紫云格凸河风景名胜区

Getu River Caves

Useful Information

Location:	Getu River Scenic Spot, Ziyun, Anshun, Guizhou (25.687108, 106.267420)
Open:	All year daily 9-18. Last entry 16:30. [2021]
Fee:
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	D=4 h, St=2,000, self guided.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Getu River Caves, Xixiu, Anshun, Guizhou, Tel: +86-851-38180888.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

2003	Getu River connected to China's road network.
2007	visited by the French alpinist Olivier Balma who made it knwon as a climbing location.
2011	climbing event organized by Petzl.

Description

紫云格凸河风景名胜区 (Ziyun Getu River Scenic Spot) includes Dachuan Cave, Tianxing Cave, Chuanshang Cave and Central Cave Miao Village. The word "Getu" is Miao, meaning "holy land".

The Swallow Cave is home to tens of thousands of swallows, during sunrise and sunset, swallows fly at the portal of the cave. This protal is quite spectacular, 116 m high and 25 m wide. The cave passage behind is up to 200 m high. In front of the portal is a 270 m long lake, which is artificially dammed inside the cave. The trail enters the cave on the right side and continues as an elevated trail along the wall, between 10 m and 40 m above the river. Highlight of this tour is a 30 minutes rock-climbing show done by Miao people on the wall of the Swallow Cave. At the end of the passage is a huge skylight or karstfenster, with a steep slope of debris, mostly huge block. The trail crosses the river on the swallow bridge, which is a little rickety, and winds up the steep slope. A series of long staircases leads up across the house sized boulders. From the end of the slope the visitors take the glass elevator to the tropical forest in the Blind Valley and Chuangshang Cave.

Chuangshang Cave is the collapsed ruin of a higher level cave, it is a huge natural bridge with an 137 m long, 70 m wide and 50 m high opening. Rare species of small shrubs and vines grows inside the passage. There is a wooden, elevated trail which leads up to the outlook on Getu River.

The 1-kilometer-long Blind Valley is surrounded by cliffs. Actually it is a tiankeng, a huge doline. You can enter the valley through a 20 m deep doline. Here a 3.5 km long boat ride on Getu River starts, which takes the visitors to Dahe Miao Ethnic Village where they can admire Miao dancing and singing and enjoy local food. On both banks along the Getu River 15 tribes of Miao people with different languages, dresses and customs live together. The cliffs along both sides of the Getu River are home to the hanging coffins of the Miao people. During the boat ride, numerous hanging coffins on the cliff face can be seen. After the boat ride back to the jetty a shuttle bus brings the visitors back to the staring point at the ticket office.