Discover Huanglong and its limestone pools in China

Huanglong National Park Tour

For those who want to discover China , marvelling in front of a 100% natural beauty, you must go to Songpan district, in the north of the Sichuan area, to Huanglong more precisely.

This site has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992 and this national park with its incredible turquoise water basins seems to be suspended at more than 3000 m above sea level.

Decsription

The Huanglong region includes many summits that are covered with eternal snow. In addition to its timeless glaciers, there are a wide variety of forest ecosystems that we meet with spectacular karst formations, huge waterfalls and hot water sources.

With an area of almost 60,000 hectares, this site is a geological and physical curiosity : besides its forests, the diversity of wildlife are waterfalls, terraces, transvertine lakes, falls, and limestone outcrops that catch the eye. Huanglong valley is fairly compact; It is surrounded by three vertiginous peaks, a station being placed at the entrance of the valley to control access. Outside a delimited area, there are often Tibetan monks who walk with their flocks.

See the yellow Dragon

If we were to give a translation of Huanglong, it would be that of the "Yellow Dragon Valley" because of the form of this sacred animal that the valley seen from the sky. The valley of Huanglong consists of seven valleys extending over 1300 km2.

One of the most impressive parts is surely the Huanglong valley , nicknamed the eye of the dragon, and which offers the most beautiful limestone basin: indeed, the water passes from turquoise blue to emerald green, offering a spectacular unreal, fantastic. Some also call it the pond in the five colours of Huanglong.

How to get there?

Two solutions are available to you, namely the car or aircraft. An airport was recently opened at approximately 1 hour drive from Huanglong and it is possible to find regular flights from the cities of Chongqing and Chengdu. For the car, the journey is made from Chengdu, it takes about 10 hours of road by the great road and 12 hours by the mountain road, which is more beautiful from the point of view of the landscapes.

It should be noted that one does not move solo to Huanglong and that it is necessary to go in a group, including an agency: the ticket for a full circuit costs about 100 euros for a tour that includes the car trip, 3 nights at the hotel, meals and tickets to the sites.

Huanglong, it’s simply a unforgettable place , a supernatural decor and all those who have come so far exclament in the same way: it is an unheard chance to see this in his life!

Main photo credit: Flickr – elspethwang_Postcards 2