How to Plan Jiuzhaigou Trip - Visit Jiuzhai Valley and Huanglong National Park

Located in northern Sichuan of southwestern China, Jiuzhaigou Valley is about 440 km away from Chengdu (the capital of Sichuan province). Most travelers start a Jiuzhaigou Valley from Chengdu after they have an enjoyable time with cute Giant Pandas. It is also accessible to take a flight to Jiuzhaigou from Chongqing, Beijing, Xian, Hangzhou and Mianyang usually.

Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou: Both non-stop flights and long-distance bus are available to take you to beautiful Jiuzhaigou from Chengdu. Taking a flight is the most convenient way offering you an efficient and comfortable trip. Usually there are around 7 daily flights operating from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. The whole flying trip takes only about 1 hour. It is also available to take a long distance bus. The drive from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou Valley costs about 8~10 hours, but you can enjoy some natural scenery in your trip.

Jiuzhaigou Valley is a beautiful place you can visit all the year around, but June ~ next March is best. If you visit it at its most splendid time, just visit Jiuzhaigou Valley in autumn (September ~ November) when the forests take on most attractive color. The perfect hues of yellow, scarlet, golden, orange and red foliage offer a contrast with the deep blues and turquoises of the water. It is also the best time for photography. Summer and winter are also good seasons to visit Jiuzhaigou. Because of the largest amount of precipitation in summer, the rivers, lakes and waterfalls of Jiuzhaigou are replenished to offer the most stunning waterscape. In winter, you can see a different appearance of Jiuzhaigou Valley when the forest is covered with white snow. The frozen waterfall is quite amazing as well.

√ 3 Days Jiuzhaigou Winter Tour

√ 4 Days Jiuzhaigou In-depth Photography Tour

Chengdu is the best gateway to start a Jiuzhaigou tour. Apart from the convenient transfer between them, Chengdu itself is an attractive city to discover. It is most famous for its native resident – Giant Panda, but its appeal extends far beyond that. It is suggested that you spend 2 days exploring Chengdu highlights – Giant Panda, local laid-back lifestyle, unique taste of Sichuan Cuisine, traditional Sichuan Opera with Face-changing performance, etc. Moreover, you can easily reach Chengdu by taking some international flights and domestic flights and high speed trains from most big cities of China.

√ 4 Days Jiuzhaigou Private Tour from Chengdu by Private Car

√ 5 Days Classic Chengdu & Jiuzhaigou Tour

It will be a pity if you travel to Jiuzhaigou Valley without a visit to Huanglong National Park which is an unmissable park listed in World Natural Heritage sites. It is well-known for its unbelievably beautiful calcified scenery consisting of colorful calcified ponds, caves, waterfalls, streams, stones, etc. The park is only about 40 km (about 1 hour's drive) away from Jiuzhaigou-Huanglong Airport. You are suggested to take a morning flight to Jiuzhaigou-Huanglong Airport and then spend an afternoon in Huanglong before visiting Jiuzhaigou Valley. You may be awed by Huanglong's beauty first and get another delighted surprise in Jiuzhaigou Valley. The best way to enjoy Huanglong National Park is ascending by cable car and then hike down.

1 Day Jiuzhaigou Itinerary

If you want to travel Jiuzhaigou in one day, you need to take full use of the tourist bus. It's important to wake up early to avoid the long queue. At first, take a tourist bus to Long Lake and tour Zechawa Valley from north to south. After you enjoy the beautiful landscape of Nuorilang Waterfall – the symbol of Jiuzhaigou Valley, you can take a tourist bus to Swan Sea and tour Rize Valley from North to South. After that, you can travel Shuzheng Valley. It is easy to take a bus in the scenic area to save your time and energy, but don't miss Nuorilang Waterfall, Five-color Pond, Long Lake, Five-flower Lake, Panda Lake and Mirror Lake which are the highlights of the whole valley.

2 Days Jiuzhaigou Itinerary

If you want to gawk at Jiuzhaigou Valley's charming lakes land waterfalls in a slow pace or if you want a hiking, you can spend one more day hiking among the spectacular forests. In the first day, you can enjoy the beautiful lakes and waterfalls in Zechawa Valley and Shuzheng Valley. In the next day, you can see the primitive forest and waterscape in Rize Valley.

√ 3 Days Classic Jiuzhaigou Tour by Flight

√ 4 Days Enjoyable Jiuzhaigou Walking Tour

Sichuan now has 6 sites inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list which was established to safeguard the unique and irreplaceable natural and cultural treasures. In addition to Jiuzhaigou Valley and Huanglong National Park, you must want to see more World Heritage sites.

If you want to suck up the strong Buddhist culture, don't miss Leshan Giant Buddha – the largest stone Buddha World and Mount Emei – China's sacred Buddhist mountain which is believed to introduce Buddhism to China. Recognized as Culture and Nature Heritage together, Leshan Buddha and Mount Emei never fail to offer great fun no matter you are interested in natural beauty or cultural charm.

If you are interested in Taoism, just visit Qingcheng Mountain where Taoism develops. It has 36 peaks which host many temples. The whole mountain is covered with evergreen forest all year round. The nearby Dujiangyan Irrigation system is also a good place to explore China's history and ancient people's wisdom.

√ 7 Days Sichuan Discovery Tour

In the northern part of Sichuan, there are dense forests, exquisite alpine lakes, alluring prairies, twisting and turning hiking trails as well as Tibetan temples. After feasting your eyes on Jiuzhaigou Valley, you may want to see more natural beauty of Northern Sichuan. Keep driving about 4 hours northward, you will get to Ruoergai County where beautiful Roergai Grand Prairie and old Dazha Monastery are located. In Ruoergai Grand Praire, Huahu Lake has the best scenery. If you visit in summer, you can envelop yourself in the florid flowers. Don't miss Langmusi – an absolutely impressive Tibetan complex with stunning mountain backdrop. It is located in Gansu province but quite close to Ruoergai. Next, you can travel to the First Bend of Yellow River to see the mighty Yellow River winding through the flat green meadows.

After your northern Sichuan exploration, it's available to travel back to Jiuzhaigou-Huanglong Airport to catch your flight to next station, or start your another journey in Gansu.

If it's your first trip China and don't want to miss China's premier sights, you really get a huge variety of other choices. Beijing and Xian, also two leading destinations in China, host the most awe-inspiring attractions. You can hike the Great Wall as it winds across mountain peaks, walk into the best-preserved collection of imperial buildings in Forbidden City, and decode the mystery of the life-size army of Terracotta Warriors. It's also recommended to submit to karst landscape in idyllic Guilin, or relax yourself by taking a Yangtze River Cruise or get a jaw-dropping view of Avatar World in Zhangjiajie National Park. In summary, China's scenery spans the range from alpha to omega. Check our best China tour with Jiuzhaigou Experience:

China Discovery is a leading travel agency based in Chengdu. We are specialized in offering high-quality private tour packages to all travelers who have desires to have an authentic China discovery. From the moment you have a travel plan to the moment you finish your China tour, we are always here at your service. Before your travel, you will be provided with our one-to-one consulting service as well as all itineraries-covered tickets-booking and hotels-booking. During your tour, our knowledgeable local tour guide and skilled driver will pick you up and escort you to your hotel and every attraction without any hustle of public transportation and troublesome navigation. All details will be taken care of and you just need to focus on sightseeing. All tours can be tailor-made according to your plan, time, interests and demands. Please be free to contact us to unveil your Jiuzhaigou tour.