Mount Siguniang · Sichuan
Plan a private Mount Siguniang trip in Sichuan: the Four Girls peaks and three valleys — Shuangqiao, Changping, Haizi — with horse treks and guided climbs from Rilong town.
The short version
The place itself
The Four Girls are four snow peaks in a row on the eastern rim of the Hengduan Mountains, second in Sichuan only to Gongga Shan. The legend gives them their name: four sisters who fought a demon that was killing the villagers and, dying in the fight, became the mountains. The tallest, Yaomei Feng at 6,250 m, is the one serious alpinists come for; the others are where ordinary walkers and first-time mountaineers start.
Everything funnels through Rilong, a small Tibetan town at about 3,200 m at the foot of the peaks, and from it the three valleys fan out. Shuangqiao is the most developed and the only one with a sightseeing shuttle, so it is a comfortable half-day of snow mountains without effort but also without much participation. Changping is the classic: no road, horses and a boardwalk under the peaks, the Four Girls dead ahead for most of the way.
Haizi is the wild card — 19.2 km long, high, and reached only on foot or on horseback, past grasslands and a scatter of alpine lakes at nearly 4,200 m. It is also the approach for the climb, the local route up Da Feng and Er Feng, and the reason this valley has a climbing culture at all.
This is Tibetan and Jiarong country, not just scenery. Prayer flags on the passes, stone watchtowers in the villages below, butter tea in the guesthouses of Rilong — and, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the mountain-worship festival on the grassland, when locals face the peaks and burn juniper for them.
Pins are plotted from real latitude and longitude on a 5° graticule. This is a schematic orientation diagram, not a political map — no boundaries are drawn.
29 km of gorge, forest and boardwalk right under the peaks, with the Four Girls visible most of the way and a ruined lamasery, dry lakes and a kolam-like thicket of dead trees on the trail. Horses do the hard part; the classic walk reaches Muluozi, a flat meadow at 3,760 m.
The developed valley, 7 km from Rilong, with a shuttle running to the end and back. You look up at a dozen peaks over 4,000 m — Wuse Shan, the Sun-Moon Mirror, Yingyang Gorge — and can walk the Shuqin boardwalk, but the peaks themselves stay distant.
19.2 km of open grassland and ridge, with more than ten alpine lakes and the best full view of the Four Girls from the Chaoshang and Guozhuang meadows. It is also the start of the climb, and the reason to give it a whole day.
The 5,025 m Da Feng is the beginner's peak: no technical climbing, snow from December to June, and a summit reached in 5–6 hours from the 1st camp at 4,500 m. You need a local guide and a ¥60 climbing permit, and the view from the top takes in all three valleys.
The high bend on the road into Rilong, where the whole four-peak skyline shows at once. Best at sunrise, when the first light gilds the summits — the local 'golden mountain', and a five-minute stop that everyone makes.
A one-street Tibetan-tinged town of guesthouses, climbers' cafés and small Sichuan kitchens at 3,200 m. It is not pretty, but it is the base for everything, the place to sleep, hire horses, meet guides and drink butter tea.
Five days in Sichuan with a half-day volunteering at a panda centre — cleaning enclosures, preparing bamboo and meeting the keepers.
From US$980/per person
View tourFive regions, one journey: imperial north, panda country, the karst rivers of Guilin and the skyline of Shanghai, with Hangzhou's West Lake.
From US$2,580/per person
View tourThe only public transport is the bus: from Chengdu Chadianzi Station (☎ 028-87506610) several buses leave for Xiaojin County at about 06:20 daily, and you get off at Rilong on the way; the run is 6–8 hours and costs ¥123–135, so buy a day ahead. There are no trains and no airport here — everyone comes through Chengdu.
By road the route is Chengdu–Dujiangyan–Yingxiu–Wolong–Mt Balang–Rilong, 286 km, crossing the 4,500 m Balang Pass; it takes 5–6 hours and the last stretch has tight bends and steep grades, so a local driver or a shared car is the sane choice. The road climbs through the Wolong panda reserve, and the vegetation changes from broadleaf forest to conifer to alpine meadow as you go. Snow on Balang in winter and spring can slow or briefly close it.
| Month | Weather | Crowds | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C / -12°C · bitterly cold, clear | Quiet | Avoid |
| February | 5°C / -9°C · bitterly cold, clear | Very busy | Avoid |
| March | 10°C / -3°C · bitterly cold, clear | Moderate | Good |
| April | 15°C / 3°C · bitterly cold, clear | Moderate | Good |
| May | 19°C / 8°C · bitterly cold, clear | Busy | OK |
| June | 22°C / 12°C · clear and mild | Moderate | Best |
| July | 23°C / 14°C · clear and mild | Busy | Best |
| August | 22°C / 13°C · clear and mild | Busy | Best |
| September | 19°C / 9°C · clear and mild | Moderate | Best |
| October | 14°C / 2°C · bitterly cold, clear | Very busy | Good |
| November | 7°C / -6°C · bitterly cold, clear | Quiet | Good |
| December | 2°C / -11°C · bitterly cold, clear | Quiet | Avoid |
Two days is the floor: one for Changping on horseback under the peaks, one for Shuangqiao by shuttle. Three or four is better and lets you add Haizi Valley on foot, which is the wildest of the three but eats a full day. Add two more if you want to climb Da Feng — one to acclimatise in Rilong, one up to the high camp, one for the summit and back — and remember the whole point of the extra days is altitude, not distance.
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Take the bus from Chengdu Chadianzi Station (☎ 028-87506610) — several coaches leave for Xiaojin at about 06:20 daily and stop at Rilong, 6–8 hours for ¥123–135; buy the ticket a day ahead. Or share a car and drive via Dujiangyan, Yingxiu, Wolong and the 4,500 m Balang Pass, 286 km and about 5–6 hours.
Changping is the best single choice — horse or boardwalk beneath the peaks, with the Four Girls in view most of the way. Shuangqiao is the easy one, all shuttle and no effort, and perfect if you are short on time. Haizi is the serious hike, a full day on foot or horseback, and the one to pick if you have a spare day.
For Da Feng, yes — a licensed guide and a ¥60 permit are required, and the route, though non-technical, crosses glaciers and steep snow. Er Feng suits fit, experienced hikers; San Feng and Yaomei Feng are for mountaineers with full technical gear. Do not attempt any of them without a guide, a permit and a day to acclimatise.
Rilong sits at about 3,200 m, high enough that most people feel something on the first night. Sleep well, avoid alcohol, eat vegetables and fruit, and give yourself a full day at town height before going higher. Carry altitude medication if you know you are susceptible, and do not push on if you feel sick — the mountains will still be there.
The Siguniang horses are famously calm and are used to carrying visitors; many barely trot, and a handler walks the reins for nervous riders, so it is fine even for children. Agree the route and the price before you mount, and use the horses for the long flat stretches rather than for anything steep.
July and August bring wildflowers and green meadows, and September and October bring the clearest skies and the best photography light. Winter is cold and snowy, spring can be dry and brown. It is high plateau at any time of year, so pack layers, sunscreen and sunglasses whenever you go.
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