Muni Valley

Chinese name: 牟尼沟（Muni Gou）
Location: Songpan County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China
Opening time: 7:00-17:30 (from the December 1st to March 31st in the next year the scenic spot is closed)
How to get there: There is no direct public transportation to Muni Valley, only by chartering car. The road to Muni Valley is in good condition. In Chengdu West Gate Bus Station there is coach to Songpan and then people can transfer to Muni Valley (or charter a car), also can fly from Chengdu to Jiuhuang Airport, and then driving to the scenic area, about an hour and a half.

Entering Muni Valley in winter, the best way is to ride a horse that you can appreciate the beauty of Muni Valley all the way.
Best time for visit: from late September to mid-November
Recommended time for a visit: 3-4 hours

Introduction to Muni Valley
Muni Valley, one of the two large subdivisions of Huanglong National Park, is dotted with shimmering green and blue mineral lakes, hot springs and a large travertine waterfall. It consists of two side valleys, more than 100 lakes and natural hot springs with the most spectacular sceneries being Zhaga Waterfall and Erdao Lake. It is possible to reach Muni Valley by road or horse trek from Songpan. The altitude ranges from 2,800m at the entrance to 4,070m on the mountain peaks.

 

Zhaga Valley
The largest travertine waterfall is Zhaga Waterfall, the world's tallest travertine stack waterfall, with the height of 104m and width 35.4m. There are lakes upstream and a string of terrace-like riverbeds down stream. Water cascades down the three-level steps, giving out huge water sprays. The thundering waterfall can be heard ten li away. There is a karst cave under the waterfall, with two smaller ones on the sides. The caves seem to be skylights, to which the waterfalls are plunging. What a spectacular view!

 

Erdao Lake
It is not only the name of scenic spot, but also the largest lake. The area of Erdao Lake is 21.700 hectares, with the water area of 146 hectares. The elevation is 3,290m to 3,417m, and 46 km away from Ancient Songpan City. Its overall length is 5.6m. There are 26 scenic views, among which forests, lakes, flower seas, hot springs, stalactites and karst caves.  In the valley, with sunglos towering to the sky, green lawn, flowers blooming like a piece of brocade, pleasant hot spring, picturesque waterscape, and all kinds of birds resting in the forest, the valley seems to be empty with peaceful sounds which are primitive and pure. Entering through the entrance of the valley, along the plank road, more than one thousand lakes scatter among the woods. Walking through those lakes, the miraculous landscape of "a lake in every three steps, a pool in every fiver steps, lakes hiding in the forests and flowers blooming in the lakes" is fantastic as a dream.

 

Recommended Tour Route
1. Visiting Erdaohai Scenic Spot should follow the principle of "left hand": going into the scenic spot after the entrance you need to walk on the left side of the road, and when you walk back from the top is to go down to the left of the road, so as not to repeat the road, and the time of back is shorter than go up way.

2. The road of visiting Zhaga Waterfall scenic area is on the contrary, tourists should follow the principle of "right hand": go to the right of the road, and when you back you also go the right of the way down.