Huanglong National Park

Huanglong National Park

Designated a national park in 1983, Huanglong is studed with waterfalls and terraced, colored limestone ponds of blue, yellow, white and green. The most spectacular ponds are located behind Huanglong Si, located deep in the valley, 7.5km from the road. A round-trip along a footpath takes about four hours, with the trail returning through dense (and dark) forest. While some people rave about the valley's beauty and love the peace and quiet here, others find it disappointing and prefer an extra day at Jiuzhaigou. If you do visit, there are no vendors, so bring some water and supplies.

A great time to visit is during the annual Temple Fair. Held here around the middle of the sixth lunar month (usually July), it attracts large numbers of trader from the Qiang minority.