Luoyang to Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong and Zoige 7 Days 6 Nights

We leave Luoyang Longmen in the morning, run west through Xian and south through the Qinling tunnel chain, arriving at Chengdu East in the afternoon. Once settled we walk Kuanzhai Alley and find a small noodle shop for dandanmian, where the numbing heat of Sichuan pepper arrives after the first few bites. Early night, early start tomorrow.

Attraction introduction: Chengdu East is one of the largest railway stations in southwest China, where the Chengdu-Chongqing, Xian-Chengdu and Chengdu-Guiyang lines meet. Kuanzhai Alley is three Qing-era lanes, once quarters for banner garrison troops, with grey brick doorways and hitching stones still in place.

Tips: This day is mostly sitting. Guests generally find minimal luggage with a change of clothes in the daypack works best. In practice we give Chengdu only one evening so the next morning starts early. Sichuan food is numbing and hot, so eat something plain first if your stomach is sensitive.

We leave at seven and follow the Min River north through Wenchuan and Maoxian, stopping for a Qiang hotpot at noon. In the afternoon we cross Diexi and watch the river bend through the gorge, with landslide scars from 2008 still visible on the slopes. By evening we reach the valley mouth and settle in Zhangzha town.

Attraction introduction: The upper Min River is Qiang country, where villages stack flat stones into walls and weight the roofs with white quartz. Diexi Lake was formed in 1933 when an earthquake sent slopes into the river, drowning the old town beneath. Songpan was a Ming frontier garrison with brick-faced earthen walls and intact gate tunnels.

Tips: This is the longest drive of the trip and the road bends constantly. Guests generally find motion sickness tablets worth packing. In practice lunch is a proper restaurant in Maoxian rather than a roadside stop. Altitude climbs from five hundred metres to over two thousand, so no hot shower or running about on the first night.

We enter at half past seven and ride the shuttle straight up Zechawa Valley to Long Lake, walk down to Five Colour Pool, then transfer at Nuorilang into Rize Valley for Five Flower Lake and Pearl Shoal. Lunch is at the Nuorilang centre, and the afternoon goes down Shuzheng Valley past Sparkling Lake and Reed Lake, out of the gate at dusk.

Attraction introduction: The colour of Jiuzhaigou comes from travertine deposition and algae, so the same lake reads differently in the morning and the afternoon. Five Flower Lake is the deepest point of Rize Valley, with fallen trunks on the bed whitened by calcium carbonate. Nuorilang is the widest waterfall in the park, sheet flow over a travertine shelf.

Tips: The park sits between two and three thousand metres and hurrying leaves you short of breath. Guests generally find ten minutes rest on each boardwalk section makes the difference. In practice we start at Long Lake while it is quiet and light is good, then walk downhill throughout. The single restaurant queues at noon, so carry a snack.

We climb Xueshan Pass in the morning, the road topping four thousand metres, with Xuebaoding visible on clear days. At Huanglong we take the cable car up and walk two kilometres of boardwalk to the Five Colour Pool, where terraces stack one behind another and water spills from the rims. The afternoon follows the valley down past Welcoming Pool and Flying Waterfall.

Attraction introduction: Huanglong Valley runs about three and a half kilometres of travertine, calcium carbonate settling out of the water to build step after step of pools. The Five Colour Pool sits at the head of the valley around 3,570 metres, where mineral crust and algae separate the water into bands of blue, green and yellow.

Tips: Huanglong is higher than Jiuzhaigou. Guests generally find a slow pace with short pauses far more comfortable. In practice we buy only the uphill cable car and walk down, an hour longer than a round trip but nothing along the valley is missed. Wind at the top is sharp, so bring a hat and scarf.

North from Chuanzhusi in the morning, over Garlitang, and the grassland opens out with yaks scattered on the slopes. At noon we walk the boardwalk into Flower Lake, sedge rising in clumps from open water. In the afternoon we reach Tangke and climb the viewing terrace to wait for sunset, when the Yellow River bends back on itself and the water turns to a gold line.

Attraction introduction: The Zoige wetlands lie around 3,400 metres and serve as a key water source for the upper Yellow River; Flower Lake is one broad lake within them, covered in small blooms in summer. Tangke sits where the White River joins the Yellow, and the channel loops almost back on itself, known as the First Bend.

Tips: Grassland nights drop fifteen degrees below daytime. Guests generally find a down jacket and hat necessary. In practice we take the top terrace for sunset, windy but unobstructed, then drive down immediately rather than after dark. By November the grass is brown, quite unlike summer, and knowing that in advance avoids disappointment.

We head back from Tangke in the morning through Hongyuan and Shuajingsi, following the Suomo River down, with lunch at Lixian. In the afternoon we pass Wenchuan onto the expressway and reach Chengdu by evening, then find a small place on Yulin Road for maocai and a bowl of bingfen.

Attraction introduction: The Suomo valley was the old road from northwest Sichuan to Chengdu, its slopes mixed conifer and broadleaf that turn later than the grassland. Lixian sits on the Zagunao River at the meeting of Qiang and Gyalrong Tibetan country, and the stone towers of Taoping are dry-laid without a gram of mortar.

Tips: This is another long drive. Guests generally find afternoons drowsy, so the driver stops every two hours. In practice lunch is a sit-down meal at Lixian rather than a roadside stall, which makes a real difference. We schedule nothing in Chengdu that evening to save energy for the return.

A morning hour at Heming Teahouse in Peoples Park, bamboo chairs and low tables, bottomless refills on covered-bowl tea, locals playing cards and having their ears cleaned. Lunch is zhong dumplings and longchaoshou, then to Chengdu East for the afternoon train, back in Luoyang by night.

Attraction introduction: Heming Teahouse has stood in Peoples Park since the Republican era, keeping its bamboo chairs, square tables and wood-fired water kettles. A Chengdu teahouse is not only about tea; ear cleaning, shoe shining and fortune telling all happen at the same table, which is the city at its most ordinary.

Tips: The teahouse fills up. Guests generally find tables easiest before ten in the morning. In practice the return train is booked after three so the morning stays open. Tea is charged per person with free refills, ear cleaning is extra, so agree the price before settling back.