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Danba (China) Travel

Danba Travel Guide

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Danba (丹巴, known as Rongtrak in Tibetan; altitude: 1893 meters) is reputed as one of the “Top 6 Most Beautiful Countryside of China”. With a history over 5000 years, Danba County itself has so much to experience. It is called “A Place of Hunreds of Ancient Watchtowers”, and in the surrounding hills are clusters of gorgeous and traditional stone Jiarong Tibetan Villages with ancient watchtowers and welcoming homestays.

Located in the east of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Danba is 315 kilometers away from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. Danba County is well located in the middle of Western Sichuan Northern Line and Western Sichuan Southern Line. Danba is about 110 kilometers from Mount Siguniang, about 143 kilometers from Kangding City, about 147 kilometers from Xinduqiao, and about 96 kilometers from Jinchuan County. Most travelers who add Danba into their Sichuan travel bucket list will also put other destinations along the way into their itinerary which is definitely worth to do so. China Discovery is local based in Chengdu and Sichuan, why not tour Danba - the fairly tale villages with us?

Why Visit Danba in Sichuan, China?

  • A Unique Place with Hundreds of Watchtowers. About 2000 years ago, Danba began to build watchtowers. In Ming & Qing Dynasties, several thousands of towers were built standing magnificently on the hills. There are four kinds of towers - gate tower, beacon tower, communal tower and residential tower, which are mostly in quadrilateral, pentagonal, and hexagonal.
  • Charming Tibetan Villages rich in Jiarong Tibetan Culture. The most outstanding Tibetan village is called Jiaju Tibetan Village which is in natural layout built along the mountains and valleys, like a fairy tale land in the pear blossom season. The hospital local Jiarong Tibetans may invite you to visit their styled home with very warm smile.
  • Beautiful Girls. Besides the beautiful scenery lying among valleys or mountains, another distinctive feature of Danba is its beautiful girls. Danba is reputed as “the Capital of Oriental Chinese Beauty”. There’s a place named “Beauty Valley” that the girls without makeup and luxuriant costumes are still beautiful. Actually, the whole people in Danba are kind-hearted welcoming every guest to their homeland.

Top Attractions in Danba

Though Danba is a small county in Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, its deep Tibetan culture and countless ancient watchtowers are fused together in its primitive villages. It is highly suggested to spend 1 or 2 days in Danba to seek for the true beauty and Jiarong Tibetan culture. Let’s have a glimpse of the top Danba attraction before you head to this charming land.

Jiaju Tibetan Village

Jiaju is the best example of Danba Tibetan villages and also rated as the top beautiful villages in China by Chinese National Geographic. It is the concentrated place to experience Jiarong Tibetan culture.

Zhonglu Tibetan Village

Zhonglu Village is quieter than Jiaju at an altitude of 2100 meters. The Tibetan-styled houses are situated in different level of the mountains, with ancient watchtowers standing in the green land. It is very beautiful.

Ancient Towers Clusters

With over 3000 ancient watchtowers in Danba, Danba is called “A Place with Hundreds of Ancient Towers” scattered in 181 villages. Travelers can visit Jiaju Village, Suopo Village, Zhonglu Village, Donggu Village, etc.

Suopo Ancient Towers

Suopo Village has the most concentrated watchtowers in the whole Danba and the only quinquangular tower in the world included. It is highly recommended to catch the overlook view of the whole area in sunset.

Dangling Scenic Area

About 60 km away from Danba County, Dangling Scenic Area is very beautiful with diverse plants which is extremely beautiful in autumn with colorful leaves. The red birch forest and lakes are worth your visit.

Mosika Village

Mosika Village is about 100 km from Danba County. This village, surrounded by three holy mountains, is like an isolated pure land and the people here are living harmony with nature and animals.

Beauty Valley

Beauty Valley is 26 km from Danba County. In this place, you can see beautiful Danba girls and women, and lakes, watchtowers, Lama temples, Tibetan camps and other cultural landscapes.

Moerduo Mountains

With the highest peak of 5000 meters, Moerduo Mountain is the holy mountain of Yongzhong Tibetan Region. There are about 108 spots scattered in this mountain.

Things to Do in Danba

Hiking

When visiting the intoxicating Tibetan villages, the best way to enjoy the view is by hiking. Go and reach the top platform and have a panoramic view with all beautiful things in front of your eyes.

Flowers Appreciation

In the spring of April and May, it is the season of flowers blossom. Charming pear flowers will be blossom in every village, every mountain and every valley. It is truly the best time to see flowers.

Home Visiting

The local Tibetans are very hospital to treat you with Tibetan food and snacks. You can pay a visit to their home in any of Jiaju, Zhonglu, Suopo or other Tibetan village. If you like, you can stay one night here.

Photography

The best way to keep all the beauty of Danba everlasting is to leave awesome photos in your camera. In the Tibetan villages, there are high platforms for you to shoot the beautiful sceneries.

Danba Weather & Best Time to Visit

The altitude of the whole Danba County ranges from 1700 meters and 5521 meters and average altitude of the county area is at 1800 meters. Danba belongs to plateau monsoon climate with an average annual temperature around 14.2 ℃.

In Spring, it is still cold in Danba and the average temperature ranges between 4℃-11 ℃. The trees are turning green and the pear flowers are blossom in every villages which is the most beautiful time of Danba. In Summer, it gets warm but not hot and the average temperature is about 7℃-20 ℃. In Autumn, the weather is very cool and the scenery is appealing with the average temperature around 5℃-18 ℃ in September, October and November. In the winter season, it is very cold at -9℃-7 ℃. Travelers need to wear down jacket to keep warm. To sum up, the best time to visit Danba is Spring, especially in late March to early May and Autumn from late September to early November.

Transportation & How to Get to Danba

Danba County is located in the Western Sichuan small circuit, well linking with Mount Siguniang and Kangding. There is no airport or train station in Danba County. The best way to get to Danba at present is by private car or long distance bus. Most travelers will go from Chengdu to Danba, and some part of travelers would like to reach Kangding or Mount Siguniang first and then head to Danba.

Chengdu to Danba:

The distance between Chengdu and Danba County is about 315 kilometers. If you go directly to Danba from Chengdu, you can go with China Discovery with our comfortable licensed private cars or go by long distance bus. Usually, there are about 2 buses (schedules not fixed) in the morning running from Chengdu Chadianzi Bus Station to Danba Bus Station, taking about 9 hours in total.

Mount Siguniang to Danba:

If you want to make a stop on the Western Sichuan Northern Line, Mount Siguniang is the best choice. So, many travelers choose to get from Mount Siguniang to Danba. The distance is 110 kilometers in between. It takes about 2.5-3 hours for driving. Buses (no fixed time) are available from Siguniangshan Town or Xiaojin County to Danba but it is not recommended to do so.

Kangding to Danba:

The distance from Kangding to Danba is about 143 kilometers. If you go by bus, you can head to Kangding Bus Station for the long distance bus to Danba, which needs about 3.5 hours. About 2 buses are served this route.

Travel Danba and other Destinations with China Discovery

Since Danba is located on the Circle of Western Sichuan travel, it is a good idea to start from Chengdu, visit highlighting sites along the way, like Dujiangyan, Wolong, Mount Siguniang, Hailuogou Glacier Park, Kangding, Xinduqiao and to Danba, it would be very interesting and rewarding. No matter you want to go directly to one place or explore along the way, China Discovery can fulfill your dream. We China Discovery based in Chengdu, Sichuan have many professional expert with rich knowledge of whole Sichuan and will help you plan and arrange the most comfortable and convenient way to get to Danba. Besides, our local English guide will introduce all highlights of Danba for your memorable experience and our local driver will escort you from the airport to your accommodation and attractions with our comfortable licensed private vehicle! Please feel free to contact us if you need any help!

Where to Stay & Recommended Hotels in Danba

Usually, travelers would spend one night in Danba. The hotels are mainly 2 to 3 star hotel and many hotels can be found. Compared with the modern facilities and luxury accommodation in Chengdu, the hotels in Danba offer basic living condition. You can choose to stay in Danba County or take homestay in the local Tibetan villages in featured Tibetan style.

Danba County: Some comfortable hotels can be found in Danba County and it is located in the central place with convenient transfer to its tourist spots. The recommended hotels are: Shengdi Yingxiang Cultural Theme Hostel (丹巴圣地映像文化主题客栈), Danba Zangyun Hotel (丹巴藏韵大酒店).

Tibetan Villages: Jiaju Tibetan Village or Zhonglu Tibetan Village is recommended to experience the special Jiarong Tibetan culture. There are many hotels in the villages run by the local Tibetans. They are very hospital. For those who are not so care about the living condition to get close to local life, local homestay is recommended. You can stay at Danba Jiarong Renjia Inn (丹巴嘉绒人家客栈) in Jiaju Village.

Please tell your ideas or likes to our travel consultants who are here trying their best to select a suitable hotel or hostel for you, making your living comfortable in Danba!

Danba Maps - Latest & Useful Maps for Danba Travel

To help you have a better understanding of Sichuan Danba’s location, transportation, top highlights and local Tibetan villages, we here collect some useful maps including Danba Sichuan Map, Chengdu to Danba Transportation Map, Danba Tourist Map, etc.

Danba Sichuan Map

Danba Sichuan Map

Danba Tourist Map

Danba Tourist Map

Other Destinations in Western Sichuan

With sublime snow-capped mountains, sacred Tibetan monasteries, and spectacular valleys to be visited, Western Sichuan offers remarkable surprises similar to the Tibet. However, a tour to Western Sichuan is much easier for foreigners when compared with Tibet, because it allows tourists to get rid of filling paperwork for entering.

Besides Batang, there are 15+ amazing tourist destinations in the Western Sichuan region well worth your visit. And here, we would recommend you the top 4 places hot chosen by our customers, including Daocheng Yading, Mount Siguniang, Kangding and Batang.

Other Destinations in Sichuan

Besides Danba, there are some other destinations in Sichuan well worth your visit. Travel Danba with following destinations and explore more of Sichuan’s wonderful nature, cultural heritage sites, and authentic local life, including leisure Chengdu City, the hometown of giant panda, Jiuzhaigou Valley, the fairyland world, Leshan, the profound home of Giant Buddha and Mount Emei, Mount Siguniang, the Oriental Alps. Discover now!

More Natural Destinations in China

If you are fond of nature very much, why not discover the terrific sceneries of more scenic destinations in China, such as Guilin, Zhangjiajie, Huangshan, Yunnan, etc. to satisfy your eyes and mind to the most. Check the detailed travel guide of each destination and start your nature exploration!

Chinese Name: 丹巴

Chinese Pinyin: dān bā

English IPA: / danba /

Altitude: 1800 meters

Population: 60279

Language: Mandarin & Tibetan & Sichuan Dialect

Tel Code: 0836

Zip Code: 626300

Time Zone: (UTC+8)

Plan your Danba Sichuan Tour

Danba is a small county in Garze, Sichuan and this destination itself needs 1 to 2 days for exploration. All of the must-sees and must-dos will cover during the short break. Travelers can visit Jiaju Tibetan Village, Zhonglu Tibetan Village and Suopo Tibetan Village to enjoy the countless and different style of ancient watchtowers and experience Jiarong Tibetan culture there.

Actually, Since the far distance between Chengdu and Danba, and there are some stunning destinations along the way. Most travelers would like to put Danba into their long itinerary in Sichuan, together with Mount Siguniang, Wolong Panda Base, Hailuogou Glacier Park, Xinduqiao, Kangding, Leshan Giant Buddha, Mount Emei, etc. The travel length usually lasts for 6 to 10 days. If you prefer to go like this, please tell us your idea and we can customize the tour for you. China Discovery is local bases in Chengdu, Sichuan, and we will design and offer you memorable experience in the Land of Abundance in the local way. Go with us!

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