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Explore the region
About Dagu Glacier
Dagu Lake and Jinhou Lake offer a different experience from the exposed upper station, so the journey need not be reduced to one summit photograph. The operator announced cable-car service restoration on 31 August 2026 after maintenance. Check the latest notice again before travel, and decide whether the upper altitude and weather conditions suit your group.
Also known as Dagu Bingshan, the Dagu Glacier Scenic Area, or the Sichuan Dagu Glacier National Geopark, Dagu Glacier is a mountain glacier in Luhua town (芦花镇), Heishui County (黑水县), in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. It was identified by Japanese scientists from satellite imagery in 1992, and the same team travelled to the glacier that August to carry out a field survey.
The glacier covers a total area of 7,733 hectares, with an ice thickness of about 30 meters, at elevations between 3,800 and 5,100 meters, and includes Dagu Snow Mountain (达古雪山) within its bounds. The area supports 611 recorded species of wild plants and 153 species of wild animals.
What to look for
- Dagu Lake and the forest-fringed Jinhou Lake area along the scenic road.
- Glacier and mountain views from the authorised upper cable-car visitor area.
Location & getting there
Getting to Dagu Glacier
Use Dagu Glacier’s visitor centre near Heishui County town, then the operating scenic transport toward the cable-car lower station. The upper viewing area is not a direct road destination.
Combine your visit
Suggested order for a focused visit to this part of Sichuan.
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Dagu Lake达古湖
Pause at an open lakeside stop on the scenic route.
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Glacier viewing area冰川观景区
Take the cable car only when operating and appropriate for your group.
Confirm the opening of individual stops and the return connection. This is an editorial sequence, not a combined ticket.
Find Dagu Glacier
达古冰川 · 阿坝州
The pin marks the area, not the entrance.
More places nearby
Approximate straight-line distances between map pins, not travel distances.
Taoping Qiang Village 桃坪羌寨
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View guide →Sources & visit information
The sources below support the place-specific description and arrival information. Suggested combinations are editorial planning ideas; confirm current opening, entry arrangements and transport services for your date.
- Dagu Glacier official operating notices ↗
- Dagu Glacier official geological heritage guide ↗
- Dagu Glacier: Jinhou Lake lake ↗
- Chinese Wikipedia: 达古冰川 (revision 92519325, 2026-05-03) ↗
Background paragraphs translated and condensed from Wikipedia contributors, "达古冰川", Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 92519325.