High anti-crowd version! Lijiang Jade Dragon Snow Mountain + Blue Moon Valley One-Day Tour

I am a person who is likely to suffer from altitude sickness when climbing above 3,500 meters (this has been verified in Lhasa and Qinghai Lake), so this route is suitable for friends who are worried about altitude sickness or are similar to me. After traveling this route, I felt very good - I saw the golden mountain in the sun, got close to the snow-capped mountains, and saw the beautiful Blue Moon Valley.

🚩First stop:
To see the Golden Mountain in the Sunlight If you want to see the Golden Mountain in the Sunlight, you have to get up early. There is no shortcut. Check the sunrise time in advance and set off from the hotel 1 hour before sunrise (by car). You can also see the golden mountain in the sun from Dongba Valley near Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, but the location is a little to the side. The relatively frontal one is the 🅿️Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Ganhaizi parking lot. It costs 100 per person to enter the Yulong Snow Mountain Scenic Area, so Ganhaizi is not free.
🧭Drive to "Ganhaizi No. 3 Parking Lot". On the one hand, there are relatively few people here, and you can see the sunrise over Golden Mountain from the car. If you want to take pictures of Golden Mountain + Lake, there is a viewing lake next to it, and behind it is the visitor center for Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, which is very convenient.

🚩Second stop:
After watching the sunrise at Jinshan Mountain, go directly to the tourist center at the back and take the scenic bus to the middle cableway to Yakniuping (3600+ above sea level). I was already a little out of breath when I got off the middle cable car, but it was not a big problem to breathe in some oxygen. The cable car also ascended slowly. After arriving at Yakping, as long as I hiked slowly, I would hardly have altitude sickness (personal feeling, for reference only). Yakping is a circular trail. In addition to seeing yaks, you can also see Jade Dragon Snow Mountain up close! Very shocking! ! Great for taking photos too! After coming here, I found that I really came to the right place! And as long as I go slowly and breathe oxygen, I don’t have altitude sickness.
⚠️Many people will go to Yunshanping after Yakniuping, but after comparing the two, Yunshanping has a lower altitude than Yakniuping, and the snow-capped mountains seen there are not much different, so I gave up Yunshanping. Personally, I feel that you can choose one of the two.
⚠️Why didn’t you go to the Glacier Cableway? Because the altitude is over 4500 meters, people like me who have altitude sickness really don’t dare to challenge it, so I gave up for the sake of my health.

🚩Third stop:
Blue Moon Valley is so so so beautiful! So far, I would like to call it the most beautiful lake in my heart, along with Kanas. You can get there directly by taking the scenic area bus from Yakniuping. As for the route, walk back (upwards) after getting off the scenic area bus. Because the lakes are connected from top to bottom, you can visit Yuye Lake → Jingtan Lake → Blue Moon Lake → Tingtao Lake in this order. The higher you go, the more beautiful it becomes! The altitude of Blue Moon Valley is not high, so there is no need to worry about altitude sickness. Finally, we took the scenic bus from Blue Moon Valley back to Ganhaizi. After this trip, we arrived back in Lijiang city around four or five in the afternoon. I personally felt that it was not too rushed or tiring, both in terms of physical strength and itinerary, and it was very friendly to those who experience altitude sickness.

#Yulong Snow Mountain #Blue Moon Valley #Lijiang Guide

Post by _StarGazer | Mar 27, 2025