Sichuan
Jiuzhaigou
A high valley of blue and green lakes in northern Sichuan, visited from the park gate by bus and boardwalk.
Jiuzhaigou is a national park, not a town you wander. The valley splits into three branches of lakes, waterfalls, and limestone shoals. Visitors ride park buses up and walk the boardwalks back down.
One day covers the valley if you start early and do not add Huanglong, the travertine pools over the pass. That is a second site with its own ticket and its own altitude.
The villages at the park mouth are the place to sleep. The valley floor is higher than Chengdu. A day that began at sea level should stay easy.
