Balagezong Grand Canyon Park

Balagezong Grand Canyon park is located about 1.5-2 hours drive from Shangri-La, towards the north. The park contains some of the following scenic areas and attractions: - Tibetan Cultural Experience Center - Bala Village - Echo Wall High-Altitude Glass Skywalk - Shambara Natural Pagoda - Gallery Road - Bodhi Tree Since the park is very big and steep, it is required to use the shuttle buses of the park to go from place to place. The Tibetan Cultural Experience Center is actually a Tibetan Buddhist temple, which you can enter and even go up to the second floor. The Bala Village does not seem to be a real village. It is a complex of buildings belonging to a hotel inside the park. In the village there are two restaurants, one is the hotel's, and a second one sells traditional Tibetan food. The Echo Wall High-Altitude Glass Skywalk is reached after a relatively short hike along a path attached to the side of a cliff. From the skywalk you will be able to see a big part of the canyon. No one in the group that I traveled with attempted to shout in order to hear an echo. On the way back you can ride on a zipline for an extra fee. To go to Shambara Natural Pagoda you have to pay an extra fee (I'm not sure if it's 75 or 100RMB). Since I chose not to go there, I'm not sure what there is to see. According to the pictures I saw, it is a mountain peak in the shape of a Pagoda. The Gallery Road is a raised road along the river flowing in the canyon. The water there is crystal clear and flows rapidly. After walking about half an hour, you reach a boat house at the end of the road, where for an additional 100RMB you can choose to take a rubber boat back to the beginning of the gallery. The Bodhi Tree is located near the parking lot of the park, outside the park entrance. It is an ancient holy tree (a few thousand years old) growing on a cliff wall. The road to the park is beautiful, and I would consider it part of the attraction. #china #shangrila #balagezong