Sichuan Adventure Tour with Classic Wild Destinations - 8 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.

Today, we will go to visit two sacred Buddhist places which are also great place to get amazing both visual and heart touching. Firstly, drive about 2 hours to Leshan city from your hotel in Chengdu to see the famous Giant Buddha. Sculptured on the cliff facing River, Leshan Giant Buddha is 71 meters high, and has sit here for more than one thousand years. You will walk the plank road built on cliff to get close observation of the Buddha to see the huge statue in a very close range.

After about 2 hours' visit by the Buddha park we will set out and contine drive about for around 40 minutes to next Buddhist kingdom – Emeishan. Take a short visit to Baoguosi Temple which is one of most influential Buddhist temple of Emeishan located by the base of the mountain. Afterwards go check in to your hotel and relax.

Driving 3h, visiting 3h, easy pace

Overnight hotel by 600m

Today is a full day visiting on Emeishan(Mt. Emei). Emeishan plays a very important role in Chinese Buddhism, which makes it one of “Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China.”(Another three are Wutaishan, Putuoshan, Jiuhuangshan). Emeishan, together with Leshan Giant Buddha, were listed as UNESCO Natural and Cultural Heritage Site in 1996. Emeishan is also a very big place and will need to take different sorts of transfers to get around. In the morning we will first take sightseeing bus to the upper station – Leidongping where we will need to do a necessary walking of 1.5km to get to the Jieyingting Cableway Station where we will take cableways to the top of Emeishan – Golden Summit. The experience on the Golden Summit is fabulous – sparkling golden Buddha statue that is 48 meters tall, grandiose temples, endless stretching cloud sea, even some big mountains in the far distance are visible.

After the visit around the golden summit we will take sightseeing bus to the middle range of the mountain and do a little walking to Wannian Temple. Wannian is one of the main temples in Mount Emei and itself has great significance in Emeishan. The temple was built in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and was originally called Puxian Temple; it was rebuilt by Zen Master Huitong in the Tang Dynasty and renamed Baishui Temple; In Song Dynasty, it was renamed Baishui temple. After the vist we will do some more walking down to the base of Emei by Wuxiangang and then transfer to our hotel. If time allows we may have a detour to see the monkeys before coming out.

Driving 1+1h, Medium pace

Overnight hotel by 600m

Start from hotel in Emei we will drive out first to Yaan for 2 hours to Shangli Old Villag, or Shangli Old Town. It used to be an important town on the Ancient Tea-Horse Road. During the Long March, the Red Army once stationed in the town and left many slogans carvings on the stones. Shangli Ancient Town is surrounded by beautiful mountains and river. Here you can see not only century-old streets, wood resident house, towers, ancient archways, but also enjoy beautiful surrounding of green mountain and tranquil rivers. In the summer and autumn days, there are many art students come to the town to study and paint the bridges and waterside scenes. We will spend around 1 hour visit Shangli and then have lunch before continue drive westwards into the bigger mountains via Ya’an-Kangding Express way to the base of Hailuogou Glacier Park. The drive in the afternoon takes around 3 hours. After arrival we will check in hotel first and you are free to explore the small town Moxi on your own if time allows. Except the small church and a small museum of Red Army during Long March time you can also choose to enjoy a hot spring by the evening.

Driving 5h, visiting 1+1h, easy pace

Overnight hotel by 1600m

Start by 8am and 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 no late than 4:00pm in the afternoon and then drive to Kangding. En route we will make a stop by Yajiageng Road Pass at 3900m to have a look of the Lamoshe Mountains.

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 for next days supplies. Have good rest as the next days we will go higher on altitude.

Visiting 6-7h, driving 2h, easy pace

Overnight hotel by 2600m

In the morning start by a drive from your hotel in Kangding for about 2.5 hours and arrive in Tagong. On the drive way we will make a stop by around 4300m by Zheduo/Yala Road Pass to take a short walk to better acclimate to the altitude slowly. The views change while we drive to Tagong Grassland. Landscape is different in Tagong as in Kangding. Here in Tagong we will see nomads on rolling grassland with many yaks and tents. Tagong means "a place favoured by Buddha". After arrive in Tagong Grassland we will start to its best things. Lead accross the seemingly unending grassland dotted with Yaks, horses and local Tibetans we start by visit the village of Anigongma. We will see Snow-capped high mountains add a beautiful back drop to the meadows far below. We will visit working monasteries and nunnery and experience their way of life through talking to the monks with your guide as interpreter. Afterwards we will drive to the town of Tagong and visit a special Buddhist temple Tagong Monastery. Tagong Monastery is a 1200-year old monastery in Kham, one of the oldest monasteries around here. Learn the history and culture about the monastery through your guide. Afterwards to we will have lunch and then continue on drive to Danba.

After around 40 minutes out of Tagong we will arrive Huiyuan Temple. Huiyuan Temple bears historical significance in traditional Tibet. It held shelter for the 7th Dalai Lama, Kasang Gyatso when Gelugpa was almost overthrown by other parties in Tibet. By then the temple was refurnished and expanded backed by Qing Dynasty. Another significant event is that the 11th Dalai Lama was born here. The temple now houses many valuable cultural relics. Out visit will go to the original temple refurnished by manchurian time. The visit takes around 0.5 hour total. Afterwards we will continue drive to Danba and en route we will pass by Mt. Yala Photo Stop where we will make a short stop to take photos of the beautiful Mt. Yala, a 5820-m mountain covered in snow on top all year round.

After arrive in Zhonglu in Danba we will first check in to hotel and then go to explore the beautiful village of Zhonglu. We will make sure to arrive Zhonglu no late than 4.30pm in order to catch the best moment of before sunset to witness the best of Zhonglu. Zhonglu is a more authentic Tibetan village and less spoiled by mass tourism in Danba. 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. We will tour the Zhonglu to Photo Spot No. 3, the best photo spot to take photos of Zhonglu before we come back to hotel to use dinner and rest. Please note Zhonglu is a real village with no shops, restaurants around. For supplies such as snacks, drinking water or other things we better take care of that before hand. In Zhonglu we just enojy the quiet country time.

Visiting 2+2h, driving 2.5h+2.5h. Medium Pace

Overnight hotel by 2300m

In the morning we will start to drive out after breakfast. You are free to walk around the village to see more when it's in its morning light before we leave. Zhonglu is a very authentic village with friendly people. Today we will drive for around 3 hours to Siguniang in the river gorge.

After lunch we will have the full afternoon visit Shuangqiao Valley of Siguniang. First we will start our visit by a bus ride to the end of valley and start the tour. 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 can either use bus to make stops along the valley as other visitors do or we can walk on the less-walked boardwalk along the river and enjoy some quiet time in nature. We will tour down the valley following the river and make 4-5 stops total. If by walking then we recommend to walk the first 3-4 stops total 8-12km where the main views of Shuangqiao are located. The walking will be on well-paved boardwalk on flat terrain with no steep part. Shuangqiaogou Valley is a zigzagged, deep and quiet and the longest valley stretching over 35km. We'll see 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 for acclimating as it is the first day of this trip.

Visiting 4-5h, driving 3h. Medium Pace

Overnight hotel by 3100m

Today we will be on our way back to Chengdu. We will drive for around 2-3 hours from Siguniang via Balangshan where we will have stunning views of the Daxuetang Mountains and possibly sea of cloud below the roads. We shall have multiple chances to make stops along the drive for the good scenery and take photos. Then we will arrive Wolong Panda Base and go visit the pandas. Recommend to start early before 8am today so to have catch the pandas in their most active time between 10am and 11am in the morning time.

Wolong Panda Base is one of the CCRCGP (China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Pandas) panda bases in China. It is one of the 5 panda bases in/near the city of Chengdu. Wolong Panda Base is the only panda base that is located in an actual panda reserve that its environment and climate are the closest to the natural habitat of pandas that live in the wild nature. Wolong Panda Base is open to the public all year round. It has a total number of 50 to 60 pandas.

After visit the pandas we will then have a late lunch before driving to Dujiangyan Park. Dujangyan Irrigation System protect Chengdu city from flooding Minjiang River. During the low-water season, about 60% of water of the Minjiang River is brought into the inner river for irrigation, while 40% of the water drawn into the outside river. The whole project consists of three parts, namely Yuzui, Feishayan and Baopingkou, which interact with each other perfectly to form an effective water conservancy project. Yuzui, literally means the mouth of a fish in Chinese, is a watershed dividing the river into the parts: inner river and outside river. It is like a big fish lying in the Minjiang River. Feishayan, the second part of the project, is a spillway that diverts the sand and stones of the inner river in to the outer river. Baopingkou, literally means a neck of a bottle, is used to bring water into the inner river from Minjiang.

After the visit, check in to hotels in Dujiangyan and feel free to walk around the old town of Guanxian and the newly famous place "Devil's Blue Tear" and the Panda Selfie Statue at Yangtianwo by the old town of Dujiangyan.

Driving 3h, visiting 3+3h, Medium pace

Overnight hotel by 600m

In the morning we will first drive out from hotel and go visit Zhongshuge Bookstore. Zhongshuge is a bookstore with unique design of its mirror ceiling that reflects the lights, providing a very surreal space within the store. It was known as “the most beautiful bookstore of China”. Zhongshuge is located in Rongchuang or Dujiangyan and has become a popular place to visit even among international visitors. Most people come here to take photos. It feels like a forest of books in an ethereal space that you may feel getting lost inside even though it’s not a very big bookstore.

Afterwards we will then drive to Mt. Qingcheng (or Qingchengshan). Qingchengshan is one of the ancient cradles of Taoist in China. It is also an intriguing scenic spot, which is covered by luxuriant and verdant trees. It is praised as ‘the most peaceful and secluded mountain under heaven’ for its evergreen scenery. And the name ‘Qingcheng’ means a town covered with evergreen forest in Chinese. There are numerous Taoism temples and sites along the paths to the peak of the anterior Mt, Qingcheg. At the foot of mountain, Jianfu Temple is a well-preserved Taoism temple from the Tang Dynasty. Tianshi Cave, located halfway up the mountain, is the temple and school of Zhang Daolin, a famous Taoist master who taught here and contributed greatly to spreading Taoism in China. Sangqing Temple, at the peak of Qingcheng Mountain, was originally established in the Jin Dynasty, while the current temple buildings are Qing Dynasty constructions. Visit to Qingcheng will involve inevitable walking of total 3km+3km walking on stairs. If you are not suited for walking please avoid visiting this place and change to Jiezi Old Town visit instead.

After the visit, we will then drive back to Chengdu. Normally we should arrive back to Chengdu by around 4-5pm. Tour ends.

Driving 2h, visiting 1+4h, Medium pace