The terraced travertine pools of Huanglong are just a couple of hours away from popular Jiuzhaigou, yet it sees a fraction of the visitors. 

In comparison, it’s a much smaller and quicker park to explore, with most visitors opting to take the cable car to the top, where they have only a short stroll to the main viewpoint. 

The cheaper, and slower way to see the park is by walking from the bottom, which is what we chose to do. The entry ticket was also very affordable, at just 60 yuan – about £7 due to it being the off-season. The park is reliant on the summer rains to fill all of the travertine pools, and in just a couple of weeks, at the start of June, the ticket price will jump up to almost £20. 

We were some of the first people to enter the park – at least from the walking route, and we ploughed up the wooden steps which led us over interesting rock formations created by the calcium deposits. 

In the rainy season, our path would have led us over water, but instead it was beige and barren, with only a few lucky pools filled with water. 

We were hiking up to 3600m elevation, so along the way, there was an oxygen bar for people suffering from altitude sickness. People could go inside and sit on a large armchair while breathing in pure oxygen – for a fee, of course. 

We eventually reached the main trail which linked to the cable car, and with it came lots of people – and the main sight that’s visible year-round. 

The travertine pools lined the valley floor, with a big snowy peak as a backdrop, and these pools weren’t just filled with water, they were filled with Gatorade coloured water. 

Calcium carbonate deposits created thick, foot-high, ledges, creating a series of natural steps, with water filling each level.

The scene looked almost artificial, with the pure-white walls and the intense blue water, but it was all Mother Nature’s doing. 

We could have spent longer enjoying the view and having a picnic at the top, but we realised we could get the 1pm bus back to Songpan and save waiting almost three hours until the next one. So we speed-walked all the way back down, with thirty minutes to spare. The problem was – we couldn’t find the right bus. People weren’t being very helpful and someone sent us down to the cable car station a few kilometres away. That proved to be a big mistake and by the time we made it back to the correct location and found our bus, it was literally driving away from us – we’d missed it – I was so pissed off. 

We had no choice but to enquire with the gangs of men offering taxi rides, and in the end, we got a ride for £5 per person, which was more than a bus, but not the end of the world. 

Songpan was described as being the gateway to the Tibetan plateau with a lovely mix of Tibetans and Hui Muslims. Sadly, much of the ancient town was under construction when we arrived and it was extremely dusty and noisy. 

It was lovely to see lots of Tibetans again though, and the ladies were very fond of their amber and coral jewellery. While some wore necklaces, others had heavy pieces of precious gems wrapped around their heads. 

The town was also a hive with people preparing and selling Caterpillar Fungus, a parasitic fungus that infects ghost moth larvae. They’re used in traditional Chinese medicine to boost energy, libido and support the immune system. They’re picked in spring and summer when locals crawl through the grass on high-altitude meadows in search of them. Their rarity makes it one of the world’s most expensive biological commodities. 

One morning we woke to a dusting of snow on the mountains and set off on a walk to a remote monastery. The route led us up over the mountains, where rain turned to snow and the pine trees looked like they were sprayed with white powder, ready for Christmas. Yaks were free-roaming along the trail, and herders waved from a distance. 

We soon made it down towards the village where all the houses were built in the same design – and they were huge. I don’t know why Tibetans have such big homes and what all the rooms are used for. 

On our way to the monastery, we witnessed a goat who had just given birth to twins. The newborns were still slimy and the mum was standing over them while cows grazed nearby. 

I was expecting the monastery to be a small affair, but it was quite a marvel, with multiple, grand, buildings topped with golden roofs. Prayer wheels lined the outside of the complex so we started by following them around, spinning them clockwise for good luck. 

I think we must’ve walked about 2km around the building before we even entered the monastery itself. There wasn’t anyone around which seemed strange, we expected to see some monks or pilgrims, but the place was empty. 

It was an interesting area to explore though, and after taking some photos of the colourful buildings we made our way back down to Songpan. We passed the newborn goats again, who were already cleaned up and standing strong. 

We opted to take a different, much steeper route back which offered great views of the snowcapped peaks. The final stretch towards the main road led us past a river where the decomposing bodies of yaks and horses lay in the shallows. 

It turned out to be a really fun day hike, and best of all it was a free activity that we had all to ourselves.