Hiking in Daocheng Yading

Daocheng Yading iis called the Shambala of Tibet. Shambala means promise land of Tibet, indicating the unexplored world on earth and its exotic beauty. In fact the beauty of Yading has attracted lots of visitors but due to its remote location many visitors have to make other plans. Now the road to Yading has improved a lot and safe to drive. There is also an airport available now so the trip to Yading can take even shorter time. Hiking at Yading is hiking in the wonderful Tibetan highland where picturesque valleys are dotted with turquoise lakes and surrounded by stunning snow-capped peaks. There are two different ways of hiking at Yading, one is the day hiking that you have a nice day walk in the Yading Nature Reserve and the other one is to have over a week’s serious trekking around Yading. Find more information about Yading hiking below.

Where is Yading & How to Get to Daocheng Yading

Yading is the name of the village located south to the Tibetan town of Daocheng. Now by driving it takes two days from Chengdu. And Chengdu becomes the first option as a stopover to travel to Yading for any international traveler. Either by ground transfer or by air transfer, Chengdu is a stopover place. Yading Nature Reserve is located 75 km south to Daocheng, which is 430 km west to the town of Kangding and 700km west to the city of Chengdu. A driving trip from Chengdu will usually have the first night stay at Xinduqiao or Yajiang and the second night in either Daocheng or Riwa, which is now the entrance of Yading. By driving you can also starts from Shangrila Town of Yunnan and it takes one full day’s driving from Sahngrila of Yunnan. Read more on using bus to Daocheng Yading from Chengdu.

One can also use the flight to fly to Yading. At present the direct flights you can find that fly to Yading are Chengdu, Xi’an, Chongqing and some other cities during travel seasons. The airport in Yading is called Daocheng Yading airport and it is located 120km north to Yading and 50km north to the town of Daocheng.

When is the best time to hike in Yading

The best season to hike in Yading is from May to October for the higher part of the park although between November and the next April it is also available but only limited to the lower part of Yading park. The best time to travel to Daocheng Yading is in June, July, August, September and October. In July and August is the warm summer time of Yading and October the weather is good and the Yading is in its golden color. December to the next March is the winter in Yading. In winter a camping trek is not available. A camping trek involves camping at high elevation and walking over passes that are over 4600 meters. Yading is usually very dry and windy. Yading is getting popular since the airport is available so if you are traveling in the busy season which are July, August and October, an early planning is a better idea. Read more on Details of Daocheng Yading Weather and Climate.

How to plan a Hiking Trip to Yading

Any visitor that goes to Yading, will encounter walking. It is inevitable that you have to do some walking while visit Yading. Please be aware walking here in Yading Park is not like walking in the city or hiking at places with lower altitude. Yading Park is a tourist park indeed but it is not for everyone due to its high altitude. Hiking in Yading is hard. Recommended age range for Yading hiking is between 12 and 60. Yading Hiking Planning Explained in Details.

Duration and Transfer

Even in China for domestic travelers, Yading is far. But the beautiful views usually hide far away from you. There are mainly two different hikings of Yading. One is the day hikes in two different valleys of Yading and the other is the long and hard “Kora” Trek around the mountains that usually takes up to a week’s time. You will also need to plan at least one day’s necessary time for acclimating because the altitude of Yading park is very high at over 4000m.

If you have limited time, you are recommended to do Yading in a minimum of 3 days time: one day fly in and acclimatize, second day walking in the park and the third day fly out or transfer to another destination. The fly to Yading takes about 1 hour from Chengdu. Airport to the closest accommodation place is about 1 hour’s drive. From Daocheng it is 1 hour’s drive to the entrance of Yading. From Riwa, the official entrance of the park, you will need to use the tourist site bus to transfer to the golf car station for 30 km and use the golf car for another 20 mins. To walk the park you will need a minimum of 1 day in yading park.

1-2 Days Visit/Hike

The 1-2 days hiking is the classic visit to Daocheng Yading. The park itself is composed of 2 main valleys. The valley towards south and west is to the Milk Lake and Wuse Lake, where you can also see south face of Chenrezig, north face of Chenadorje and Jampayang. The walking is around 5km single way. The other valley is to visit Pearl Lake and the north face of Chenrezig, it is about 2km single way.

There is another 1-2 days hiking which may involve camping for one night near the park. It is a loop connecting the two valleys. To enter either one valley and over the pass to spend one night over the pass by camping (the only option available). Please read our 4-Day Camping Trek of Yading. Although if you are good hiker, it is in total 25km walking over at least 2 main passes over 4600 meters, you can do it in one day and save the camping. Please note this 25km hiking is is doable but not recommended by the local park because it happened before that former hikers have lost and died on this route due to insufficient preparation and bad weather.

A lot of visitors to Yading choose to drive from Chengdu and include the visits along the way. It is a good way to acclimate to the high altitude while seeing more along the way. Plus the views on the way are also very beautiful if you check them there are Minya Konka mountains, Xinduqiao and Tagong landascape, Litang grassland, etc. Please read our 8-Day Classic Western Sichuan Tour that includes Yading.

7-10 Days Yading Middle Kora Trek

Please read our 10-Day Yading Middle Kora Trek to read details. It is a multiday camping trek that goes around the mountains and lakes in yading.

Daocheng Yading Trekking/Hiking Tips

Elevation and Walking Distance

Daocheng Yading Airport is at the elevation of 4400 meters. It is one of the highest airports in the world. You will have the best views of the landscape on the plane. The town of Daocheng on the middle way to Yading, its elevation is 3750 meters above sea level. At the entrance before you take the bus the elevation is at about 3000 meters. Usually you start to walk from Chonggu Monastery at the elevation of about 3900 meters. There are two valleys you can walk. The one in the north leads to the north face of Mt. Chenrezig and Pearl Lake which is about 2km’s of walking and elevation rise is within 200 meters. To walk the valley in the south, the walking distance is about 10-12 km in total. Elevation in this valley is up to 4500 meters at Five Color Lake. In this valley you have stunning views of all three of the holy mountains. The walking back is the same trail. There is a trail that goes up to the pass from the valley in the east will go around Chenrezig and connects the valley in the north but the total walking distance is over 24 km and you will need to walk over two 4600-meter passes. If you do want to see the views from different locations you can consider to a middle kora trek of Yading.

Please note there is a high chance of getting mountain sickness while visiting to Yading. We recommend you to have sufficient time for acclimating before going into the park of Yading.

Terrain and Trails

Daocheng Yading The walking trails are well –paved boardwalk and for the walking in the south valley to Milk Lake, you can use the electronic cars to cover the first 7km. Yading is a well facilitated tourist site. The walking trails are now all boardwalks. While you go beyond the park area over the passes or other trails you get into the wild part of Yading Park where the trails are primitive and wild. The walking to Pearl Lake is on gradual boardwalk. The walking to Milk Lake is half gradual and half steep.

Mountain Sickness

Travelers to do a Yading Hiking will have the possibility of having mountain sickness. In Yading the elevation is at over 4000. It is better to acclimatize yourself in Yading for one or even two nights and then go higher slowly. The highest point inside the park is at around 4500 meters by 5-color lake while on a kora trek the highest point is at around 4800m. This Yading hiking is not a strenuous one but the elevation are quite high so you need to be aware this while hiking especially when you fly in. The precautions you can consider to minimize the chance of suffering from mountain sickness include drink a lot of water, keep warm and try to eat healthy before you hike.

Luggage and Porter

For a day trip to the park of Yading you only carry your day pack with you. For multi-day trekking around the mountains of Yading, you will need to hire packhorses and take everything with you. A middle kora trek will come out to the same town in Daocheng or Riwa so you can store some luggage you won’t need for the trek.

Camping

Camping in yading is complicated, please read details on Camping in Yading Park .

Yading Hiking Suggested Packing List:

Hiking boots, hiking hat, Jacket/windbreaker, Base layer/T-shirt, Walking trousers, Thermals, Fleece, Socks

Daypack, Waterproof, Sunglasses, Sun block, read a more detailed packing list.

Eat, Drink, Accommodation

Daocheng yading is a well-developed tourist park in China, There are many options on hotels in Daocheng Town, Riwa Town (Shangrila) and even in Yading village accommodations are available. Please read Details on Accommodation Ideas of Yading.

On day hikes in Yading Park one needs to bring his own lunch and drinking water. Please note there are no restaurants inside the park of Yading and there are only limited shops inside the park where you can refill your water bottle or to buy some simple food. Therefore you are recommended to pack your own lunch and your drinking water for a full day’s use.

Safety Issues

A. Mountain Sickness and Rescues.Mountain sickness is the number one hazard for safety/health while hiking in Yading.

Inside the park of Yading, our former experiences tell us most of the rescues happended were for people who suffer from mountain sickness. The rescue usually takes a long time not only because of the complicated transfers but also because workers in park are not trained enough. For anyone who needs to be rescued inside the park he needs to get to the tourist bus station where an ambulance can get to from outside of the park. To wait there for an ambulance may take longer time than using a tourist bus out (although may need to walk more). To get to the tourist bus station one needs to use a golf car ride for around 20-30 minutes (not couting the waiting time). It is not very comfortable experience waiting in the long queues to get on the golf car when you are sick or extremely sick. To get to the golf car station one needs to walk or find a horse to cover however far the distance is you are to the golf car station. Please note the horses inside the park are for tourists to ride and not used as rescue horses. Local horse people will expect high fees on using their horses for rescue.

The rescue is slow but it’s getting better. When you call an ambulance it takes time to come but it is free of charge. For most occasions when a sick one gets to Riwa (Shangrila) by the entrance of the park, one recovers rather quickly from the mountain sickness because Riwa is low at around 2800m only. Our recommendation is try not to use a rescue because it is slow and unorganized (2022) and try take as much precautions as possible to avoid yourself getting sick/injured.

Wild Fire. Using campfire is not allowed inside Yading at anywhere. All cooking by campsites much be done inside huts or far from any bushes, trees. Overnight hikers inside the parks need to be aware of this and be extra careful while cooking especially during winter/dry seasons. You are required to avoid smoking inside the parks at anywhere. Anyone’s false action or mistake of using fire in the parks and causes wild fire will face severe consequences in China by Chinese laws.

Please read more on Daocheng Yading Detailed Travel Guide for more useful Yading travel information and guide.