4 Days Jiuzhaigou/Huanglong Highlights Tour

The driving from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou is about 450 km, with many opportunities to make stops, rest, take photos and explore many different things as you will travel through Chengdu plain, ethnic region of Qing people to Tibetan habitants in Mingshan Mountains where Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong valley sit. So don’t have to worry getting bored during your driving in and driving out. There are many things to see.

Day 1 Chengdu - Chuanzhusi  Town(L)

Driving distance: about 310 km/6 hrs

Today after breakfast, your tour guide will pick you up in your hotel, then leave the city and drive to Chuanzhusi Town, which is a beautiful small town near to Huanglong National Park. The distance between Chengdu and Chuanzhusi is about 350 kilometers, and need about 6~7 hours to drive. Before getting to Chuanzhusi Town, you will take a visit to historical Songpan Ancient City. Check in to your hotel in Chuanzhusi Town. The rest of today is free for you to acclimatize the altitude (2900 m) and relax.

Tips for Saving Time: you can also take a flight from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport to Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport if you want to save time. The flights usually depart from Chengdu in the early morning and take only about 1 hour to get to Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport before noon. The afternoon time can be spent to visit Huanglong National Park, which will save a day compared with tour package by driving.

• Beautiful Chuanzhusi Town

Day 2 Chuanzhusi Town - Huanglong - Jiuzhaigou Valley (B)

Today's highlight: Huanglong Valley

After breakfast, drive about 30 minutes from Chuanzhusi to visit Huanglong National Park. Situated in the Minshan Mountains in northwestern Sichuan Province, Huanglong Valley has one of the three most outstanding travertine lake terraces in the world, which is 3.6 Kilometers long, lying under the grandiose peak of Xuebao Peak (Snow Treasure Mountain: 5,588 meters) like a yellow dragon. This is how the valley gained the name of Huanglong (Yellow Dragon). The travertine scenery was created by the thousands years of geological evolution, including glacial revolution, terrane movement, chemical reaction, climate changing, etc. At the top (3556 m) of the valley lies the best highlight - Five-Color Ponds consisting of 693 ponds of different sizes, shapes, colors, dazzling like beautiful emeralds. Huanglong Valley is also renowned for superlative sceneries of snow mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, wild forests, etc. as well as an important habitant of Giant Pandas and Snub-nosed monkeys. All these magnificences of nature helped Huanglong gained the title of World Natural Heritage Site in 1992.

It usually takes about 6 hours to hike from the entrance to Five-Color Ponds, then return to the entrance. To save energy and time, you will take a quick cable car directly to the top, and then walk down the valley to enjoy the scenery. After about 3-hour sightseeing in the valley, you will leave the park and drive about 2 hours to Jiuzhaigou to check in your hotel.

Useful tips: 1) some attractions in Huanglong valleys are located over 3500 meters above the sea level, which may cause high altitude sickness for some travelers. You’d better walk at a slower pace. If you feel hard to breathe or headache, you can go to the Oxygen Bars to rest and take oxygen; 2) Huanglong cableway is not operational in winter; 3) there is no restaurant in the valley, you can bring some food or snacks, or have lunch after exiting the park.

• Huanglong National Park Landscape

Day 3 Jiuzhaigou Valley (B)

Today's highlight: Jiuzhaigou Valley

After breakfast at your hotel, set out for the full-day exploration of Jiuzhaigou National Park. Your guide will accompany you to hop on a sightseeing bus to enter the park to explore the fairyland landscape of Jiuzhaigou.

Having been hidden as a mysterious home to nine Tibetan villages and never been bothered by outsider until the first discovery in the middle 20th century, Jiuzhaigou is a reserve of superb and diverse natural beauty of which the waterfall and plateau lakes are praised as the most stunning waterscape in the world. According to official records, there are up to 114 turquoise pools and lakes, 47 tranquil springs, 17 groups of waterfalls, 11 rapids and 5 beautiful tufa shoals scattering in the three main valleys of Jiuzhaigou, Rize Valley, Zechawa Valley and Shuzheng Valley. They present various color patterns of white, blue, green, turquoise and emerald in different seasons. The visual feast of Jiuzhaigou also expands from waterscape to spectacular jagged alpine mountains, wild forests with multi-colors and many other remarkable natural features.

Visiting Jiuzhaigou Valley is relaxing and enjoyable. There are sightseeing buses running from the entrance to the three valleys with stops near the scenic spots. Travelers hop off the bus, walk along wooden plank roads to enjoy the sights, then hop on another bus to next attractions. Our tour guide will organize your visit route according to your time, energy and crowd level, and accompany you to explore the essence of Jiuzhaigou at a comfortable pace. The classic visit route is to take tourist bus from the entrance to Nuorilang Water Fall first, then transfer to Zechawa Valley to visit the Long Lake and Five-Color Pond, then move to Rize Valley to visit the Panda Lake, Five Flowers Lake, Pearl Shoal, Mirror Lake, etc. Lastly, get back to Nuorilang, and descend along Shuzheng Valley to the park entrance and visit Rhinoceros Lake, Tiger Lakes, Shuzheng Waterfall, Sparkling Lake, etc. on route.

After Jiuzhaigou sightseeing, your tour guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel.

Useful tips: 1) try to have breakfast and enter the park earlier to escape the crowds of tourist groups; 2) wear comfortable walking shoes and seasonal cloths based on your travel month; 3) Buffet lunch is provided in Nuorilang Restaurant (the only restaurant in the valley) but food options are limited. You can also bring some snacks or let your hotel prepare packed food for you if you like.

• Nuorilang Waterfall in Golden Autumn (October)

Day 4 Jiuzhaigou - Chengdu (B, L)

Driving distance: 450 km/8~9 hrs

After breakfast, your tour guide will pick you up in your hotel, then drive back to Chengdu. Take a strop to enjoy beautiful plateau lakeview of Diexi Lake on route.

Optional drop off at Jiuzhaigou airport or other places: 1) By Air: if you don't want to return to Chengdu, you can take flight to Xian, Chongqing, Beijing, Shanghai, etc, from Jiuzhaigou Airport; 2) By Land: if you want to extend your trip from Jiuzhaigou, you can travel northward to Hongyuan, Ruoergai, Langmusi, even Gansu and Qinghai Province.