Western Sichuan Adventure Hiking Tour - 9 Days

This is a gound tour. Some days involve long hours of driving and sitting in the car. Please make preparation in accordance including power bank for your phone, neck pillow, etc. Please remember to have a day pack with you to take necessary items for each day's visit, sometimes including packed lunch or snacks for yourself, drinking water recommended 1L minimum, sunglasses, rainproof, warm-keeping clothes and hat, sun block and lip oil, etc. It is also wise to bring rainproof and warm clothes with you all the time.

A 4-hour drive from Chengdu to Rilong at the base of Mount Siguniang. We will start from Chengdu at your hotel in the morning by around 8.00 am and drive towards west into the mountains. The road is in the former earthquake-zone and you may still see the damages on the mountains from the quake in 2008. A new road was finished by end of 2016 and making the driving safer and quicker.

En route we will pay a visit to the Panda Base in Wolong to see the lovely pandas. The big around around the panda base is the natural habitat of pandas that live in the wild along with other wildlife. Wolong Panda Base is the biggest panda base in China and home to around 50 pandas, the most in number among all the panda bases in China. The visit will include walking to different panda enclosures including the baby panda enclosure. The visit will take around 2 hours. Afterwards we will have lunch before continue driving further into the mountains.

As we drive the landscape changes. We climb from 500 meters above sea level from Chengdu to an almost 4000-meter tunnel over Balang Pass and then dive into the valley where Rilong is located. After arrive in Rilong, we will go check in to hotel. Rilong is a small town by the base of Mount Siguniang and usually a good stop place for visitors that go further and higher. Rilong is at 3100 meters. When you are traveling to higher altitude places, drink more water and keep warm. Your guide will brief you more on the tips of avoiding AMS.

Driving 4 hours, visiting 2 hours; Easy pace

Overnight hotel by 3100m

Today we will have most of the day visit Shuangqiao Valley of Siguniang. Shuangqiaogou Valley is a zigzagged, deep and quiet and the longest valley stretching over 35km in total. First we will go into Shuangqiao Valley where we start our visit by a bus ride to the end of valley and start the hiking. Around you there are many stunning peaks some are snow-capped and some are big walls including Mt. Jianshan, Mt. Yutu, Mt. Se'erdengpu, Mt. Potala, Mt. Abi and many more. We will walk on the less-walked boardwalk along the river and enjoy some quiet time in nature. We will hike down the valley following the river on boardwalk most of the time. By walking we will see the most highlights of Shuangqiao in close range and in a slower pace rather than rushing through things by using a bus that makes stops along the road. The first 5 km is from the end of the valley where buses stop down to Potala Peak Stop. This part is one of the best part of Shuangqiao to walk. In general the higher part of the valley is where most of good views of Shuangqiao are located. The walking will be on well-paved boardwalk on flat terrain with no steep part since it is mainly walking down. The second part of walking is from Potala Peak Stop to Sigu Natso that is 3.5km. The first 8km is what we recommend you do at least since it is considered the most beautiful part.

From Sigu Natso to Nianyuba the boardwalk is destroyed by flood so the walking has to be on road although we can use a bus to avoid walking on road. Road is quiet and no cars except the buses though some may found walking on hard road not comfortable. The road part is 3km total.

After Nianyuba it is another 5km to Nature Museum Stop on boardwalk. Along the valley we'll see mountains, grazing yaks and forest. By halfway down there is a rafting that we can choose to do. It is also a lot of fun to raft down the calm river for around 20 minutes. Today’s visiti and walking is flexible as it is the first day of this trip we recommend not to stress ourselves too much to better acclimate to the altitude.

After the visit we will go out to the exit and drive for around 3 hours to Danba, our next stop. We will leave the park of Shuangqiao no late than 3pm.

Although the hiking path in Shuangqiao is usually very quiet because most visitors will be using the bus instead of walking, but please note we can still change the hike in Shuangqiao Park to a wild valley of Jiesi nearby instead if you want to avoid any tourists and want to be in the compelet wilderness.

Hiking 8-16km, driving 3 hours; Medium pace

Overnight hotel by 2300m

Today is a full day hiking in Danba Village from Zhonglu to Suopo. Zhonglu is one of the representatives of the Tibetan villages in Danba. Zhonglu is more authentic and less spoiled by mass tourism. People there work in the farm and orchards. Their houses are unique and beautiful. The villages are located on the sunny slope and composed of over dozens of families. The village bends into the shape of the mountain side: some lower and some higher. Green orchards and colorful houses made the villages here very attractive.

This is a day hike from Zhonglu Tibetan Village to Suopo Watchtower village of Danba. It is a less-walked trail and not a usual tourist hike. Walking from the beautiful Zhonglu Village to the kingdom of watchtowers in Suopo for 15km in 7 hours with highest altitude by 3000m. The hiking starts by the beautiful Zhonglu by its village track and ascend to the photos spot before walk into the forest and over the pass by 3000m and then into Suopo Village to see its many towers. It covers the best views of both Suopo and Zhonglu Villages. This is a medium-paced hiking with elevation gain at 700m and elevation loss around 1000m. We will also have chance to see mountains from far away above the deep river gorges of Danba as well as local authentic Gyalrong Tibetan people.

We will end our hiking in Suopo. Suopo Tibetan Village is located 4km southeast to the town of Danba. It is also considered to be the hometown of the ancient Dongnv Kindom. It is the most densed place where we can find old watchtowers of Danba. A total of 175 watchtowers can be found here. Danba is named “kingdom of one thousand watchtowers” mainly because of Suopo. Suopo is the best place to see Danba watchtowers.

This is overall a challenging hiking despite its elevation is not very high but because the ascent is big in one day and by near the pass it's very steep this hiking is considered challenging. During certain seasons the trail by near the pass can be covered in thick bushes. Depending on the season and accessibilty, alternatively ywe will change this to a relaxed walking inside the park of Zhonglu between the photo spots within the village without walking on steep terrain and through bushes.

After the hiking ends in Suopo, we will ne picked up and go check back to hotel and relax.

Hiking 15km; Medium pace

Overnight hotel by 2300m

Wake up in the morning mist and breath the fresh countryside air. After breakfast we start from Danba and drive for around 1.5 hours before arrive in Yala Mountain Park.

Today's visit and hiking is mainly in the park of Mt. Yala. Mt. Yala is a recently built up park that is with good road leads to the base of the mountain. After we get tickets from the tourist center we will first use a small park bus to go to the base of the mountain. The bus ride is around 40 minutes. After we arrive the base we can walk up to the lakes by the foot of Mt. Yala where we can see the stunning glacier and the beautiful lake Yala Yumtso. From the base we can also hire a horse to ride up to the lake since the walking up 3km is very steep. We will walk or use a horse from the base by 3750m to Yala Yumtso Lake by 4050m. Yala Yumtso is just located by the base of Mt. Yala, a holy mountain worshiped by local people that is 5820m above sea level. We can see some thick glaciers by its north face. If time allowes we can walk up further to explore two more lakes above Yala Yumtso Lake at 4200m for extra 2.5km by a pass. We gain more open views by the two lakes.

After the visit come back the same way and use park bus to the car park and continue drive to Tagong for another 1h. En route visit Huiyuan Temple if time allows. After arrive in Tagong check in to hotel and have dinner.

The park of Yala is usually not a busy or tourist park. But if you still want to avoid any other visitors/crowds while hiking we can change the hike to a more challenging hiking on the Geda Ridge.

Hiking 6km+; Challenging pace

Overnight hotel by 3800m

Tagong is home to one of the most widely-worshiped Sakya sect monasteries called Tagong monastery. It has an elevation of 3750 meters above the sea level. There is only one 500 meters street goes across this town. At the end of this street is the Tagong monastery and Tagong Grassland. Tagong is an important place for the Tibetan Buddhism. Monastery and religion are fundamentally rooted in people's lives here. In the morning we will fist go to explore Tagong Monastery.

After breakfast we will start by a short car ride to Anigongma Village. The drive usually takes around 10-15 minutes. Hiking starts by visits to the workshop of Mani Stones, Great Pile of Mani Stones, Nunnery and Muya Grand Temple. Piles of Mani stones are another form of prayer in Tibetan Buddhism. At Anigongma there sits the second largest Mani Stone pile in eastern Tibet. The stones are piled up by local devoted Buddhists by hand. It is an amazing site of Tagong. We will also go to have a look of the working nunnery in Anigongma, one of the largest nunneries in Tibetan Sichuan.

After the visits, walk into the valley and elevation rises gradually to over 4000 meters and views become more stunning as the big mountains emerges from afar. On Tagong Grassland we will see Mt. Yala and Mt. Yamu in close range and possibly grazing yaks and nomads tents. Today's hiking is a very pleasant hiking because we will be walking on open grassland with views all around.

Walk on 4000m for the rest of the day before drop down to Dola Gamo to the road and be picked up by your driver and send to your hotel.

Hiking 15km; Medium pace

Overnight hotel by 3800m

Today after breakfast we will drive for around 1 hour on Tagong Grassland and first arrive Upper Mugetso where we will start another wild hike. The hiking start by Honghaizi Lake at 4100m. The view is amazing: Lamoshe mountains are visible just above the lake and not far after we set out we will see a bigger lake called Mugetso. We will walk by the lake and possibly run into local nomadic Tibetan people who tend their yaks and horses. We may even go visit one of their nomads tent before we continue to the small pass where we can see the big mountains even closer. After the small pass we will start the long descent into the valley and forest. After arrive by the lake, we will then walk ups and downs before arrive the bus terminal and use bus to go down. Today's walking is long and the second half is hard due to the ups and downs. It is a challenging hiking but the views will make it worth. After we arrive the park exit we will meet our driver and drive for another 1 hour to get to Kangding.

After arrive in Kangding, check into hotel and have dinner. You are free to explore Kangding, a mixed Tibetan and Chinese town with modern things available. You can choose to walk around the river that runs through the town, or watch the dancing people by the central square or even join them, or do some shopping by the shops. Have good rest.

This hiking will see lots of people by the beginning by the lake of Honghaizi and you will also see lots of people by the end by the bus terminal of Mugetso Park. However if you'd like to avoid the crowds we can change the hiking to a nearby quiet valley of Yele Nomba.

Hiking 15km; Challenging pace

Overnight hotel by 2600m

In the morning you will also start by a short car ride to Laoyulin Village for around 15 minutes and switch to local transfer for another 30 minutes drive to road head. The loca transfer is necessary as the lst bit of road is not a good road that is usually muddy and bumpy. Local drivers know the road well. Hiking starts by road end at Gexi Camp at around 3600m.

We have great views of Lamoshe mountain behind us from Gexi. The valley we walk is called Riuqi Valley that extends to around 25km southwards. Today we will cover the first 6 to 10km and come back. The walking starts by gradual ascent by the riverside with pine forest and mountains around us. After cross the river we will pass by a red rock slide before we ascend a small section of steep part and then we get more open views of the valley and mountains around us. Today's walking is rather medium and flexible. Riuqi is a wild and beautiful valley with views of snow mountains and flowing river. Flexible medium walking distance between 8km to 20km for around 5-8 hours. Today;s walking will be total mountain trail that is safe and easy to navigate. Unlike many other well-maintained parks this place is a total wild land of nature. Since the valley goes on for over 20km we will return at the furthest at the 10km place by Liangcha, making total walking to 20km, which is considered a lot of walking for one day at such altitude. Although this hiking is set to be flexible so we can turn back at any point of the hiking. We recommend to at least walk the first 3km.

Total 6-20km , medium pace

Overnight at hotel at 2600m

Start by 8am we will drive out to Hailuogou from Kangding. We will drive over a road pass named Yajiageng at 3900m where we will make a stop to have a look of the Lamoshe Mountains.

After arrive Hailuogou Base at Moxi, we will start visit Hailuogou Glacier Park from the base by using tourist bus riding for about 40 minutes to get to near Camp 3. First use cable car to get to Camp 4 to see the grand ice fall of Minya Konka before a short walk to the Red Rocks. Camp 4 is the highlight of Hailuogou Glacier Park. It is where we can see the highest peak of Minya Konka Range, the mountain range where Hailuogou Glacier comes from. The highest peak of Minya Konka is called Mt. Gongga, a mountain that is 7556-m above sea level, being the easternmost 7000er on earth. Although from Camp 4 Mt. Gongga is not veryy prominence because it is very far away but the glacier coming from it is amazing. There are also other mountains to see in Hailuogou including Mt. Jinyin (Mountain of Gold and Silver), Mt. Sanlian (Mountain of 3 Summits).

After spending time by Camp 4 come back to Camp 3 the same way. Walk from camp 3 to the Glacier by the Glacier Caves for around 5km total in and out. This 5km we can use a golf car service provided by the park to save time and the walking. Afterwards if time allowes we can consider to walk from Camp 3 and to Grass Pond for another 5km. Afterwards we use bus to get back to the base and check in hotel. If timw allows we can go to explore the small town Moxi. Except the small church and a small museum of Red Army during Long March time we can also choose to enjoy a hot spring by the evening. A hot spring is good to de-compress and relax yourself after days of hiking.

Total 4-8km , Easy pace

Overnight at hotel at 1600m

We leave Hailuogou in the morning and drive back to Chengdu. The total driving is around 4-5 hours on highway. We can send you to the airport directly for flights after 3pm in the afternoon. If time allows we will make a stop by the Tea Plantation in Yaan to see the many tea gardens and learn the history of Tea-Horse Road for around 1-2 hours. After lunch we will continue drive back to Chengdu. Tour ends.