Explore Danba: Tibetan & Qiang Mountain Villages, Garze, Sichuan (4 days)
Take a road trip into the mountains of western Sichuan to explore stunning alpine scenery and traditional Tibetan and Qiang villages in the Ngawa and Garze Tibetan areas. See towering peaks, deep valleys, and remote mountain communities, with opportunities to stretch your legs on moderately challenging hikes along the way.
Booking info
August 7–10 (Thu–Sun)
Important—trip price does not include your transportation to or from Chengdu. (Read more about that here, and see the meet up details at the end of this page.)
This road trip takes you way into the mountains of western Sichuan, overnighting in Changping Valley in Ngawa Prefecture and Danba County in Garze Prefecture—both majority Tibetan areas, with Ngawa also being the homeland of the Qiang ethnic group.
As well as the scenery – snowy mountains, alpine lakes, and forested river valleys – you’ll see Tibetan and Qiang culture, with the traditional stone houses and towers of the Qiang a special highlight.
| Day One main activities | Meet up in Chengdu then travel to Changping Valley Canyon in the Siguniang ‘Four Sisters’ Mountains area (approx. 3-hour drive). Short hike and overnight at about 3,200m elevation. |
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| Day Two main activities | Hike along the plank path in Changping Valley Canyon (about 4.5 hours round trip). Afternoon drive to Danba and overnight. |
| Day Three main activities | Drive from Danba County to Dangling, hike up to the Zhuoyong alpine lake, return to Danba and overnight. |
| Day Four main activities | Visit Qiang village with old watchtowers and stone houses, then drive back to Chengdu, trip finishes. |
Trip highlights
Changping Valley
On the first day of the trip we’ll drive from Chengdu to Changping Valley, arriving after a journey into the middle of the Qionglai Mountain range.
Located in Ngawa and part of the Siguniang “Four Sisters” Mountains National Park, Changping Valley is one of the three main valleys in the mountains here.
We’ll drive up to the park and head in for a hike up the valley. If we’re lucky we’ll get views of few of the Four Sisters, the four highest peaks in the area. We’ll definitely get views of forested hills, the river, and some of the lesser mountain peaks.
Danba County
From Changping Valley we’ll drive on into the mountains, arriving at Danba.
Danba County is located in Garze, and sited at the confluence of five river valleys, with 4,000m+ peaks on all sides.
We’ll spend two nights here, making it our base for an exploration of the area.
On the third day of the trip we’ll drive farther into the mountains, visiting to Dangling County for a hike up to the high-altitude Zhuoyong Lake.
On the fourth day of the trip we’ll head over to a nearby Qiang village for a walking tour and a look at the stone houses and watch towers.
The Qiang Ethnic Group
The people known as the Qiang have been in this area since at least 1,600 BC, according to Shang Dynasty records.
They’re one of the smaller ethnic groups in China, with a population of about 300,000 people according to the 2020 census.
The Qiang religion involves mountain deities, nature gods, and ancestral spirits. White stones are used to represent gods, and these stones are sometimes placed atop the stone watchtowers.
With no written language*, customs and culture are passed on by village shamans known as ‘duangongs’. If we meet a duangong on the trip, keep an eye out for their tools: a sheepskin drum, a preserved monkey skull, monkey skin hat, and holy sticks.
* Modern attempts to create a written language were unsuccessful—too many different dialects of the Qiang language had developed in disparate, isolated mountain areas.
Getting to Chengdu, and back home again
You’ll meet your guides at the Chengdu Airport between 10-11am on the first day of the trip.
The itinerary will finish in Chengdu on the last day of the trip, and we plan to drop you off at the airport around 4:30pm.
Please do not purchase your flights until we are able to confirm the departure of the trip.
