How to plan your tour inside Jiuzhaigou National Park
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Jiuzhaigou National Park locates in the northwest of Sichuan province,China.It is famous for breath-taking multi-color lakes and highland waterfalls with the lush foliage as the backdrop .Jiuzhaigou was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Nature Heritage Site in 1992
Entrance fee
★ 1st April-15th Nov:220rmb
★ 16th Nov-31st March:80rmb,tourists can apply the free ticket on the second day
★ Sightseeing bus:90rmb/person
What’s the major attractions in Jiuzhaigou National Park
Jiuzhaigou is composed of three valleys- Rize Valley,Zazhawa Valley,Shuzheng Valley which arranged in a Y shape. These three valleys meet at the Nuorilang Central Bus Station
How many days do travellers need to visit Jiuzhaigou?
Mostly,especially the group tourists,only have 1 day.It’s possible to see the highlights ,however,if travellers have more time,WestChinaGo highly recommend you to spend 2 full days to savor the nature beauty rather than “come&go”
- 1.Base on cost saving,travellers can stay overnight inside Jiuzhaigou,there are several Tibetan family run homestay offer basic accommodation and meals.In this way,you do not need to pay the entrance ticket again.
- 2.Literally,it’s not allowed to stay inside Jiuzhaigou,if the staff find out,you still have to pay for the entrance ticket and bus ticket.
[jiuzhaigouhotel]
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JiuZhaiGou Tour Video
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Get a tourist map at the Tourist Center before entery ,you will get a clear idea,and find out the sightseeing routes are not so complicated.For regular tourists,just remember
- 1.Visit Rize Valley,take the wooden trail which opposite the main bus road.
- 2.Visit Zechawa Valley,take bus.
- 3.Visit Shuzheng Valley,take the wooden trail along the main bus road.As the trail by the mountain is very bushy,will block the view.
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How to avoid the crowd
Jiuzhaigou,as the most popular destination among domestic tourists,avoid crowds is not easy.
However,try to avoid the busy season,such as public holiday(especially national day holiday from 1st Oct-7th Oct),weekends,you may enjoy a relatively peaceful Jiuzhaigou.
Try to avoid crwods In each valley,according to our experience,we find out:
Rize Valley:Less people in the afternoon,walk from the bottom(Mirror Lake or Pearl Shoal )to the upper(Panda Lake or Arrow Bamboo Lake),you may encounter less people.
Zechawa Valley:Either in the early morning or in the late afternoon,most crowded from 10am-2pm.
Shuzheng Valley:Less people in the morning,walk from the bottom(Bonsai Lake )to the upper(Rhinoceros Lake)
Tips:Most sightseeing buses will drop tourists at the upper station,tourists walk downhill,so go against,ask bus driver to stop at the bottom of Rize Valley(Mirrow Lake or Pearl Shoal)Shuzheng Valley(Bonsai Lake),you may avoid the crowds.
- Arrow Bamboo Lake-Primitive Forest:8km,not so many to see on the way.
If you want to explore the area between Swan Lake- Primitive Forest,either take bus to Primitive Forest or Swan Lakethen ,take the wooden trail. - Zechawa Valley:Take bus all the way to the top-Long Lake,then either take bus or trail to Five-Colored Pond,then take bus down to other valley.
- Nuorilang Waterfall-Rhinoceros Lake.Take bus
- Mirrow Lake-Nuorilang Waterfall,Take bus
- Do not break into closed trail.
For the detail information of each valley,please kindly check as below:
This 18km long valley start from Pearl Shoal to Primitive Forest, contains the largest number of lakes and waterfalls,definitely the highlight of Jiuzhaigou.
What to see in Rize Valley
The essence of Rize Valley is from Pearl Shoal Waterfall to Arrow Bamboo Lake.
The most attractive one is five-colored lake, whose bottom is criss-crossed by ancient fallen tree trunks.
Tip:Climb to Tiger Mouth(the path to Tiger Mouth is next to the five-colored lake bus station,if you can not find it,ask the staff on site),it offers the breath-taking parnoramic view of five-colored lake.
The way to explore Rize Valley
Take the wooden trail is the best way to savor the beauty of the highlight section of Rize Valley which is from Pearl Shoal-Arrow Bamboo Lake
The section of Primitive Forest-Swan Lake,unless you have enough time and energy,no need to walk all the way from Arrow Bamboo Lake,it’s about 8km and not much to see
Take tourist bus,get off at either primitive Forest or Swan Lake,then take the wooden trail
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Zechawa Valley
It is approximately the same length as Rize Valley(18 km) but climbs to a higher altitude (3150 m at the Long Lake). Compare with Rize Valley,there are not so many to see.However,the five-colored pond is a must-see. It is one of the smallest but has a richly colored underwater landscape with some of the brightest and clearest waters in the area.
What to see in Zechawa Valley
Long Lake,the biggest and highest lake in Jiuzhaigou and Five-Colored Pond,the smallest yet one of the most colorful and bright lake in Jiuzhaigou.
The other 2 attraction in Zachawa Valley is Upper/lower Seasonal Lakes,hat change from empty to full during each year.
The way to explore Zachawa Valley
Take the sightseeing bus all the way to the highest Long Lake,then either take bus or walk 2 km wooden trail to Five-Colored Pond.
If your time is limited, WestChinaGo suggests you to take bus .
For the Upper and Lower Seasonal Lakes,they situates along the road,travellers will see on bus.There are wooden trail to these 2 lakes,however,not so much to see on the way,better save your time and energy to other sites.
Nuorilang Central Station/Tourist Center
Nuorilang Central Station recieved its name from the widest travertine waterfall in the world-Nuorilang Waterfall.It is the transportation hub,travellers can take bus to the three valleys.
Next door is Luorilang Tourist Center,it houses the only restaurant inside Jiuzhaigou which offers Buffet Lunch.
What to see
Nuorilang Waterfall,it’s one of the major attactions in Jiuzhaigou,a must visit site.
Tip: There are 2 sightseeing platforms to view grand Nuorilang Waterfall.The one which is opposite the main road can see the parnoramic view.
The way to explore Nuorilang Central Station/Tourist Center
As there is only a attraction-Nuorilang Waterfall, if you do not eat lunch in tourist center, just get off bus at Nuorilang Central Station, behold Nuorilang Water fall, then get on bus to your next destination
Shuzheng Valley
The attractions of Zhuzheng Valley group in the section from Rhinoceros Lake to Bonsai Lake.
The way to explore Shuzheng Valley
Take bus, either get off at Rhinoceros Lake(at the top ), take the trail along the road all the way down to Baosai Lake or get off the bus at Bonsai Lake(bottom), take the wooden trail which along the main road, walk all the way up .
- 1.Climb up to Shuzheng Village To view the parnoramic view of Shuzheng Lakes.
- 2.Do not miss the Reed Marsh Lake, usually tourists only see it in bus, however the unique beauty deserve to spend more time.The best part of Reed Marsh Lake is walk the wooden trail along the main road from Hejiao Bridge- Bonsai Lake.
There is an old saying in China ”Believing everything in books is worse than having no books at all”
The above recommendation and information are base on the experience of WestCHinaGo tour guides team, for your referrence only.
