Jiuzhaigou Travel Forum

I'm planning on visiting Jiuzhaigou during the week long break in May 07.
Was thinking that although its during the nationwide holiday period, but its not the peak tourism season ( which is in Sept / Oct ) , so it should not be too crowded.

Can anyone tell me if :
1) sights and scenery during 1st - 7th May : is it worth the trip? I know its not as good as Sept / Oct but I cant make it during that time.
2) weather during 1st week of May
3) crowd situation during 1st week of May ? Is it crowded?

Thanks

The weather will be quite chilly at that time of year I believe and as for not a lot of people...I think there will be a LOT of people...it doesnt matter which national holiday you choose to go travelling on..it will always be choc-a-bloc!

Have you checked other people's Jiuzhaigou pages to see if they have been during May holiday..sorry I cannot help you about the sites to be seen at that time of year.

I was there around the 3rd week of May last year. The weather was ok but it was very very very crowded. Some of the walk paths were elbow to elbow with people following the flags our their tour guide. Sometimes I found a side path with less people.

It is a very beautiful place. It just needs less people.

I'm working on my Jiuzhaigou page. You can see by the pictures that it was not that cold. My pictures are dayed May 14 to 16, 2007

it will defintely be crowded on Labour Day and Golden Week in Oct.

Jiuzhaigou is really beautiful. I hope to visit it again during spring/summer.
The seceneries will look different in different seasons.

Hi everyone.

Thanks for your very useful feedback.
I'm told Jiuzhaigou is crowded all yr round , but I guess 1st week of May is a bad time and I should be reconsidering my plans. Sob.

Thanks anyway

Beautiful flower blossom in this season.

If you can re-arrange your trip and depart for Jiuzhaigou on May 6 or May 7, then will bu much better.

There are several spots always full of group visitors, but you may shift your schedule to avoid some of them. Why? Visitors by group always enter the park in the morning and follow few routes.

BTW,there is no free re-admission on the second day during three national long holidays,even you enter the park on the last day of the holidays.

Pls let me know your schedule, budget and be glad to share some experience with you.

Jiuzhaigou will be very crowded during the May holiday. Try to go there in early to mid April, it is be slightly cooler but crowd will be much less. May 1st is the start of the tourist season for locals.

It is much less crowded on May 6,7 in Jiuzhaigou due to the following reasons,

More than half of the tourists who visit Jiuzhaigou duiring May holidays will choose to travel by bus rather than air, they have to spend one day on the way back to Chengdu;

Futher, the tourisits who visit by air have to fly back Chengdu on May 7 or earlier, and usually the tour company will arrange them to visit Huanglong on the last day rahter than Jiuzhaigou, simply because it takes one day to complete the tour inside the Jiuzhaigou National Park and costs another 2.5 hours on the way to the airport, while taking only 4-5 hours in Huanglong and 1.5 hours to the airport.

However, if you have to depart on May 5 or earlier, then as others suggested above, cancel the plan and visit later.

Very good answer just above me.

I visited just after the October national holiday in 2005 so I'd guess it would be pretty similar in terms of crowds.

The key to avoiding the crowds is IMHO to spend as much time as possible in the park. Most of the chinese tourists only have 1 day actually in the park so they tend to use the buses to get between the more famous viewpoints.

My advice would be to spend at least 2 full days in the park(could easily spend 3-4) and walk as much as you can. What I did was take the bus uphill first thing in the morning then walk downhill all day. Day one take it to Nuorilang Falls then walk back to near the enterance, day two take it to the top of Rize Gully and walk back to Nuoriling Falls then if its open the day 3 to the top of Zechawa Gully(sometimes the path below the atrractions as the top is clsoed) and walk back to Nuorilang Falls.

Also the area between the Panda Falls and the Pearl Shoal falls is probabley the most crowded so try and visit that around lunchtime when everyone else is in the main canteen.

The golden season for visiting Jiuzhaigou is in October, so that's why upstairs still saw so many tourists in the park even after the long holidays.

Hi all,

I am going early June, can i seek some advice on whether is it hard to book thru a local agency to JZG when i reach Chengdu as i will be travelling to Lhasa for the 1st 8 days.
Any suggestion is kindly appreciated!
Cheers

I dont think it will be difficult to book. Sorry I cannot recommend an agency. I have some pictures on my Jiuzhaigou page.

I believe almost all agencies will take 1/3 of sightseeing time to visit some shops.
It's rather convenient and safe to travel by yourself to Jiuzhaigou if you follow some tips.

linggy, I would also strongly advise you to DIY your trip to Jiuzhaigou instead of following any tour group.