valley above the Yangtze, renowned for its medicinal herbs and incense. Apart from breaking the journey between Meili and Shangri La into manageable chunks, it offers a handy springboard for forays into the nearby mountains. A forestry track winds alongside a stream behind the hotel, and on to the start of a wonderful forest walk, culminating at a high pasture where yaks are grazed in the summer. Buddhist shrines and a succession of pretty farmsteads and villages punctuate the route. Your guide will also offer to show you around a local incense factory, where joss sticks are manufactured from pine wood and local essential oils.