How Many Days Do I Need to Visit Jiuzhaigou?

Jiuzhaigou National Park is one of the most amazing places to visit in Southwest China's Sichuan Province. Located on the edge of the Tibetan plateau, the valley is one of the most beautiful in China, and is well worth visiting for the spectacular views and scenery. A stunning area of deep long valleys, crystal clear lakes, picturesque waterfalls, snowy mountain peaks, and virgin forests, the Jiuzhaigou Valley is one of the most outstanding natural landscapes to explore. Normally, 1-2 days is enough to visit this beautiful setting, but you can choose how long you want to stay, based on your schedule, budget, preferences, etc. Knowing how long to stay depends on knowing more about what there is to see here, so let's take a look at how long you need for each part of the park.

One day is enough for the best highlights of Jiuzhaigou

The one-day tour of the park is enough for some people, as it gives you a good experience of the major highlights of this stunning valley. The Jiuzhaigou National Park is actually three separate valleys, the Rize Valley, the Zechawa Valley, and the Shuzheng Valley, which all come together at the Nuorilang Falls, the center of the Y-shape of the valleys. A one-day trip normally only covers a part of the park, and if you are not inclined to trek in Jiuzhaigou, you can take the tour bus around the park, getting off at the various sites that you want to see.

The stunning scenery of Jiuzhaigou National Park

The major attractions of the park include the Mirror Lake, where you can see the mountains reflected clearly in the still waters of this beautiful lake; Arrow Bamboo Lake and the Arrow Bamboo Lake Waterfall; Panda Lake and Waterfall; Primitive Forest and Swan Lake; and Five Flower Lake, all of which are parts of the Rize Valley that you do not want to miss. You should also make sure that you visit the Nuorilang Waterfall as well, since it is the widest falls in China. This can all normally be done in one morning, leaving the afternoon free for you to visit other parts of the park, such as the Zechawa Valley area.

Here, you can start from the Nuorilang Waterfalls, and take the tour bus around to Long Lake and Five Color Lake, and if it is the summer, you can visit the two seasonal lakes, upper and lower. In total, you can manage a decent visit to most of the major destinations within the park in around 7-8 hours, with some light hiking along the way.

The best way to make the most of a one-day tour of Jiuzhaigou is to include it as part of a longer tour. The ideal tour that many people opt for in this area is one that includes the Huanglong National Park; a couple of hours drive away. The two parks are often visited as one longer tour of 2-3 days, and are easy to reach by bus from Chengdu, or by taking flights direct to Jiuzhaigou Airport. Our stunning 3 Days Jiuzhaigou Valley & Huanglong National Park Local Tour is one of the most popular short tours in this region of China.

Paying a visit to Huanglong National Park is also an excellent experience for you.

Two days are more suitable for deep exploration in Jiuzhaigou

If you have the time, then two days are much better and more suited to visiting the Jiuzhaigou National Park. Not only can you spend more time inside the park, which can make it a greater experience, but you can also get to trek in some of the most beautiful places on the planet.

You can enjoy the breathtaking view in Rize Valley.

As with the one-day tour of the valleys, the first day of a two-day trip should take in the main attractions of the Rize Valley and the Zechawa Valley. You can enter the park and explore the Rize Valley first, stopping for lunch at the tourist center near the Nuorilang Falls. Then continue on through Zechawa Valley in the afternoon, before exiting at the end of the day to travel to your nearby hotel. There is no accommodation inside the park, and all visitors are required to exit at the end of the day.

The second day of this kind of longer, a 2-day trip is taken with traveling through the Shuzheng Valley, including the Mirror Lake and the Nuorilang Tourist Center as part of the day's trip. As the Nuorilang Waterfall is the center of the Y-shaped valleys, it is always a good place to start the day's sightseeing or trekking. The first part of the route around the valley takes you up to the Rhinoceros Lake and the Tiger Lake, before dropping down slightly to take in the Shuzheng Lake, with its wondrous waterfalls, and the famous Sparkle Lake.

Nuorilang Waterfall is the center of the Y-shaped valleys

From here, you can take the bus to the Sleeping Dragon Lake, and then either take the bus or hike from there to Reed Lake and the stunning Bonsai Shoal. From there, you can take the bus back to the entrance at the end of the day. Combining hiking and riding the tour bus, you can get around the Shuzheng Valley easily in one day.

Insider tips:
The only downside of the two-day tour of the park is the re-entry fees that you will need to pay. Tickets are only sold on a daily basis, and to get back in for the second day, you will need to pay the re-entry fees, which come to 220 Yuan in the peak seasons and 80 Yuan in the low seasons.

Multi-day Jiuzhaigou tour to Huanglong, Songpan and Ruoergai

If two days of exploring this amazing part of Southwest China is not enough, then we can help you to explore much more on our excellent multi-day tours of Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, Songpan, and Ruoergai. Choosing multi-day tours is a great way to explore more of the beauty of this part of the world without arranging all the travel yourself. This makes it easier to get around without the hassle of arranging tickets and transport.

One of the most popular multi-day tours is the 4-day tour from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong, which brings you from the provincial capital of Sichuan to the beauty of these two unique parks. In the Jiuzhaigou National Park, you can spend a full day exploring the beauty of this tri-valley park area, and then spend the following day touring through the beauty of the Huanglong Park. With its colorful ponds on multiple levels, flowing streams, beautiful lakes, and snow-topped mountains, Huanglong is one of the most astounding locations in Southwest China. It has even been called “A Fairy Land on Earth”, and one of the potential Wonders of the World.

Four days not enough? Then how about a five-day tour of Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong parks, with an added day for an amazing horseback ride along the Ancient Tea Horse Road from Songpan Ancient Town. The touring of the parks gives you all the scenery you can hope for and the ride along the Tea Horse Road is a stunning experience of how tea was transported from place to place in the 7th century. Starting in Songpan, a Tang Dynasty military town, you will take the small and narrow mountain road to the hills nearby, following part of the route that was once used to transport tea and horses between Sichuan and ancient Tibet.

Horse riding in Songpan Tea Horse Road

If you want to travel this amazing area for even longer, we can arrange for a 7-day tour of Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong, and including the beautiful Ruoergai Prairie, one of the most beautiful areas of natural wetlands in China. Not only do you get to experience Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong, you can also explore ancient Songpan Town, the Baishi Qiang Village, Diexi Lake, Huahu Lake, the Ruoergai Prairie, the Langmusi Temple, and many other amazing sights. As one of the best ways to tour this part of Sichuan Province, which has innumerable amazing sights all over the province, taking a guided tour of the area for a week is the easiest way to see the amazing sights this heart of Chinese cuisine has to offer.

You are able to explore the beauty of the Huahu Lake

A tour of this magnitude in southwestern China is one that will give you some amazing experiences. In the Ruoergai Prairie area, you can explore the beauty of the Huahu (flower) Lake, one of the most amazing highlights of this natural wetland area. After spending a few hours hiking around the prairie, you will head north to the awesome Langmusi Temple, divided into two parts because of the provincial border between Sichuan and Gansu cutting right through the middle of the temple.

Part of this tour also takes you to the First Bend of the famous Yellow River, a special tourist hotspot that has its own viewing decks. Where the Yellow River meets the White River, at a place known as Tangke, the river forms a massive S-shape, curving around the landscape before moving north to turn once more in the famous Great Ordos Loop.

Conclusion

For anyone wanting to visit Jiuzhaigou and the surrounding areas, there is no better place to explore the beauty of the natural wilderness in Southwest China. And how long you want to spend exploring is entirely up to you. You can spend a day or two, or if you are more inclined, as long as a week exploring the delights that this part of China has to offer.