Jiuzhaigou ( 九寨沟) in Winter

[earthtojess]

I'm sorry if this has been asked before. I've been looking into visiting 九寨沟, in Sichuan. I'm only going to be in China for limited amount of time to study, so I don't want to make the trip to Sichuan if it won't be worth it. I'll be able to visit 九寨沟 in January of Next year.

I've done a bit of research into it, and Autumn is the best season to visit. That wont be possible in my case, but I'm sure that Winter will still be nice.

Has anyone been, or know whether during Winter it is worth visiting?

Thanks so much

[Marietta]

Dear Earthtojess!

One of my classmates planned to go in the winter, but her trip was cancelled because the roads were closed (she planed to go from Chengdu by bus).

I was there in the end of October, it was amazing, but it was really cold (below zero celcius). There was snow around the "highest" lake, so i experienced the winter and automn Jiuzhaiguo to:) If you want to go in winter you have to take special clothes and shoes, and you can expect that some parts of the park will be closed to. (if they cant clean the snow safely from the walkingroads of the park, they close it). And one more, i can imagine that if the lake is frozen, and it is snowing you cant see the beautiful blue color from the snow.

I would suggest you that winter is not a very good time to visit it.

[fanglu]

I went there last winter. It was ok, and there weren't many people, but it's not as good as when everything isn't frozen. It's still nice scenery, but nothing spectacular - most of the lakes are frozen and covered in snow. Having said that, the frozen waterfalls are pretty cool.

If you're planning on going to Huanglong as well, don't bother. All the pools are dry and covered in snow.

[gato]

I visited Jiuzhaigou in November, and it was just ok, probably because too much of it was frozen. Places like Xishuang banna in Yunnan are better places to visit in the winter.

[xiaocai]

Going there is winter is probably not s such good idea first because of the reasons mentioned above and even if fly there from Chengdu, the road between the airport and 九寨沟 and between 九寨沟 and 黄龙 may still be closed due to heavy snow. However, on the plus side, the entrance tickets and accommodation will be much cheaper.

[earthtojess]

okay, thanks everyone for your input!

I'm planning on visiting a friend in Sichuan anyway, so I just thought I would try to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak:)

I think that in the end I'll make the decision as to whether I make the trip up to 九寨沟 while I'm in Sichuan, though now I'm thinking it's not likely.

Maybe I'll go back another time in Autumn.

[wedge]

Definitely don't go in the spring. The weather is nice then and it's less crowded but the waterfalls are pretty weak then.