Niru Village-Shudu Lake Trek

The route traverses Niru River Canyon boardwalk to the lovely Colorful Waterfall (七彩瀑布). Fairly low for a falls, yet a remarkable sight for innumerable spills cascading over mossy cliffs for a horizontal distance of 200 meters or more. The 5 km hike to the falls has become popular in recent years and at times will feel overcrowded.

The much longer full-day hike up to Deji Pasture and down to Shudu Lake sees much less traffic but has attracted attention among dedicated Chinese trekkers in recent years.

Deji Pasture, elevation 3,850 meters, is an immense meadow 5 km long and up to 2 km wide with herds of grazing yak, dotted on the edges by simple Tibetan homes. The trek traverses the pasture for 1.5 km to the western edge of the meadow, ascends slightly and enters the forest at 27˚55’47“N; 99˚58’39“E. The path continues climbing and soon arrives at a 3,900-meter ridge, the high point of the trek. From here it is all downhill to Shudu Lake.

Shudu Lake is destination for bus loads of tourists visiting Pudacuo National Park. Most stroll the 3 km boardwalk along the southern shore.

Trekkers from Niru Village can board the bus stop at the lake’s eastern end for the 20-minute ride to the park entrance, where they will be required to pay the normal park entrance fee. The distance from the park entrance to Shangri-La City is about 20 km on a divided highway.