How to Plan Siguniangshan Tours

To Plan a trip to Mt. Siguniangshan one must be aware of where it is located and know what are the things to do at Mt. Siguniangshan and places of interests to cover around Mt. Siguniang. Included here are the most detailed suggestions of planning a tour to Mt. Siguniang by our experts.

Mt Siguniang has three parks/valleys to explore and each requires different entrance tickets.

Shuangqiao Valley or Shuangqiaogou, is with easy access and one can use the tourist bus within the park to avoid walking. It is a busy park of Siguniang although most people will only be using the bus and there is a boardwalk that is often quiet and not many people use it for hiking. Shuangqiao Valley has the easist walking among the 3 valleys because the terrain is flat or gradual normally one uses the bus to the end and then walk down the valley. It is also thought to be the most beautiful valley in terms of views one can get in a matter of half day's time. Shuangqiao Valley is also one of the most popular ice-climbing places in China during winter time.

Changping Valley or Changpinggou, is the valley in the middle and a valley for hiking or horse-riding. A 10-minute tourist bus ride takes visitors to Lama Temple and from there visitors do either hiking or horse-riding. It is a 28km long valley that one can choose to do hiking in a day or several days. Changping Valley requires longer walking but the terrain is only medium hard and gradual too. The further you go into the valley the more wild views you will see. The Changping to Bipeng Trek starts from Changping Valley. In terms of number of people Changping Valley can be the most quiet valleys of all once you reach beyond the 7km point.

Haizi Valley is the entrance of the famous Dafeng and Erfeng treks/climbs. One can also do day hikes or riding horse in Haizi Valley. Haizi Valley is the most wild valley of all three valleys once you pass Dajianbao, the trail split with Dafeng & Erfeng. Before Dajianbao you'll see many people and almost everyone is going to Dafeng or Erfeng but after Dajianbao the trail towards the lakes(Dahaizi and Huahaizi) is quiet and nice. Dajianbao is 7km from the entrance and one can only walk or ride a horse to get to. Day hiking is not recommended if you can not reach the 11-12km lake place for good/wild/quiet views. If you are not an experienced/fit hiker we do not recommend you Haizigou for 1 day hiking for the above reasons.

Planning

Sightseeing and Photography

If you are not keen to walk, we recommend you Shuangqiao Valley where you can use tourist bus to make stop at each photo spot and have only minimum, easy and flexible walking. And if you are also into photography and do not want to miss out anything and do not want to walk, you may consider to ride a horse in Changping and Haizi Valley to go to the good photo spots. You may combine Siguniang with other sites in western Sichuan such as Danba, Tagong, Bamei, Hailuogou as a "Circuit Tour" in 5-10 days road tour. Please read a sample itineraries here: 8-Day West Sichuan Classic Tour. Or to combine with Bipenggou, Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong 6-Day Jiuzhaigou Bipenggou Siguniang Tour

Day Hiking and Light Hiking

To do day hiking one can do in either Shuangqiao, Changping or Haizi Valley. Walking trail in Changping Valley is comparatively easier than the trail in Haizi Valley. Shuangqiao is the easiest and most flexible. You may either plan half day for Shuangqiao only, or 1 day for Shuangqiao, 1 day for Changping and 1 day for Haizi Valley. Day hiking only requires entrance ticket that you can just buy on site and no other permits. You may combine hikings in Siguniang with other good places for hiking in western Sichuan such as Danba, Tagong, Minya Konka and Kangding as a "Lodge-based Hiking Tour" in 5-10 days. Please read a sample itineraries here: Western Sichuan Adventure Hiking Tour - 9 Days. Or shorter in 6 days 6-Day Wild Sichuan Hiking Tour

Multiday Trek

For multiday trekking to Dafeng Summit, Erfeng Summit, or Changping to Bipeng Trek or any other overnight trek in Changping or Haizi Valley, a permit is necessary. This way of planning is difficult and you will need to either go to the Siguniang Outdoor Office on site to sign up and get a permit and a mandatory local guide will be asigned to you or you go with a travel company and have things arranged for you beforehand. This way of travel takes more work &time to arrange.

Please read here more details of Siguniang Trekking and Hiking including permits, planning, elevation, seasons.

If you only want to go to Siguniang, you will need a minimum of 2-3 days to see Mount Siguniang from Chengdu. It can be a weekend place since now it is only half-day's drive to get to from Chengdu and please expect lots of people especially during travel seasons. Please also be aware of the high altitude if you are doing it in a short time.

Our Suggestion

If you want to avoid crowds, don't go to Dafeng, Erfeng and avoid going to Siguniang during weekends and during the holidays in China.

If you want to have absolute quiet nature for hiking, please avoid Siguniang. Although certain parts in Siguniang still worth to hike if you are sensitive to crowds, the places worth hiking in Siguniang including Shuangqiao on the boardwalk, Changping beyond the 7km point, Haizi beyond the 7km point.