Start your enquiry 
Trekking / Nature reserve hiking tour
Private hiking tour
Five days walking the protected mountains west and south of Chengdu — with four more days through the mammal country of the north as an extension. Red panda, takin, golden monkeys and pandas are the working targets.
Ask about this itineraryThe boardwalks of Labahe · the first reserve on the trail
Labahe, Wawushan, Bifengxia, Wolong — then Baihe, Tangjiahe, Laohegou
at the Bifengxia base; in the wild, tracks not animals
when Labahe and Wawushan sightings run above 80%
the nine-day version runs inside this season
Why this route
Most visits to Sichuan's nature reserves drive through them. This trip walks them: full days on the trails of Labahe and Wawushan in the Qionglai mountains, the gorge at Bifengxia, and the high paths of Wolong — at a pace that gives the forest time to produce what lives in it. Wild red panda, sambar, Tibetan macaque, Sichuan takin and pheasants are the realistic targets; the giant pandas of the Bifengxia base are the certain one.
It is also one of the best family adventure trips we run — the walking is moderate, the reserves are comfortable, and children from six to seventy have done it well. The five-day version stands alone; four more days carry it north to Baihe's wild golden snub-nosed monkeys, the big mammals of Tangjiahe and the quiet valleys of Laohegou.
It is a private departure on your dates, customisable. The season matters more than the calendar: late August to June is the wildlife window, because the summer rains make the trails loud and the animals scarce.
The route
South-west to the Qionglai reserves for five days; the extension turns north through the panda counties to the Monkey Valley and home. One moving base at a time.
Day by day
Five core days and a four-day extension. The walking is moderate throughout; distances are ranges you can work inside.
Chengdu → Labahe
Three to four hours west into the Qionglai mountains — giant panda country — to Labahe Nature Reserve. The afternoon walks the riverside path from the waterfalls to Deer Pond, about four easy kilometres.
The night is at the park hotel inside the reserve. Sambar come to the open ground in the evening, and in some seasons a spotlighting session after dark can be arranged for the night animals.
Labahe
A park vehicle lifts you to the high trailhead near 2,700 metres and the day walks down through it. An optional cable car reaches Jiaoshan at 3,500 metres, where a further 2 kilometres climb to 3,750 for cloud seas and — from April to June — the chance of Chinese monal, the great iridescent pheasant of these heights.
The core of the day is the Panda Trail and the Red Rock trail through wild, unfenced forest: red panda, Lady Amherst's pheasant, Tibetan macaque, sambar and takin are the residents. The night drops to Ya'an city.
Wawushan
An hour south to Wawushan, the table mountain. Two cable cars rise to the 2,700-metre summit and the day walks its flat-top circuit: about five gentle kilometres of boardwalk through mossy forest, with the Lanxi and Yuanxi waterfalls dropping more than 200 metres off the rim.
This is one of the best wild red panda forests in Sichuan — late summer to early winter is their season — and its endemic parrotbills are a prize for birders. The fit can walk down the 3-kilometre stairway instead of riding. The night is back in Ya'an.
Bifengxia
Half an hour to the Bifengxia panda base, home to thirty or forty giant pandas in a forested valley and far quieter than the Chengdu base. Two or three hours with them is the certain wildlife of the trip.
The afternoon walks the gorge below — a seven-kilometre stepped circuit through subtropical rainforest, with a lift for the climb out. The night moves north to Dujiangyan.
Wolong → Chengdu
An hour to Wolong and the day splits by appetite. The strong option starts at seven and climbs from 2,250 to 3,000 metres — ten kilometres return, steep, with poles recommended; panda sign has been found near the top. The gentler option walks the Ganhaizi trails from 2,300 to 2,700 metres, eight kilometres return.
The afternoon returns to Chengdu, where the five-day tour ends. The extension continues north from here.
Wolong → Jiuzhai
An early hour in a valley near Wolong for the golden pheasant — China's most flamboyant bird, seen often enough to be worth the dawn but never guaranteed. Then the long drive north, six hours and more, to the Jiuzhai area for the night at 1,400 metres.
Baihe → Tangjiahe
The morning belongs to the Baihe reserve — a valley holding more than 1,700 wild golden snub-nosed monkeys, of which around a hundred range where visitors walk them. They are fully wild; they are also, at this site, about as close to certain as wild monkeys get.
A boardwalk morning of four to eight kilometres with the troop, then four hours of road south to Tangjiahe for the night.
Tangjiahe
A full day in the valley many consider the best place in China to see large wild mammals: over 430 vertebrate species in one protected valley. A park vehicle carries you to the top and the day walks back down the road — ten kilometres and more of it.
Sichuan takin and Tibetan macaque are the regulars, with muntjac, serow, blood pheasants and, lower down, the chance of otter, black bear or yellow-throated marten. The night is the same hotel — the second evening in the valley doubles the chances.
Laohegou → Chengdu
An hour to Laohegou — China's first civil-society-funded reserve, more than a hundred square kilometres of forest with no buildings in it, and outside summer almost no people. Four to eight kilometres of its tracks, with takin, musk deer and wild boar sightings that swing with the season.
Out by two in the afternoon and four hours back to Chengdu, where the nine-day tour ends in the evening.
Species odds
The field estimates we plan the trip around — published sighting rates for these sites in season, not a promise for any single week.
Labahe · Wawushan · Bifengxia · Wolong
The Bifengxia base is where pandas are certain; everywhere else they are a matter of sign and luck, and we plan for the sign.
Baihe · Tangjiahe · Laohegou
Tangjiahe's 430+ vertebrate species make it the single best big-mammal valley in China; the extension exists mostly for it.
A high chance means the animals are met across most weeks in season, not that yours is guaranteed. Summer rain suppresses everything — which is why the trip has a season.
What's included
Guide, road, tickets, beds and visa help are in the price; the table and the extras stay yours.
Arranged and paid for before you arrive.
An English-speaking guide
Wildlife-literate, for the whole trip.
Entry tickets
Every reserve and base on the route.
Private transfers
Your own vehicle throughout.
Accommodation
Twin share with breakfast — inside Labahe on the first night.
Visa assistance
The paperwork and guidance for the China visa.
Yours, or yours to ask us about.
Meals
All meals are outside the quote.
Spotlighting sessions
Night drives at Labahe, arranged and paid on the day.
Single room supplement
Quoted with the booking.
Tips and personal expenses
At your discretion.
Getting to and from Chengdu
Flights and trains are yours to book.
Best from late August to June; late June to early August is the rain season and the trails suffer. Ask with the enquiry and we will say honestly what the month you have in mind delivers.
Enquiry
Tell us your dates, how many of you there are, and whether the nine-day extension interests you. We will come back with what each reserve is doing that month, and a written outline with a price.
Read next: The Sichuan mammal tour · The red panda tour · Watching without disturbing · Where the red panda odds are real · Pandas and passes: both halves of Sichuan · The road days, and why they matter
Enquiry sent
We reply within one business day. A copy of what you sent has gone to your inbox.
Need to add something? Write to inquiry@chinadventure.com.
Back to the itinerary