Ideas on Land Travel to Jiuzhaigou by Driving 2023

Taking flight to Jiuzhaigou is quick and comfortable, but not as ideal plan for all travelers. There are a lot of travelers who prefer traveling to Jiuzhaigou by land driving which is more budget than air travel, and have many interesting things to do along the road. Then which city should I start from? Which route should I take? How long will it take to transfer to Jiuzhaigou?

There are four recommended cities that you can start from, namely Chengdu, Lanzhou, Xining, and Xian. All of them are located in the western China with abundant scenic sites to visit. Travelling by car, you will enjoy the beautiful landscapes along you way and have chances stop over at many less-visited sites.

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★ Recommended Jiuzhaigou Tours

4 Days Classic Jiuzhaigou Tour from Chengdu | >>5 Days Classic Chengdu & Jiuzhaigou Tour

From Chengdu - Top Recommended

Both Chengdu and Jiuzhaigou are located in Sichuan Province, one in the middle and another in the north. Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan, is the most important gateway hub to transfer to Jiuzhaigou for both flight and driving. There are four major driving routes:

A: Chengdu – Dujiangyan – Wenchuan – Maoxian – Songpan – Jiuzhaigou – 440km

This route is shortest at distance (about 440km), and currently mostly chosen by travelers. Nearly half the road is expressway. Another half is well-paved roads. Generally it takes about 8~9 hours to drive from Chengdu taking this way to Jiuzhaigou. Travelers will have enough free time to visit Wenchuan Earthquake Ruin, Taoping Qiang Village and Songpan Ancient City. Like many travelers prefer, you can accommodate at Songpan or Chuanzhusi instead of directly getting to Jiuzhaigou Valley so that you can first visit Huanglong, then transfer to Jiuzhaigou Valley within only 2 hours.

• Day 1 Chengdu - Wenchuan - Maoxian - Chuanzhusi： visit Wenchuan Earthquake Ruin and Taoping Qiang Village
• Day 2 Chuanzhusi - Huanglong - Jiuzhaigou： visit Huanglong National Park
• Day 3 Visit Jiuzhaigou Valley
• Day 4 Jiuzhaigou - Chengdu

Recommended Jiuzhaigou Tour: >> 4 Days Classic Jiuzhaigou Tour from Chengdu

B: Chengdu – Dujiangyan – Mount Siguniang – Maerkang – Hongyuan – Chuanzhusi – Jiuzhaigou – 920km

This route needs at least two days to reach Jiuzhaigou. Our suggestion is to drive to Rilongzhen in the D1, and have a day trip to Mount Siguniang, then transfer to Chuanzhusi for accommodation on the D3. The road from Rilong via Maerkang, Hongyuan to Chuanzhusi is less crowds, and has amazing landscape of prairies. From Jiuzhaigou, you can keep driving to Gansu, even reach Qinghai instead of returning back to Chengdu.

• Day 1 Chengdu - Dujiangyan - Rilong: visit Dujiangyan Irrigation System
• Day 2 Mount Siguniang: hike Changping Valley or Haizi Valley
• Day 3 Rilong – Maerkang – Hongyuan – Chuanzhusi: driving
• Day 4 Chuanzhusi – Huanglong – Jiuzhaigou: visit Huanglong National Park
• Day 5 Visit Jiuzhaigou
• Day 6 Jiuzhaigou – Songpan – Maoxian – Wenchuan – Chengdu: visit Taoping Qiang Village and Wenchuan Earthquake Ruin

Recommended Jiuzhaigou Tour: >> 4 Days Mount Siguaniang Leisure Hiking Tour

C: Chengdu – Ya’an – Luding - Danba – Mount Siguniang – Maerkang – Hongyuan – Chuanzhusi – Jiuzhaigou – 1,210km

This is a photography driving travel route with a whole distance more than 1,200km. But there are many things to do along the route. You can drive at leisure, and stop to visit popular attractions along.

• Day 1 Chengdu – Yaan – Danba: visit Luding Steel Bridge
• Day 2 Danba – Rilong: visit Danba Jiaju Tibetan Village
• Day 3 Mount Siguniang: hike Changping Valley or Haizi Valley
• Day 4 Rilong – Maerkang – Hongyuan – Chuanzhusi: driving
• Day 5 Chuanzhusi – Huanglong – Jiuzhaigou: visit Huanglong National Park
• Day 6 Visit Jiuzhaigou
• Day 7 Jiuzhaigou – Songpan – Maoxian – Wenchuan – Chengdu: visit Taoping Qiang Village and Wenchuan Earthquake Ruin

D: Chengdu – Mianyang – Jiangyou – Pingwu – Jiuzhaigou - 440km

This route locates at the east of route A with roughly the same length. But the road condition is not as good as A. It is less taken by tourists also because of not having many things to do along the road.

From Gansu Province

E:Lanzhou – Linxia – Hezuo – Luqu – Ruoergai – Jiuzhaigou – 750km

This route highlights in Tibetan culture in Amdo Region, one of three largest Tibetan Regions(other two: Tibet and Kam). Driving from the bank of Yellow River southward, firstly stop at Binglin Temple to witness great arts hidden in the grottoes, keep driving to visit famous Tibetan Gelug monastery – Labrang. Keep driving, you will get to Langmusi at the boundary between Sichuan and Gansu Province. Then drive via Ruoergai to Jiuzhaigou. The whole distance needs about 4 days.

• Day 1 Lanzhou – Xiahe: visit Binglin Temple
• Day 2 Xiahe – Langmusi: visit Labrang Monastery
• Day 3 Langmusi – Ruoergai: visit Langmusi Monastery
• Day 4 Ruoergai – Jiuzhaigou: visit Ruoergai Prairie and Flower Lake
• Day 5 Visit Jiuzhaigou Valley
• Day 6 Jiuzhaigou – Chuanzhusi: visit Huanglong National Park
• Day 7 Chuanzhusi – Chengdu via Songpan, Wenchuan, Dujiangyan

Recommended Jiuzhaigou Tour : >>Qinghai Gansu Jiuzhaigou Land Tour

From Qinghai Pronvice

F: Xining – Linxia – Hezuo – Luqu – Ruoergai – Jiuzhaigou

This route is very popular with tourists who like overlanding adventures. It’s a gently declining from high Qinghai Tibetan Plateau to Minshan Mountain Range which is lower and featured in diverse natural landscape – mountains, valleys, wild forests, waterfalls…

• Day 1 Xining – Tongren – Xiahe: visit Rongwu Monastery, explore Regong Culture
• Day 2 Xiahe – Langmusi: visit Labrang Monastery
• Day 3 Langmusi – Ruoergai: visit Langmusi Monastery
• Day 4 Ruoergai – Jiuzhaigou: visit Ruoergai Prairie and Flower Lake
• Day 5 Visit Jiuzhaigou Valley
• Day 6 Jiuzhaigou – Chuanzhusi: visit Huanglong National Park
• Day 7 Chuanzhusi – Chengdu via Songpan, Wenchuan, Dujiangyan

Recommended Jiuzhaigou Tour : >>Qinghai Gansu Jiuzhaigou Land Tour

From Xian

G: Xian – Baoji – Wudu – Wenxian – Jiuzhaigou – 815km

Travel the ancient capital Xian with Jiuzhaigou is a good idea, and most travelers prefer taking flight instead of driving. There will be a few direct flights to be open soon between Xian and Jiuzhaigou, while the actual flight schedules is subject to change for the unpredictable weather condition. It takes two days to get to Jiuzhaigou from Xian by driving with a distance of about 815km. It is not popular with tourists because this tour has little attractions to visit but barren mountains except your departure and arrival cities.

Insider Tips

• ❶ Jiuzhaigou scenic spot has large temperature difference between day and night, and strong ultraviolet rays. It is necessary to prepare extra clothes, raincoat and sunscreen.
• ❷ It is not allowed to camp in the scenic spot, stay at the Tibetan's home, or walk into the mountains without a guide.
• ❸ When getting on and off the bus inside and outside the scenic spot, tourists may need to take their valuables and important documents with them.
• ❹ Western Sichuan area is located in a plateau with high altitude. Some tourists may have altitude sickness. Visitors may need to take common medicines, carsickness pills, small oxygen bottles, etc.
• ❺ The road condition in Western Sichuan is complex. Do not drive too fast. Pay attention to the road condition.
• ❻ It is forbidden to smoke, play with water, feed fish, catch wild animals and litter in Jiuzhaigou scenic area.
• ❼ Please respect the traditional customs of the local Tibetans in Jiuzhaigou. Do not take photos in religious places. Do not touch the other person's head.

How to Plan Your Jiuzhaigou Tour

Usually, 2 or 3 days are needed to explore the highlights of Jiuzhaigou Valley and Huanglong Valley excluding the arrival and departure days. Most travelers transfer to Jiuzhaigou from Chengdu by flight or driving. Some other cities also have flights to Jiuzhaigou, such as Beijing, Chongqing, etc. After arrival, spend a half day to tour the Huanglong Valley, and another full day to visit Jiuzhaigou. If you want to take a walking or photography tour, we recommend spend one more day.

You can also travel Jiuzhaigou with other hot destinations in Sichuan, such as Chengdu, Mount Emei, Leshan Giant Buddha, etc.

★ Recommended Jiuzhaigou Tours

>>3 Days Classic Jiuzhaigou Tour by Flight

>>4 Days Jiuzhaigou Bus Tour from Chengdu

>>5 Days Jiuzhaigou Dujiangyan Tour via Taoping Qiang Village

Picturesque Jiuzhaigou Scenery