4 Days Daocheng Yading Classic Hiking Tour from Chengdu (by Flight)
Best Exploration of Last Pure Land on Earth
Best Exploration of Last Pure Land on Earth
Considering a nature trip out of box to seek the most undisturbed landscape?
Daocheng Yading, world famous for being highly treated as the “Soul of Shangri-La” after the publication of its unbelievable photos by Joseph Rock, is dreamed by countless nature lovers to have a personal admiration of its legendary wonderful views hidden in the alpine area of Southern Sichuan.
This 4 days Daocheng Yading Classic Hiking Tour takes you to achieve all your imagination of the “Last Pure Land on Our Blue Planet” in the most classic way by riding bus and horse to save your energy. You will spend 2 wonderful days exploring of Yading Nature Reserve to marvel at the three elegant sacred snow mountains (Xiannairi, Yangmaiyong and Xianuoduoji), fabulous clear Milk Lake, Five Color Lake and Pearl Lake, and have more satisfying immersion into the idyllic oil painting with grazing cattle, dancing grassland, varicolored forests, historic temples, chanting streams, and so on! Besides, you will not miss the old Benbo Temple and more landscapes on the way to complete your first Daocheng Yading close-up!
Day 1 Chengdu to Daocheng Yading
Fly from Chengdu to Daocheng Yading & Hotel Check in
Today, your guide and driver will meet you at your hotel and then escort you to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport to catch the flight to Daocheng Yading, which needs only 1 hour. After your arrival, you will be welcomed by your local guide and driver at the arrival hall of Daocheng Yading Airport (4,411m) and then sent to your hotel at Shangri-La Town (2,950m). The rest of the day is on your own to discover Daocheng Yading and the surrounding. Have a good rest for the following hiking experience!
On the way from Daocheng Yading Airport to Shangri-La Town, you will go to visit Benbo Monastery (3,940m) to have a close look at the striking claret-red Kagyu Buddhist temple cluster of over 900 years old, learn the interesting story of its establishment and the creator, and feel the sincere Buddhist pursuit and persistence of local Lamas.
Tips: Since the altitude of Daocheng Yading area is mainly over 3,000 meters, you are highly suggested not do strenuous exercise to release or avoid altitude sickness.
Road to Shangri-la Town from Daocheng Yading Airport
Day 2 Daocheng Yading (B)
Yading Nature Reserve (Luorong Pasture - Milk Lake - Five Color Lake)
After an early breakfast, start your exploration of Daocheng Yading Nature Reserve, the Last Pure Land on Earth first found by Joseph Rock in 1928 and then be widely treated as the “Soul of Shangri-La” with extremely dreaming wonderland.
Take the sightseeing bus from the tourist center to Zhaguanbeng for about 1-1.5 hours and enjoy the 2-2.5 hours’ hike to Luorong Pasture (4,150m) via Chonggu Monastery (3,900m) (you can also choose to walk 20 minute to Chonggu Monastery and take the 0.5 hour battery car to Luorong Pasture if you want to save energy). Enjoy your relaxing roam at the idyllic pasture with those carefree grazing cattle and goats, layers of multicolored dense alpine forest, clear winding stream, etc. backed by the three holy snow mountains, namely Xiannairi (Mount Chianrezig), Yangmaiyong (Mount Jambeyang) and Xianuoduoji (Mount Chanadorje). You will appreciate the most beautiful appearance of Xianuoduoji snow mountain like a powerful man!
Next, take the challenging 5 km’s hike for 3-3.5 hours up to the fabulous Milk Lake (4,600m) (horse riding is available to Milk Lake and needs extra payment) and marvel at the unbelievable charm of such a holy lake like a precious blue gem that even can move one to drop tears. Continue to walk another 0.5 hour to visit Five Color Lake (4,500m) 0.3 km away to savor the impressive sightseeing with beautiful snow rock mountain in white, grey, silver and chocolate, blue and green water, various alpine plantations, clear sky backdrop, etc. particularly like an world-class oil painting.
After the visiting, walk down and take the car and bus back to the entrance. And our guide and driver will send you back to your hotel at Shangri-La Town. Have a good rest!
Day 3 Daocheng Yading (B)
Yading Nature Reserve (Chonggu Monastery - Chonggu Meadow - Pearl Lake - Poplar Forest)
Today after breakfast, go to Chonggu Monastery as the same way on Day 2 by sightseeing bus and hike. Have a stop at the temple to admire the sacred Gelug Buddhist temple architecture in white, red, yellow and black and learn the interesting story about the temple and Joseph Rock’s stop by. From such unbeatable location, you will easily take the excellent photo of the brilliant temple and the three pure white holy snow mountains. After some short walk, embrace the lovely Chonggu Meadow (4,020m) that can be paralleled with the fairyland on earth. Stroll on the vast grassland like a thick and soft carpet in yellow and green in each season. Play along the particularly appealing transparent chanting river with clearly visible little stones like countless grains of gold sank to the bottom. Do not miss the best angle to admire the Xianuoduoji snow mountain like a powerful man.
Then, continue to hike for 30 minutes to visit Pearl Lake (4,120m) that is super fascinating to admire the picturesque landscape of surrounding snow peaks, green and orange dense forest, iridescent prayer flags, and their dazzling reflection in the shimmering clear lake. Also, it is the best location to admire the holy Xiannairi snow mountain.
After that, go back and be transferred to Bang River to appreciate the ten thousand acre of poplar forest (3,740m) from the best location. The wide spread of poplar trees are so charming in pure green in spring and summer and orange and golden in autumn under the frequent azure sky in Daocheng.
After the visiting, our guide and driver will send you to your hotel in Daocheng County (3,700m) and help you check in. Have a good rest!
Day 4 Daocheng Yading Departure (B)
Fly off Daocheng Yading
After breakfast, your local guide and driver will send you to Daocheng Yading Airport for your flight to Chengdu or other destinations. Tour ends.
Departure Idea: Daocheng Yading Airport has direct flights to Chengdu, Chongqing and Xian, and very few connecting flights to Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Kunming.
1. This price is for one person, based on a group of 2 adults sharing one standard double-bed room in 4-star hotel
and traveling with our private tour in low seasons.
2. This price is subject to change according your
traveling season, group size, hotel class, change of activities in your itinerary and possible fluctuation of
currency exchange rate. If you want a lower price, you can get more people to join you, or use economy class hotels.
3. This price is only valid to March 31, 2025.
4. Reference exchange rate of USD 1=RMB 7.00. The final quote is based on current exchange rate. It may change
according to the currency fluctuation, while the RMB quotation will be remained the same.
Hi dear Vivien,
our journey is about to end. We are on our way to Guilin airport. It has been an awesome trip indeed. Each destination was well chosen and everything went smoothly. I am super happy for my sister and me to be able to experience such a wonderful travel through the most stunning landscapes in China. Thank you for the perfect organization. And thank you for the nice gift we got in Guilin. Really appreciate it.
My sister with her fan. We also got a beautiful stamp and ink. Thank you very much!
Francesca
Hi Vivien,
just want to record our thanks to you for your good planning, coordination and arrangement for our recent holidays to Dali, Lijiang and Xianggelila. The tour guides and drivers were warm and friendly and we felt safe, and enjoyed the trip very much.
All the best to you.
Janet/Richard/Claire
Hi Phoebe,
1. Yes - questions were promptly addressed to my satisfaction. Excellent service overall.
2. The local guide is knowledgeable and has good command of English. He's also patient, considerate, and takes good care of his customers.
Hee
Hi Samantha,
Sunrise was very nice and checked us in to a nice room at 8:30 am. It’s been a while since we were in Shanghai, and it is a wonderful, clean city that’s very vibrant. It has been sunny and warm the last four days.
Jordan
Dear Wing Zeng,
My family and I have now arrived safely back at home in Bangkok. We had a wonderful time on the cruise, and we would like to thank you very much for assisting us on the whole process, from booking the cabins to arranging transportation from Jingzhou to Maoping port. We are very impressed with your service.
As for your questions, here is my response:
1A: Wing Zeng always responds to our emails very promptly. At the beginning when I planned to book the cruise, Wing Zeng has been very patient to respond to all my questions about the cruise itinerary and the cabin types. I am very happy with her service.
2A: With Wing Zeng's help, our tour arrangements were very smooth. Our family travel with one senior and one small child, so we were very careful about transportation to and from the port. On the day of embarkation, Wing Zeng helped us book a van transfer directly from our hotel in Jingzhou to the port, which made the embarkation process very smooth and enjoyable.
3A: Definitely. I highly recommend your service to anyone who wants to take the Yangtze cruises.
4A: I'm very satisfied with your service. Our travel consultant is very helpful and professional.
5A: It would be nice if you could give a little warning that the water level in Chongqing might be too low around this time of year. Originally, our cruise was scheduled to end at Chongqing Chaotianmen port. But because of the low water level, we had to disembark somewhere else and took a 2-hour drive to Chaotianmen. The cruise arranges the transfer smoothly and it worked out fine in the end. But if this is something that happens usually around this time of year, it would be nice to be given a little warning beforehand.
Sira
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Road to Shangri-la Town from Daocheng Yading Airport
Yading Milk Lake (4,600m)
Yading Luorong Pasture
Yading Five Color Lake (4,500m)
Chonggu Meadow
Yading Pearl Lake & Mount Chianrezig
Yading Chonggu Monastery
Yading Poplar Forest
Administratively, Daocheng is a county in Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province. Yading is the Yading Nature Reserve in Daocheng County, which is the major tourist area with terrific landscape. Daocheng Yading is more widely known and usually refers to Yading Nature Reserve specifically in a narrow sense mostly or Daocheng County in a board sense. During your Daocheng Yading trip, we will take you to explore the core Yading Nature Reserve and discover other top highlights in whole Daocheng County!
Visitors can go to Daocheng Yading all year round. Autumn (mid-September - mid-November) is the most popular season to see the fabulous colorful Yading Nature Reserve with white snow peaks, blue lakes, orange and yellow forests, clear blue sky, etc. with comfortable weather, and when is also the favorite time for photographers. September to October during when is also appealing to marvel at the Sangdui Red Grassland and ten thousand acre of golden yellow poplar forest, like a natural oil painting. Spring (late March - late June) is also great to see the mountains dressed with azaleas and other various flowers in different colors.
Most places in Daocheng Yading are more than 3,000 meters high above sea. To help you release or avoid altitude sickness, you are highly suggested drink some Rhodiola rosea at least one week before visiting Daocheng Yading and not do strenuous exercise during your whole trip. Besides, drink enough water and sleep well!
| Daocheng County | 3,700m | Daocheng Yading Airport | 4,411m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shangri-La Town | 2,950m | Yading Nature Reserve | 2,900m-6,032m |
| Mount Xiannairi | 6,032m | Mount Yangmaiyong | 5,958m |
| Mount Xianuoduoji | 5,958m | Milk Lake | 4,600m |
| Five Color Lake | 4,500m | Pearl Lake | 4,120m |
| Luorong Pasture | 4,150m | Chonggu Monastery | 3,900m |
| Chonggu Meadow | 4,020m | Yading Village Viewing Deck | 4,060m |
| Blue Moon Valley | 2,200m | Benpo Temple | 3,940m |
| Poplar Forest | 3,740m | Sangdui Red Grassland | 3,940m |
Visitors may not stay in only one place during you Daocheng Yading trip. For your discovery of Yading Nature Reserve, Shangri-La Town is the best place to stay with only several kilometers to the entrance and a better altitude lower than 3,000m. And for your enjoyment of other attractions and flight catching, you are more suggested to stay in Daocheng County that is 3700m high and offers more than 10 choices of 2-4 stars. Yading Village within Yading Nature Reserve is also chosen for a second hiking day, however, the altitude above 4,000 is not recommended for the first night in Daocheng, besides, the offer of facilities, hot water and electricity is not so good.
As temperature in Daocheng Yading is usually lower than that in other destinations, it is necessary to take enough down jackets, mountaineering jackets, thick sweaters, waterproof clothes, scarves, gloves and antiskid hiking shoes in spring, autumn and winter season. Long-sleeves coats are also recommended in summer. Sun block, sunglasses, hats, lip balm, and so on are suggested for all seasons.
We China Discovery based in Chengdu, Sichuan have rich experience for providing Daocheng Yading tour arrangement and customization service for global visitors. Our professional travel expert will also help you sincerely to design your Daocheng Yading tour if you are interested in extending to more stunning destinations in Sichuan such as Chengdu, Leshan, Mount Emei, Jiuzhai Valley, Mount Siguniang, Danba, Kangding, Xinduqiao, or other domestic destinations like Yunnan, Tibet, Beijing, Shanghai, etc. We will show you the terrific sightseeing, culture, history and more highlights of the whole Sichuan and all places during your memorable trip!
Usually, the highlights of Chengdu can be discovered in brief one or two days, but it is a wonderful gateway city to Sichuan’s UNESCO World Cultural Heritages sites, especially Jiuzhaigou Valley, which acts as the second best travel place (after Chengdu) and most picturesque place in Sichuan. Besides, you can visit Leshan Giant Buddha, Emeishan Mountain, Dujiangyan Panda Base and Mount Qingcheng. If you like an adventure to more primitive and breathtaking natural world, go western Sichuan. China Discovery can provide tailor-made tours to all above destinations with great prices.
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