Yunnan · Lakes and Meadows at Three and a Half Thousand Metres
Pudacuo National Park (普达措)
Fir forest, shallow lakes and grazing meadows on the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau, on boardwalks at around three and a half thousand metres. The lake level moves a long way through the year.
Quick Facts
The Short Version
| What it is | A managed park of lakes, fir forest and wet meadow above Shangri-La, visited on boardwalks and a shuttle bus |
|---|---|
| Where | Shangri-La, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest Yunnan |
| Altitude | Around 3,500 m in the park. Shangri-La town below it is about 3,200 m |
| Listed | Inside the Three Parallel Rivers area, which UNESCO inscribed in 2003 |
| What is open | Which sections are accessible has changed more than once for conservation reasons. Check close to your dates rather than trusting a fixed itinerary |
| Booking | Ticket plus a compulsory shuttle. Boardwalk circuits at each stop |
| Time needed | Four to six hours including the shuttle between sections |
| Terrain | Flat boardwalk, which at this altitude is still work if you arrived yesterday |
Why Go
High, Wet, and Managed
1. What the altitude does
At three and a half thousand metres the forest is fir and spruce hung with lichen, the ground between the trees is boggy through the warm months, and the open areas are wet meadow rather than grassland. That combination supports a specific set of plants and a lot of birds, and it is the reason the area is protected rather than the lakes themselves.
It also sets the visit. The boardwalks are level and the walking is easy at sea level and not at this one. Visitors who flew into Shangri-La the previous day routinely find a flat three-kilometre circuit harder than they expect, and the shuttle between sections exists partly for that reason.
2. The water moves
These are shallow lakes fed by snowmelt and summer rain, sitting in a basin with limited outflow, so the level swings a long way between seasons. In late summer the water reaches the tree line and the meadows are green and flowering. In early spring a wide band of pale lake bed is exposed around the shore and herders graze yaks on it.
Both are the same place and the photographs look nothing alike. The park is sold on the summer version, and that is worth knowing before booking a trip in March.
The catch. You cannot wander here. The park runs on a shuttle with fixed stops and boardwalk circuits, and going off them is not permitted. For a site presented as a national park that is a narrower experience than the name suggests, and anyone expecting to hike will need to look elsewhere in Diqing.
Orientation
Shuttle, Stops, Circuits
Entry is by ticket and shuttle, and the bus runs between two or three stops with a boardwalk circuit at each. The Shudu Lake circuit is the long one and most visitors do it in full; the meadow stop between the lakes is short and worth it for the open ground rather than the water.
Doing every circuit on foot is a long day at altitude. Walking one in full and riding past the others is a reasonable compromise and is what most people end up doing anyway.
Practical
Things Worth Knowing
Give yourself a day in Shangri-La first
Arriving from Kunming or Lijiang and coming straight up here is the pattern that produces headaches. A night at 3,200 m before a day at 3,500 m makes a real difference.
Weather changes inside an hour
Sun, hail and rain in the same afternoon is normal at this altitude. A waterproof layer matters more than a warm one.
Check what is open
Sections have been closed and reopened for conservation. Confirm the current arrangement in the week you travel.
Bring cash for the shuttle extras
Some of the internal transport and the boat options are charged separately from the entry ticket.
Timing
When to Go
| Season | The case for | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Late June to August | Meadows green and flowering, the lakes full, and the park at its postcard version | The wettest months, and the busiest. Afternoon rain most days |
| September to October | Autumn colour in the deciduous belt and the clearest air of the year | The first week of October is the national holiday and Shangri-La fills |
| March to May | Very quiet, and the exposed lake bed with grazing stock is its own thing | Low water, bare trees, and the landscape sold in the brochures is absent |
| November to February | Snow on the forest and frozen lake margins, with almost nobody there | Cold, short days, and access can be limited by weather |
Context
What Three Parallel Rivers Means
Pudacuo National Park sits inside the Three Parallel Rivers protected area, inscribed by UNESCO in 2003. The name is literal: the Yangtze, the Mekong and the Salween run south through this part of Yunnan within about a hundred kilometres of each other, separated by ranges, before diverging to reach the sea thousands of kilometres apart.
The compression is what makes the region biologically unusual. Altitude ranges from under a thousand metres in the gorges to over six thousand on the peaks, within very short horizontal distances, so the area holds an exceptional number of habitats side by side. A great deal of what grows in temperate gardens in Europe and North America was collected in these valleys in the early twentieth century.
Pudacuo National Park itself opened in 2007 and was presented as an early application of the national park model in China, with the shuttle system and restricted access as part of that. Whether the designation means what it means elsewhere is argued about; what it means on the ground is boardwalks and a bus.
Nearby
Other Stops on the Same Trip
Spot · 88 km south
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山)
The snow massif above Lijiang, reached by cable car to well over four thousand metres.
Spot · 113 km south
Lijiang Old Town (丽江古城)
The Naxi town on the plain below, with its water channels and a heavy tourist load.
Town · 25 km
Shangri-La (香格里拉)
The prefecture seat, with Songzanlin monastery on its edge, and the base for this park.
Where to Base
Shangri-La (香格里拉)
Shangri-La town is twenty-five kilometres below the park and is where you acclimatise, eat and sleep. Songzanlin, the principal Gelug monastery in Yunnan, is on its northern edge and is the other reason to be here.
The standard route comes up from Lijiang by road, which climbs about 1,600 m in four hours. Doing that and visiting the park the same day is the version people regret.
Experiences
What You Can Actually Do Here
On site · 3 hr
The Shudu Lake circuit
The long boardwalk loop around the lake through fir forest, with the meadow at one end.
On site · 1 hr
The meadow between the lakes
Open wet grassland with grazing stock, which is the habitat the park exists for.
Guided · 3 days
Diqing properly
The park, Songzanlin monastery, and the gorge country south of Shangri-La, paced so that the altitude is not the main event.
Worth half a day if you are in Shangri-La anyway and have already acclimatised. Go between late June and October; in early spring the lake is low, the meadows are brown and the place bears no resemblance to its own photographs. Do not plan to hike: this is boardwalks and a shuttle.
Plan a Diqing Route That Includes Pudacuo National Park
Tell us your dates and what you are after, and our local team will build the route: a night in Shangri-La to acclimatise first, the park and the monastery, and the road up from Lijiang paced so the altitude does not spoil it.