Haba Snow Mountain Travel Guide

iWalk. March 11th, 2008. Published under China. 100 views. 2 Comments.

When I arrived the base camp of Haba Snow Mountain at 4200 meters over sea leavel, My guider asked if I want see a kind of snow fishs live in alpine moraine lake. But I was almost out of breath then.
I knew I should prepare more before I started out.

About Haba Snow Mountain:

Haba means the flower of gold in Naxi Language.

The Haba Snow Mountain, which regards as the brother of Yulong Snow Mountain, with its main peak of 5,396m, lays 120 kilometres to the southeast of Zhongdian(Shangri-La) County.

If you want visit Tiger Leaping Gorge (Hutiao Gorge), You can’t miss Haba Snow Mountain. The Jinsha river is flanked by Yulong and Haba snow mountains, with a height difference of 3,900 meters. forms this one of the deepest gorges in the world.

Haba Snow Mountain also famous for its alpine moraine lake and cluster of waterfalls cascading down snow-covered cliffs. The glacier on the Haba Snow Mountain is the southmost glacier in China.

Beneath the Haba Snow Mountain, there are some local minorities villages. except Haba villages(Hui Muslin village), there are some other Naxi, Hui (Muslim) ,Yi and Tibetan villages. That’s one of reasons why it’s a place of of interest to hikers.

Best Time to go:

October to May next year, it’s rainning rarely.

But I never saw the towering peaks of the Haba Snow Mountain. It’s raining heavily during all times I stayed there, though I visited there at gold season of autumn.

Traffic:

You can only travel by bus or drive. Buses run daily to/from both Lijiang and Zhongdian(Shangri-La)

Accommodation:

You can choice budget beds from Y10-15 at homes of village. There are also better condition hotel , such as Haba Snow Mountain Inn and the Fourth Sister Inn. The former provides a computer and a generator, as well as a larger selection of vegetables for meals.

Haba Snow Mountain Climbing:

If you want hike to the summit of Haba Snow Mountain, there is some tips:

If you are not a keen hiker, you should plan to take 3-4 days at pace for ascent and descent the mountain;
It requires spending nights on the mountain, You should prepare carefully for the cold weather in night;
A guides is required, Horse & guide can be hired in Haba Village, Y100/day total)
There are two phases let you enjoy all the great things of Haba Snow Mountain. Here is the suggestion from China Trekking:

* Phase I - Tiger Leaping Gorge to Haba Village

D1: Qiaotou-> Nuoyu Village-> 28 Turns-> Halfway Guesthouse
D2: Halfway Guesthouse ->Middle Rapids -> Tina’s -> Walnut Grove (Woody)
D3: Walnut Grove -> Haba Village(2800m)

* Phase II - Haba Village to Haba Snow Mt.

D4: Haba Village-> Base Camp (4200m) 6-8hrs
D5: Base Camp–Camp 1(4800m)–Summit(5396m)–Base Camp
D6: Base Camp–Haba Village, take a bus to Baishuitai
D7: Bus from Baishuitai back to Lijiang or further northern to Zhongdian(Shangri-La)

We drove directly to Haba village, then stayed at the base campe of mountain for five days, and pass the Tiger Leaping Gorge on the way back.

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