UNESCO World Heritage SiteNational 5A Scenic AreaSouthwest China
Jiuzhaigou Valley
九寨沟 · Sichuan, Aba
A fairy-tale valley of intensely blue lakes, waterfalls and snow peaks, among China's most beautiful scenery.
Jiuzhaigou is a high-altitude valley famous for its dozens of travertine lakes in unreal shades of turquoise, blue and emerald, linked by cascades and waterfalls and set against snow-capped peaks and primeval forest. Wooden boardwalks wind between the lakes, whose clarity and colour change with the light and seasons.
Named after nine Tibetan villages in the valley, Jiuzhaigou was protected as a nature reserve and opened carefully from the 1980s. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1992 and named a Biosphere Reserve, celebrated for both its karst-hydrological landscapes and its habitat for the giant panda and golden snub-nosed monkey.
Day-by-day routes you won't find online — now starting with an 8-day, 1,500 km loop through western Sichuan. New regions are added regularly; tell us where you want to drive next.
