By air
Jiuzhai Huanglong (JZH), ~1.5 h by road
East Asia · China
Jiuzhaigou, China
Turquoise lakes and terraced waterfalls
Getting there
Best time to visit
September to October — autumn colour
Don't miss
Five Flower Lake
Nuorilang Falls
Mirror Lake
Pearl Shoal
Things to do
Boardwalks between the lakes
Tibetan villages in the valley
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Warm layers (it is high altitude)
A quieter corner
Long Lake, the park's highest and often the quietest
Questions travellers ask
When is Jiuzhaigou at its most colourful?
September to October, for the autumn colour.
Where do I fly into for Jiuzhaigou?
Jiuzhai Huanglong (JZH), then it's about 1.5 hours by road.
What clothes do I need for Jiuzhaigou?
Warm layers, as it is high altitude. While you're there, try Tibetan butter tea and yak dishes.
Where can I find a quieter lake in Jiuzhaigou?
Long Lake, the park's highest, is often the quietest.
About Jiuzhaigou
- Mountains
- Lakeside
Where it is
Jiuzhaigou is a valley system in the Min Mountains of northern Sichuan Province, China, on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau in the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, several hours north of Chengdu.
History
The valley takes its name, Nine Villages Valley, from the Tibetan villages along it, and it was little known beyond the region until a scientific survey in 1975, which led to the end of logging in the valley. It became a nature reserve in 1980 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, and it reopened in stages after an earthquake damaged parts of the park in 2017.
People
The valley's villagers are Tibetans, who speak a local Tibetan dialect and Mandarin and keep Buddhist and Bon traditions, with prayer flags, mani stones and stupas along the paths. Families once farmed and herded yaks here, and many now work in the park or run guesthouses.
Known for
- Five Flower Lake
- Nuorilang Falls and Pearl Shoal
- Mirror Lake's reflections
- Autumn colours in the forests
- Tibetan villages and prayer flags
Did you know?
Jiuzhaigou's lakes owe their turquoise and blue colours to very clear water rich in dissolved calcium carbonate, which also builds the travertine dams and terraces between them.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.