Jiuzhaigou Hiking Tour

Itinerary: 8 Days Chengdu - Jiuzhaigou - Songpan - Huanglong - Songpan - Hongyuan - Miyaluo - Guergou - Taoping - Chengdu

The golden time to hike through this itinerary is during October, but you'd better avoid the National Holiday which is from 1st, Oct to 7th, Oct when all scenic spots will be very crowded.

In the morning, you can take the long distance bus from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou. The bus is available from Chengdu New South Gate bus station and Chengdu East bus station at 8:10 every morning and is available from Chengdu Chadianzi bus station at 09:10 every morning. You can choose the one which is closed to your hotel. It takes CNY152 - CNY157 net per person for the ticket. After around 8.5 hours' journey, you will arrive in Jiuzhaigou at dusk. Then you can check in a hotel at the entrance of Jiuzhaigou. If the hotel is a little far, generally, it will include a free shuttle service. You can check with the hotel in advance. Tonight, you're suggested to sleep early to be fully prepared to explore the fairyland.

Alternatively, you can fly from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou, which takes only 1 hour. Upon arrival in Jiuhuang Airport, you can take the bus to Jiuzhaigou, which takes CNY45 and around 1.5 hours on the way. During the off-season, the bus sometimes will stop running when you can take a taxi which takes around CNY200 - 250.

Jiuzhaigou is composed of three main valleys, Zechawa, Rize and Shuzheng, which are distributed in Y shape with a total length of about 60 kilometers (37 miles). For those who are new to the plateau, a 2-day visit is perfect. It's suggested to visit Zechawa Valley and Rize Valley in the first day, which doesn't need much strenuous exercise, and visit Shuzheng Valley in the second day when you will hike a lot. The admission ticket is CNY169 per person during the peak season which is from 1st, Apr to 15th, Nov and CNY90 per person during the low season which is from 16th, Nov to 31st, Mar the next year. The sightseeing bus ticket is CNY80 per person all year around. The sightseeing buses will stop at every site, so you can combine the 2 ways according to your condition during the tour. By the way, please kindly note that for Jiuzhaigou scenic area, people need to buy admission ticket twice if they want to enter twice during the peak season and add a service fee of CNY20 during the low season.

Today, you can take a bus from Jiuzhaigoukou bus station to Songpan, which takes CNY42 and around 2.5 hours. There are 2 buses every day, departing at 07:50 and 08:30. Along the way, you can appreciate the wonderful prairie sights of Min River. Upon arrival, you can wander along the small ancient town and stay at the local guest house.

You can easily find the bus to Huanglong at the Songzhou passenger station, which are available at 06:00, 06:30 and 07:00 in the morning. Upon arrival in Huanglong, you will see many attractions including Xishen (washing body) Cave, Penjing (miniascape) Ponds, Huanglong (Yellow Dragon) Temple and Huanglong (Yellow Dragon) Cave along the valley. After the sightseeing, get back to Songpan. If there isn't direct buses, you can take the one to Jiuzhaigou, get off at Chuanzhusi and then take a taxi to Songpan, which takes around CNY30.

Today, take the bus from Songzhou passenger station departing at 09:30 to Hongyuan county. Upon arrival, you can check in a hotel first and then explore this place. Hongyuan county is named by Premier Zhou, which means the prairie traversed by the Red Army's Long March. The mysterious Hongyuan prairie, the everglade, the snow mountain, the virgin forest as well as the abundant Tibetan culture will catch your eyes.

As most buses in Aba area depart in the early morning, you need to get up early today and catch the bus to Chengdu departing at 6:50 and get off halfway at Miyaluo after around 3 hours. Miyaluo, which means "a fun dam" in Tibetan, is famous for its captivating red leaves. After the visiting, you can take a taxi for around 30 minutes to Guergou, which is famous for its hot springs. Tonight, you can stay in Guergou and enjoy the hot spring.

Today, you can take the bus from Guergou to Taoping Qiang village to appreciate the customs and life of the Qiang Minority people, where the ancient Qiang architecture is well preserved. Afterwards, continue to take the bus back to Chengdu. After around 3 hours, you will arrive in Chengdu and you can get back to your hotel. Your tour will end here.