Shika Snow Mountain
Shika snow mountain scenic area is located in the southwest of Jiantang Town, Shangri-La County, on the southeast edge of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, with an altitude of 4500 meters. National 5A tourist attraction. It is 7.34 kilometers away from the county seat. It is not only the comprehensive tourist attraction closest to Shangri-La airport in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, but also the only three-dimensional ecological and cultural tourist attraction with tourist conditions in Diqing plateau.
The term “shika” comes from the transliteration of Shangri-La Tibetan language, which means “mountain with red deer”. In Tibetan Buddhism, red deer is a common animal that is listening to Buddha’s preaching. Therefore, red deer is one of the auspicious animals of Tibetan Buddhism, which means “auspicious longevity, Exorcism and Dharma”. Therefore, shika snow mountain scenic spot is the protection god of Shangri La in the hearts of Tibetan people.
Origin of Snow Mountain
“Shika” is a transliteration of Shangri-La Tibetan, which means “mountain with horse and deer”. Two horse and deer represent the mortal beings who are listening to the Buddha’s statement. “Auspicious longevity, exorcism and righteousness.”
Feature
The natural ecological landscape tourism resources of the scenic spot are composed of geological landscape, snow mountain, Linghu lake, forest, meadow ecological tourism resources, rare animals and plants and ornamental plants distributed vertically. The natural landscape of shika mountain scenic spot is a dynamic landscape. It is summed up as the following sentence: “Seeing green grass in spring and watching flowers in summer, watching autumn in autumn and viewing snow in winter”; the human landscape resources are based on the theme of religious culture of Shenshan and vertical nomadic culture of Shangri-La, injecting vitality into natural ecology.
There are several functional routes such as cable car plus walking pilgrimage sightseeing public ecological tourism route, walking pilgrimage sightseeing ecological cultural tourism route, comprehensive ecological cultural tourism route and village folk cultural tourism route, striving to fully meet the needs of tourists’ Pilgrimage, outdoor sports, soft exploration, hiking, scientific investigation and folk customs participation experience.
Flora and Fauna
Rich biodiversity is another major feature of Shika Mountain Scenic Area. According to preliminary survey statistics, there are at least 73 families, 203 genera and 399 species of seed plants in the scenic area. Among them there are 12 species of nationally protected plants, such as jade dragon fern, alpine water leek, matsutake mushroom, and oil wheat hanging spruce. There are 151 rare and valuable medicinal materials, such as Cordyceps sinensis, snow tea, ginseng, fritillaria, rock cabbage, Gentiana macrophylla, Jinbuhuan, Taoerqi, and Artemisia glabra. There are more than 100 species of wild birds and mammals, of which 30 are national key protected rare and endangered animals, such as leopard, black-necked crane, spot-tailed hazel, vulture, black bear, brown bear, red panda, forest musk deer, blood pheasant, Tibetan Horse chickens, spoon chickens, and big-breasted cockatoos.
Geographic features
Geological and geomorphological diversity is a major feature of Shika Mountain Scenic Area. Because it is located in the Sanjiang Rift Valley of Hengduan Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, it has complex geological structure and many strata are exposed. Sandstone, limestone, slate and siliceous rocks are staggered. The structural characteristics of profiles, faults, folds and knots are very obvious; In terms of landforms, in addition to numerous mysterious canyons, ice-eroded lakes, meadow streams and gravel karst caves, there are various horns, “U” shaped valleys, impact fans, glacier moraine and ancient glacier landforms, etc.
Travel Guide
Transportation
Bus: There is free public bus from Xinhua Hotel to Snow Mountain in Shangri-La town.
Recommended Itineraries
Route 1: Shika Snow Mountain – Dukezong Old Town
Nearby Attractions
- Dukezong Old Town
- Potatso National Park
- Guishan Park
- Baiji Temple
- Songzanlin Monastery
- Dabao Temple
Other Attractions in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
- Meili Snow Mountain
- Yubeng
- Balagezong Canyon
- Haba Snow Mountain
- Feilai Temple
- The bend of Jinsha River
- Mingyong Glacier
- Tiger Leaping Gorge
