Day tour Chengdu Panda Base & Leshan Giant Buddha from Chengdu

Catch pandas eating bamboo at dawn, then stand before a 71-meter stone Buddha carved into a cliff.

A full-day tour from Chengdu combines a morning at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding with an afternoon at the Leshan Giant Buddha, a 71-meter carved stone statue overlooking three rivers. Hotel pickup starts at 7am when pandas are most active. The drive to Leshan takes two hours each way. The tour includes lunch at a local restaurant and a visit to a tea farm with tasting, returning to Chengdu by late afternoon.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time spent at each

1. Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding3m · entry included
2. Leshan Giant Buddha3h

Pandas and Leshan Giant Buddha visit

• Hotel pickup in Chengdu at 7:00am
• Visit Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
• Watch giant pandas and red pandas
• Travel 2 hours to Leshan
• Visit Leshan Giant Buddha by boat or climb
• Lunch at local restaurant
• View tea terraces and taste tea
• Return to Chengdu by 4-5pm

The experience

How do you fit two of China's most famous sights into one day? A car and driver pick you up from your hotel at 7am and take you straight to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding while the pandas are eating breakfast and moving around. You walk the Moon Nursery, Sun Nursery, and Red Panda Enclosures with a guide who knows the best spots to watch them without the midday crowds. The early timing matters: by mid-morning, the heat drives the pandas into their dens, so the morning window is when you actually see them play and feed on bamboo.

After the panda base, the drive to Leshan takes two hours. The Leshan Giant Buddha sits carved into a cliff face where three rivers meet (the Minjiang, Daduhe, and Qingyi), and stands 71 meters tall, with shoulders 28 meters wide and a toenail large enough to seat a person. You choose how to see it: take a boat out on the water for a full-face view, or trek up the mountain for a closer look at the carving and the landscape. A local lunch happens between the two sites, and on the way back to Chengdu you stop at a tea farm in the mountains to taste tea and see the terraces. The driver returns you to your hotel around 4 or 5pm.

What’s included

• Hotel pickup and return.
• car and driver service for the full day.
• lunch at a local restaurant.
• tea farm visit with tasting.
• entrance tickets to both the panda base and the Buddha site, purchased on arrival so you don't need to buy them online.

Options for this experience

2 options

Tour shared with a mini group07:00Small group shared tour that includes hotel transfer with pickup included

Private tour07:30Includes pickup

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 07:00 and 07:30

Book up to8h before

GroupUp to 15

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Paid on siteUS$ 12

Prices and times updated 9 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearbyNot recommended during pregnancyNot recommended with heart problemsNot recommended with back problems

Operated by Discovery more

Is this one for you?Choose the shared tour if you're open to traveling with a small group and want to keep the cost down. Pick the private tour if you prefer your own vehicle and guide for the full eight hours. Both options include the same stops and timing. The difference is who else is in the car.

Traveler reviews

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Top questions

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What time do the pandas actually move around at the Chengdu base?

Early morning is when giant pandas and red pandas are most active eating and playing. The tour picks you up at 7am to catch them at breakfast time before the midday heat sends them into their dens.

Can I choose how to see the Leshan Giant Buddha?

Yes. You can take a boat out on the water for a full-face view of the 71-meter statue, or trek up the mountain for a closer look at the carved details and the rivers below.

Is the tea farm stop a real working farm or a tourist shop?

The tour takes you to a local tea farm in the mountains where you can taste tea and see the terraces where it grows, on the drive back toward Chengdu.

How long is the drive from Chengdu to Leshan?

The drive is two hours each way, so you spend four hours traveling total. The morning panda visit and afternoon Buddha stop fit around that travel time.