Luding

Luding is the first town into Garze from Chengdu. The famous Hailuogou Glacier Park and Yanzigou Valley are in Luding. Luding is home to some of the best Minya Konka view spots in Sichuan. Luding is home to Dadu River and the mountains on both sides: Daxueshan Mountain Range and Jiajinshan Mountain Range. Luding is the actual borderland of traditional Chinese and Tibetan Culture.

Hailuogou Glacier Park

Wild Yak Valley

Wild Yak Valley

Wild Yak Valley is located at 70km north of Luding in Jintang Nature Reserve. Wild Yak Valley is located by the east of Dadu River. The whole valley is inside Jiajin Mountain Range. The name came from the many yaks that are seen in the valley. This valley is roughly 30km long and it is a full pack of nature including forests, mountains, animals and rivers. Its east side of the mountain is Donglashan Gorge and Dawa Gengza in Yaan. Despite its location is in fact very close to Chengdu at only 4-5 hour's drive, it is one of the least explored gems in Sichuan.

Mt. Huajian

Minya Konka East

Sunrise by Huajian

Mt. Huajian is not a big mountain but in general a view spot of Minya Konka East. Mt. Huajian is similar to Mt. Niubei and Mt. Hongya Summit. From Summit of Huajian one can see the whole range of east Minya Konka including Mt. Gongga, Mt. Edger, Mt. Jiazi, Mt. Zhongshan, Mt. Langmain, Mt. Daddomain and Lamoshe. Mt. Huajian is located in Heigou Village by the west of Erlangshan and east to Dadu River Gorge.

It has become a popular weekend place for many hiking lovers in Chengdu. Every weekend there are many people go hike there and watch the sunrise by the huts at the summit. There is a local transfer necessary from big road start of the hike at around 2400m and walk for around 12km to at around 3200m by the summit. Total around 4 hours' walkking up can be replaced by a local motorbike ride offered by local villagers. The whole way is now a dirt road that okay for motorbikes but not cars. By the summit there are many huts available for overnight. These huts are usually shared by other people and not very clean. No advance booking required but one can also bring tent to spend the night camping.

By the summit the view is very beautiful. Often one can see the sea of cloud below you and the Minya Konka Mountains by the west especially when the glows shine in the morning. A trip plan is usually two days to do Huajian: day 01 earlyy start from Chengdu and drive for around 5-6 hours and use local transfer to get to the hiking start point and start to hike, arrive before dark, then the next day wake up early to watch sunrise before walk back down and same way back to the car and back to Chengdu. At night possible milkyway views.

Hongya Summit

Camping by Hongya Summit

Sea of Cloud by Hongyading

Hongya Summit is a similar kind of place to that of Huajian. Hongya Summit hiking is around 8km from 2400m to 3200m. The way up is a small trail unlike Huajian therefore the alternative carrying service is horse other than motorbike in Huajian. The summit also has plenty of huts for overnight. Please note usually be weekends there are a lot of other people.

The places for views for sunrise, sea of cloud and Minya Konka Mountains including Hongya Summit, Mt. Huajian, and there are also places not listed here including Sirentong, Mt. Niubei are all 2-days' trip from Chengdu. Now many use these places for weekend destination to go from Chengdu.