Top tips for visiting Reed Flute Cave:

• • Reed Flute Cave is a short, beautiful walk from Lujia, a sleepy tourist village, which is a great spot to be based in when visiting Guilin. I stayed at the Flower Hotel in Lujia and although it was as cheap as chips, it was one of the best places I stayed in my trip around China. The owner organised an excellent, private English-speaking driver/tour guide for us for three days according to our own itinerary. In a land where barely anyone speaks English this was a much-welcomed oasis and allowed us to make the most out of our short stay in Guilin. I’ve mapped out both below.

• Visits to Reed Flute Cave are by guided tour but don’t expect any English here. It doesn’t detract from their beauty though. I just hung back until the Chinese crowd had passed and gaped at the natural artwork at my own pace. It doesn’t seem to matter if you don’t keep up with your own group. Entrance costs 120 Yuan.
• Right next to the caves, there was a brilliant tea shop selling all kinds of tea sets and foods. The prices for their sets were the best I found in the whole of China (and as usual extremely negotiable) and I nabbed myself an awesome tea set. I had to stay lugging it around for the rest of my trip but it was well worth it (and surprisingly resistant)! So if you’re after tea memorabilia, you might want to slot in some time here.
• If you want a similar experience but can’t go all the way to China, check out Postojna in Slovenia. The lighting may not be there, but the jaw-dropping stalactites and stalagmites are. (As an added bonus, Postojna also has baby dragons!)
• For more of my travel around China and related tips, click here (constantly updated at the moment).