Is This Real? Visiting the Valley Where Water Is a Liquid Jewel
There are places on Earth so beautiful they simply do not seem real, and the Jiuzhaigou Valley is one of them. This is a place where water has forgotten how to be just water. Here, it is a shimmering palette of liquid jewels, taking on impossible shades of turquoise, sapphire, and emerald. The lakes are so startlingly clear that every fallen, ancient log on the bottom is perfectly preserved and visible, as if encased in glass.
Your journey through this UNESCO World Heritage site will feel like walking through a fairytale. You’ll follow a network of wooden boardwalks that take you from one impossibly beautiful lake to the next. You’ll stand mesmerized before the Five-Flower Lake, where the colors shift and dance in the sunlight, and you’ll feel the spray of the Pearl Shoal Waterfall as it cascades down a wide, terraced slope. All of this is set against a backdrop of pristine, snow-capped mountains and lush, virgin forests. It is nature's perfect masterpiece.
Insider Tip:
The park uses an efficient hop-on-hop-off bus system. To escape the biggest crowds, take the bus to the top of one of the valleys, then find a long section of boardwalk between two bus stops (for example, between Mirror Lake and Shuzheng Waterfall) and walk it. For long stretches, you'll feel like you have this paradise all to yourself.
