8 Days Hailuogou Glacier Tour

Arrive in Chengdu. Met at the airport. Visit Wuhou temple, the memorial shrine to Zhugeliang- the Prime Minister and Liubei the King of Shu kingdom.

After breakfast at your hotel, your guide will meet you in the lobby to begin your Western Sichuan tour. Your first stop will be at the Hailuogou Glacier. We’ll depart from Chengdu early in the morning via the Chengdu - Ya'an expressway and Mt. Erlang Tunnel while enjoying the scenery along the Dadu River. We will arrive at the town of Moxi late in the afternoon, where we will spend the night.

This morning we will take the sightseeing bus to the Hailuogou Scenic area where we will trek through the virgin forest to the sightseeing spot to see the spectacular view of the icefall. After visiting Hailuogou, we will drive on to Xinduqiao where we will spend the night.

Today we will have a long (8 hours) but scenic drive from Xinduqiao to Daocheng via Litang. In the morning we will drive through the Gao'ersi Pass (elevation 4410 meters) to Yading County, where we will encounter two more high passes, the Jianziwan and Kazila passes with their elevations of around 4700 meters. There will be some spectacular scenery as we go through these passes with deep valleys, snow-capped mountains and pastures dotted with countless sheep and yaks. We will stop for lunch at Litang. In the late afternoon we will arrive in Daocheng, with its fertile soil and Tibetan culture. It’s a nice place to stop and relax with a bath in the hot spring and a local Tibetan dance show before we move on to Yading in the morning.

Today will feature a pleasant drive to the Yading Nature Reserve through Daocheng - Riwa (Shangri-la) Village. The countryside scenery along the way is charming and the road is flat and well maintained. Once we have arrived at Yading, we can ride a horse to visit and explore the Chonggu Temple before continuing on foot (or on horseback if you prefer) up to the Drolma-la Tso (Pearl Lake) for fantastic views of the holy mountain peak of Xiannairi.

This morning we will arise early to watch the sunrise over the Chonggu Temple, and then trek on foot for about 3 hours (or take a local electric car) to the Luorong Pasture, which is where the locals worship the three holy mountain peaks of Xiannairi, Yangmaiyong and Xialuoduojie. If you like, we can also continue your trip on up to Milk Lake and Five Color Lake on horseback. Late in the afternoon we will return to Yading Village and then drive back to Daocheng to spend the night.

After breakfast, we will drive on to Kangding, passing through Litang, Yajiang and Xinduqiao. We will spend the night in Kangding, the capital city of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

In the morning we will depart Kangding to return to Chengdu, driving through breathtaking scenery as we conclude your trip. Along the way we will be able to see the largest ancient glacier site of the Qingzang Plateau at the Haizi Natural Reserve.