Tour Features: By this tour you will enjoy an unforgettable photographic tour of Sichuan. This tour will show you the most natural beauty of Sichuan; you will get in touch with the nature closely and have a chance to experience the rural life in Sichuan. This tour features plateau pasture scenery of rolling chain of snow-capped mountains, river valleys dotted with poplars, grassland, villages, and lovely lakes.

Day by Day Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival in Chengdu (-, -, -)

Upon arrival in Chengdu, your tour guide will meet you at Chengdu Airport and transfer you to your hotel by private car. The rest of the day is yours to relax, or step out into this amazing city for an adventure on your own.

Day 2: Ya'an, Kangding(-, L, -)

After breakfast, you will set off from Chengdu to Ya'an (about 150 km from Chengdu), where the first panda was discovered and is one of the birthplaces of tea culture. On the way, you will be driven along the picturesque Qingyi River and through the magnificent Erlang Mountain. You will also can see Luding Bridge over the Dadu River, comprising 13 iron chains spanned by wooden planks, was built in 1705 to improve transportation through the region. It became a national icon in May 1935 due to an incident during the Long March.

Finally, you will arrive in Kangding, the cradle of love songs. You will visit a small town named Xinduqiao, 83 km west of Kangding, which is renowned as "the paradise of photographers". It features plateau pasture scenery of rolling chain of mountains, river valleys dotted with poplars, grassland, Tibetan villages. Stay at Xinduqiao overnight.

Day 3: Litang Town, Daocheng (-, L, -)

After breakfast, you can enjoy the picturesque view of small bridges, running streams and local Zang minority houses.

Then you will leave for Litang Town, located at an altitude of 4,014 metres. It is on open grassland and surrounded by snow-capped mountains and one of the highest towns in the world.

Then you will continue to go to Daocheng after pass the largest ancient glacier relic on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau-Haizishan Natural Reserve, which is a bleak lakeland plateau containing the remnants of Tibet's oldest ice-cap of Dabpa, with about 1145 lakes dotted in this Natural Reserve. Stay at Daocheng overnight.

Day 4: Yading, Xiannairi (Chenresig) (-, L, -)

You will set out from Daocheng to Yading after breakfast. On the way, you will visit Poplar Forest Park with more than ten thousands poplars growing there. After drive through Bowa Mountain, you will see one of the three holy snow-capped peaks in Yading-Xiannairi (Chenresig) of 6,032 m, the highest of the trio. The rest of the day is yours to relax, or step out on your own. Stay at Yading overnight.

Day 5: Chonggu Si, Pearl Lake, Milk Lake, Luorong Pasture (-, L, -)

After breakfast, you will hike or take horse ride to the real Shangrila. Firstly, you will visit the Mani stone mound, a sacred article with nimbus for the Tibetan.

Then you will go to Chonggu Si (Chonggu Monastery) with an altitude of 3,880 m, which is a small monastery, built in Yuan Dynasty, more than 700 years ago, and offers a spectacular view of Chenresig's north face.

Next, visit the Pearl Lake, about 4,000 m above the sea level, nestled in the beautiful upper valley of Chenresig's north face, accessed by a 45-minute walk from Chonggu Si. You can enjoy the scenery of snow-capped mountain, glaciers and rivers.

Afterwards, you will enjoy Milk Lake, a glacier-fed lake with water from the snow-capped Jampelyang mountain, that gives it a striking bright green color.

Finally, you will move to the Luorong Pasture, the first place in the reserve where three sacred peaks can be seen. Then you will return to Daocheng and stay there overnight.

Day 6: Haizi Shan Nature Reserve, Xinduqiao (-, L, -)

After breakfast, you will visit Haizi Shan Nature Reserve (in Tibetan, Haizi means “Lake”), a bald and damp grassland with more than thousand lakes and ponds, formed by glaciers, where the very seldom and endangered black neck crane has its retreat. You will taste the fresh wild fish from plateau lake during your lunch.

In the afternoon, you will pay a visit to the largest Gelupa (yellow-hat-sect) Tibetan Buddhisms temple in the county-Ganden Thubchen Choekhorling Monastery, founded in 1580 by the 3rd Dalai Lama.

Finally, you will move to a small town, Xinduqiao, 83 km west of Kangding, which is renowned as "the paradise of photographers". It features plateau pasture scenery of rolling chain of mountains, river valleys dotted with poplars, grassland, Tibetan villages. Stay at Xinduqiao overnight.

Day 7: Departure (-, L, -)

After breakfast, you will return to Chengdu from Xinduqiao (460km) and your personal guide will escort you to Chengdu Airport for your flight to your next destination.

Itinerary: B: Breakfast  AB: American Breakfast   L: Lunch   D: Dinner   SD: Special Dinner

Chengdu: Tianfu Sunshine Hotel, 4 Star
Xinduqiao: Plateau Vacation Hotel, 3 Star
Daocheng: Yading Hotel, 3 Star
Yading: Yala Hostel Resort