Labahe Park Travel Guide

Labahe (Laba River) Scenic Area is a national forest park and nature reserve located in Yaan of Sichuan. It is good place to see sub-tropical forests and wildlife in Sichuan. Labahe is a very good place to watch birds and one of the best locations in China to see Red pandas in certain seasons. Photography lovers also consider this place being a wonderful autumn color scenery place in Sichuan.

How to Get To Labahe

Erlang Mountain Labahe River Tourist Attraction is located in Tianquan County, Ya'an City, Sichuan Province, with Kangding and Luding in the west, Baoxing in the north and Chengdu 180 kilometers in the east. By driving it takes around 3.5hours to get to. Labahe Park is located deep inside the mountains of Erlangshan (in Qionglai Range). There are no public bus/train available to Labahe. You are recommended to hire a car from Chengdu for convenience.

Travel Season & Planning

In spring(Apr-May), all kinds of rhododendrons bloom, and Chinese pigeon flowers show their branches; in summer, you can relax in the summer and feel the fragrance of birds and flowers; in autumn, the red leaves are flowing, the mountains are colorful, and the forests are all dyed; in winter, it's all covered in snow.

Birds are active in May and June. Chinese Monal possible in all seasons.

Red Pandas are easier to see in September and October.

Golden Monkeys possible in all seasons.

Please note there are 2 waves of tourists in Labahe. For animal/bird lovers you may want to avoid these periods of tourist waves if possible. First wave is by July-August during summer school vacation when lots of families, school students groups will be visiting Labahe. The second wave is in October from the 1st week holiday til the end of Oct when the mountains will be colorful due to change of color in autumn. Although most October visitors don’t stay inside the park.

Highlights

There are two main parts of the park in Labage, the lower valley along the river by the east where the hotels are located, the other is the north part that involves using tourist bus and cable cars to visit. The lower part in the river valley is at the elevation between 1900m and 2100m. The north part is between 2000m and 3700m. The road (for tourist bus) goes to around 2700m and the cable car goes to 3500m and another 200m boardwalk after cable car can get you to the highest part of Labahe.

The forest coverage rate of Labahe is 84.6%, and it has the reputation of "natural oxygen bar". It is mainly composed of evergreen tree species such as fir, hemlock, Tianshi chestnut, spruce, and Emei fir. The park has ancient geology and peculiar topography. It has a characteristic ecological environment of southern subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest. It maintains a good original style, complete distribution of plants, harmonious and ancient flora and fauna. There are many nationally protected species in the scenic area. It is known that there are more than 1,500 species of vascular plants in 68 families, 380 genera, and 206 species of vertebrates in the park. It belongs to the national key protected rare tree species including Davidia involucrata (national first level), water green tree, Lianxiang tree, nanmu, ginkgo and other 18 species. Animals are the national first and second level protected animals include giant panda (national treasure), takin, golden snub-nose monkeys, leopard, green-tailed red pheasant, Chinese Monal, red-bellied horned pheasant, red pandas, forest musk deer, macaque, mandarin duck, etc.

Red Pandas: Labahe is one of the best places to see Red Pandas in China. The best seasons to see Red Pandas is from September to October(sometimes from August) when the bush berries become ripe and red pandas go searching the berries on the ground and it’s very easy to see one even from the cable cars. Best locations to see red pandas in Labahe is by around/above cable car lower station at the elevation of around 2700m.

Chinese Monal: Chinese Monal is one of the most beautiful unique birds in China and are possible to be spotted in any seasons. The location to see Chinese Monal is at cable car upper station at around 3500m. Some seasons the monals wonder down to the boardwalk and you may see them in the distance of meters usually in the morning before 10am.

Golden Snub-nose Monkeys: Golden monkeys are possible to be seen by around lower cable car station in Labahe. They usually move in groups and have been seen in different seasons.

Tickets Information:

Entrance Ticket: CNY55 per person;

Tourist Bus:CNY35 per person

Cable Car:CNY50 per person

Recommended time to Spend:4 hours to 2 days

Business Hour:08:00-18:00

Tourist Line: 0835-5995555, 0835-5995999

Staying inside Labahe

Staying inside the park is recommended if you wish to watch the animals/birds. There are 2 hotels available inside the park of Labahe: Luming Hotel, Blue Crystal Hotel. These hotels can take foreigners.

Travel Tips

1, Early morning and late afternoon are good timing for animal/bird watching, you are recommended to stay night/nights inside the park. There are 2 hotels to choose inside the park.

2, You are also recommended to hire a car to go with you since public transport is not possible to get to Labahe.

3, The cable car usually starts after 8am but can operate early under request if group size over 2 people.