This 2/3 Day Dafeng Summit Trek is by far the most popular way. It taks shorter time and costs less money but everyday's walking is longer and more stressful. It's chance to make a summit is lower than the 4/5 day Dafeng Trek Plan in general. Please see below details of the 2/3-days plan of Dafeng Summit Trek.
Day 01 Chengdu - mt. Siguniang
Drive to Siguniang in half day's time.
Overnight hotel 3100m
Day 02 Mount Siguniang Town – Dafeng Base Camp Hiking
First day’s trekking to Dafeng base camp. Start by 8.30 in the morning and register at local office first. After worth start walking by a small ascent to the entrance. The trail is total horse trail all the way to Base Camp. The walking is on sometimes gradual and sometime a little steep trails. By the first hour you will be able to see the full view of Mount Siguniang and her sister mountains at its south ridge. After this you will be walking further into the Haizi Valley. Lunch at around Dajianbao and then continue walk to Base Camp. It can get quite windy and elevation rises quickly to around 4300 meters.
Overnight in hut or camping
Trekking: 14km/7-8 hours
Day 03 Dafeng Base Camp – Dafeng Summit – Mount Siguniang Town - Chengdu
Wake up in early morning and have breakfast, start on a rugged yet good trail, walk for 3.5km to reach the summit and come back to Dafeng Base camp. The trail is steep at some sections but it has a simple handrail for the final approach that you can hold on to. The summit has the most stunning views of Mount Siguniang probably. It can be very windy by the summit of Dafeng so you need to be careful while taking photos there. It is not a very big place by the summit. After photo time go back to base camp. Walking down may be also stressful. After arrive at Dafeng Base Camp, take a short rest, then trek back to Rilong.
Trekking 20km/ 10 hours
This is the available/standard way of doing Dafeng Summit although some people do put a day or two prior to this for some acclimating walking elsewhere for acclimating. Please note even though this is a very popular way of doing Dafeng Summit Trek it is still very hard: ascending 2000 meters and descending 2000 meters and covering a total of 32km in 2 days' time.
As a company we do not provide this pace of trek as a service. It gains too quickly on altitude and risk of AMS is high. If you are well-exprienced mountain traveler and know what you are doing then it's not problem, you can even do it faster than 2 days as some of our guides have done. But if you don't do high altitude mountain travel a lot then please re-consider this way of planning.
We strongly recommend you to acclimate elsewhere before signing up on any such tour. Places to acclimate includes: nearby Balangshan that is around 3800m, or inside Changping Valley at around 3800m, or end of Shuangqiao Valley by around 3800m, or drive up Jiajin Road Pass at 4200m. However if you wish to have one night sleep higher than Rilong (Siguniangshan Town by 3100m) you may consider to drive up Balang and camp by 3800m or drive further to Jiesi Valley near Lixian road and camp by around 3900m, or Jiajin Pass at 4200m, so you have one night sleep high than Rilong (3100m) and lower than Dafeng BC (4300m). A plan will then look like the follows:
Day 01 Chengdu - Siguniang
Drive from Chengdu and en route spend at least 4 hours time by the elevation of 3800m at Balangshan Tunnel before drive down to hotel. Overnight Rilong by 3100m.
Day 02 Shuangqiao or Changping acclimating Hike
Today is acclimating hiking day in either Shuangqiao or Changping by 3800m. Overnight camping at 3800m by near Balang Road Pass or 3900m by Jieji Valley, or Jiajin Road Pass 4200m.
Day 03 Rilong – Dafeng Base Camp
(You may add on another day of aclcimating before going up to BC)Today you will walk from Rilong at 3100 meters to Dafeng Base Camp at 4300 meters above sea level. The walking is very strenuous. It is all the way going up wards. The elevation at Dafeng Base Camp is about 4300 meters. Be careful of warm keeping and dehydration as this is the critical day before your summit. Overnight shared-hut/mess tent at base camp at 4300m.
Day 04 Dafeng Base Camp – Dafeng Summit – Rilong
Today you will start early in the morning before 4 am to try catching the sunrise by the summit of Dafeng. It normally takes about 4-5 hours to reach the summit. If the weather is good, you will have wonderful views of the peaks of Mount Siguniang. Dafeng is measured as 5000 meters’ tall and it is one of the four sisters of Siguniang. Walk back to your base camp and back to Rilong. Total walking 20km and 10 to 12 hours.
Day 05 Siguniang - Chengdu
Drive back to Chengdu.
