Limestone Deposits of Baishuitai 白水台
Baishuitai or White Water Terraces is more than three hours away from Shangrila town. It is a great getaway from the already sleepy town but it is the perfect way to see the surrounding areas of the Shangrila county. I managed to spot Baishuitai as some sort of strange bright spot on the side of a mountain. I have a basic idea of what Baishuitai was as it bring some sort of closure to one of my previous visits. Four years back, I visited the south western province of Sichuan or which the UNESCO World Heritage site of Huanglong was located. Unfortunately, some local unrest forced the closure of the area and we were forced to change our plans. Baishuitai is a place which is very similar to Huanglong, so I hope by coming here I would be able to put that unfortunate experience behind me.
A Terrace at Baishuitai 白水台
One major difference between Baishuitai and Huanglong is that Baishuitai is half as high as Huanglong which sits at more than 4000m high. This makes Baishuitai low by comparison. However, Baishuitai is still located on a mountain and this is a mountain I still have to climb. It really isn’t that high but I just dislike climbing stairs. There were properly constructed stairs here to avoid visitors from trampling all over the place. For the lazy, there are horses to help you climb up, for a fee of course, though I didn’t see exactly where the horses will be walking. The view is nice around this area, so it was great to just pause and take stock of what is around you.
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