Jiuzhaigou

I consider myself blessed the many beautiful places I've seen in my life. New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, even my own home state of Minnesota all stand as special places in this world, but there is a new addition to my list which may top them all: Jiuzhaigou

Situated deep in the mountains of Eastern Tibet, Jiuzhaigou is a splendid valley meaning Nine Village Valley, for the nine Tibetan villages that were once in the area.

Juizhaigou has a unique formula for its beauty. First, it is a gorgeous mountain valley with towering rock cliff and snow capped mountains that by themselves would be considered quite special. A stream flows through the bed. Due to various geological processes, the stream pooled into over a hundred shimmering lakes which reflect the valley's mountains. Each of the lakes is constantly flowing down through the valley. Because of the pooling, entire lakes spill over the lips, creating large spectacular waterfalls. This alone would have it top manys' list of the world's most beautiful places, but Jiuzhaigou adds another layer to its beauty. Due to the high oxygen content of the area and the particular mineral content of the water, the lakes are a deep shade of tourquoise, even when the sky is overcast. The trees when they fall into its crystal clear lakes, grow a thick layer of fuzzy green lichen. The colors are so vivid, they could only be in ones'
dreams, though they are so splendid, no imagination could create them. In October, Jiuzhaigou shows its royal flush as the Autumn turns the deciduous forests into a sea of reds, yellows and oranges.

The beauty comes at a cost however. The park is in the middle of nowhere, 12 hours drive from the nearest major city. I needed to travel a whole 24 hours to reach it. The entrance fee is 220 yuan and an additional 90 yuan for the bus, which is a neccessity due to the parks vast distances and many of the walking trails were closed. This adds up to 330 yuan or nearly $50 for one day at the park! I chose to spend the whole day hiking, walking nearly 30km. It was a beautiful day and beautiful place and when walking, you avoid the other thousands of people that enter the park everyday.

Though, when I sat on the bus as it meandered its way up the valley, the money investment, the time investment, they didn't matter. The second I first glimsed the impossible colors of the many pools, I felt as if I'd be content dying at that very moment.