4-Day Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong National Parks Private Tour from Chengdu

Attractions: Enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way
Meal: Not Included
Hotel: Overnight in Jiuzhaigou

Your private guide and driver pick you up early at your Chengdu hotel to start the 7-hour drive to Jiuzhaigou. As you travel by private car along the expressway, watch the landscape change from plains to mountains, passing by rural wilderness, farmland, the Min Jiang River Valley, and the ruins of the devastating 2008 earthquake around Wenchuan. Stop for lunch at a local restaurant in Mao County (Maoxian), an area where ethnic minorities such as Qiang and Tibetans make up the majority of the population. Continue through Songpan, and arrive in the early evening in Jiuzhaigou, where you’ll have dinner at a local restaurant before retiring to your hotel.

Attractions: Jiuzhaigou Natural Reserve
Meal: Not Included
Hotel: Overnight in Jiuzhaigou

Today, visit UNESCO World Heritage-listed Jiuzhaigou. Renowned for its turquoise-blue lakes, thundering waterfalls, and lushly forested mountains, this spectacular wilderness spreads across 278 square miles (720 sq km) on the steps of the Tibetan Himalayan Plateau. With your guide, board a hop-on hop-off bus in the park, and ride up to the highest point of Zeru Valley. Take a leisurely walk along a forest trail to see Tibetan villages, Pearl Shoals Waterfall, and lakes, including Mirror Lake, Arrow Bamboo Lake, and Panda Lake. Then return by bus to the visitor center near Nuorilang Waterfalls, and have a boxed lunch at the dining hall. Afterward, hop back on the bus to tour Shuzheng Valley and see some of its 40 lakes, including Long Lake and Five-Coloured Pool. After exploring this magnificent park, return to town and have dinner at a local restaurant. Optional to attend a Tibetan and Qiang dance performance (at own expense) or simply rest or explore on your own.

Attractions: Huanglong Scenic Valley, Songpan County
Meal: Not Included
Hotel: Overnight in Songpan 

In the morning, leave Jiuzhaigou, and head to Huanglong National Park. Take a 10-minute cable car ride to the top of the valley (there may be a wait, depending on crowds), where you can admire the views from an altitude of 11,483 feet (3,500 meters) before hiking down a well-maintained trail, a walk that takes three to four hours. Along the way, pass by Huanglong Temple — the park’s star attraction — a Ming-era Buddhist temple set amid dozens of travertine terraces with milky blue-and-gold-colored pools. You’ll also walk next to bubbling streams, waterfalls and natural landmarks like Golden Sand, an expanse of travertine deposits that resembles a beach.

Next, make the short drive to Songpan, where you’ll have a late lunch, and then tour the old town, once an important trading post on the Tea Horse Road (a historic trade route between China and Tibet). Founded during the Tang dynasty and rebuilt during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Songpan features massive stone gates and walls that protect the old town. At the end of the day, relax over dinner at a local restaurant and spend the evening at your leisure.

Attractions: Diexi Lake
Meal: Not Included
Hotel: No

Depart from Songpan in the morning to begin the 5-hour drive back to Chengdu. Along the way you’ll stop at Diexi Lake, which formed when landslides caused by the 1933 earthquake blocked the Min Jiang River. The flooding destroyed the town of Diexi, submerging it underwater. After a short visit to the lake, continue the drive, stopping for lunch in Wenchuan County. Upon arrival in Chengdu in the afternoon, your guide drops you off at your hotel or the Chengdu airport to end your 4-day tour.