Danba Hiking Tour

Itinerary: 5 Days Chengdu - Danba - Jiaju - Dangling - Hulu Hai - Dangling - Suopo - Danba - Chengdu

Danba County, located in the eastern part of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, is the eastern gate of Ganzi. Danba's landscape is vertically changing, from the high-altitude snow-capped mountains, glaciers to the low altitude grasslands and valleys. In addition to the natural scenery, the local Tibetan people's life and buildings are also breathtaking. Such abundant tourist spots make Danba the best place for traveling. In the following 5 days, you will explore this amazing place on your own. 

Today, you can take the bus at Chengdu Chadianzi passenger station to Danba. There is only one bus a day, which departs at 10:30 and takes CNY150 and around 6.5 hours. Upon your arrival, you can stay in a local hostel tonight.

Today, you can take the minibus at a fee of CNY20 per person to Jiaju Village, the most beautiful village in China. Groups of castles and towers, which were built hundreds of years ago for the purpose of defense and passing messages between villages, are scattered around strategic positions in the villages. The entrance fee of Jiaju is CNY50.00 net per person. Then if time permits, you can also visit the Dajinchuan River Valley to experience the boat made from the buff leather. Afterwards, you can charter a car in Danba to Dangling, which takes CNY1200.00 per vehicle for the round trip in 2 days. Dangling is highly recommended to travel in October and November, as the whole tourist area will be covered by colorful forest at that time. Such charming autumn scenery makes Dangling like a paradise. After around 2.5 hours' driving, you will arrive and you're advised to stay at a local Tibetan family, which is convenient and economical. After that, you can head to experience the hot spring, which is 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) south to Dangling village.

Today, you will hike from Dangling to Hulu Hai. Dangling village is 3,347 meters (10,981 feet) above sea level, while Hulu Hai has exceeded 4,200 meters (13,780 feet). Within 6 kilometers (3.7 miles), the elevation rises by about 900 meters (2,953 feet), from which you can imagine how steep the road is. During the journey, you will first climb a mountain road, then walk through a jungle, afterwards, you will come to the most challenging section, where the road is very steep. However, after this part of road, you will come to the Feiji Plateau, a large meadow where you can have a rest.

The next stop is the Hulu Hai. En route, there are many meadows with lots of cattle and horses eating leisurely. You will also marvel at the wild monkeys jumping in front of you. The scenery around the Hulu Hai is fantastic. The unique scenery of extinct volcano crater and a variety kind of ancient life-form fossil will make you back to the Cretaceous period. Afterwards, if you're still energetic, you can continue to trek for around 2 hours to the Dahaizi. After finishing the visit, you may stay overnight at the Hulu Hai camp.

In the morning, if lucky, you can enjoy the scenery of the mountains under the sunshine. Then hike down back to Dangling. Afterwards, you can take the car to Danba. On the way, you can have a stop at Suopo to visit the ancient blockhouses. Suopo has the most concentrated ancient blockhouses in Danba and even in the world, with a total of 84 blockhouses including the only pentagon one in the world. The entrance fee is CNY15.00 net per person. After the tour, continue to drive to Danba and you will stay overnight here.

Today, you can take the bus back to Chengdu. There is only one bus departing at 08:30 every morning and taking 6.5 hours. The ticket is CNY150.00 net per person. Your hiking tour in Danba area will end here.