Situated in the depths of the mountains in the border area of Napping， Songpan and Pingwu counties in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of northwestern Sichuan，is a fairyland called Jiuzhaigou--Nine-Village Gully. Until recent years，it had remained undisturbed in high mountains due to its inaccessibility，except by some horse trails or mountain paths. Scattered along the gully with the alpine lakes are nine Tibetan settlements，hence the name Jiuzhaigou、meaning"nine villages gully".
Jiuzhaigou Scenic area refers to the"Y"shaped three gullies of Shuzheng， Rize and Zechawa，altogether covering an area of 720km} and stretching out for a total length of over SOkm. It is a habitat of Tibetans，and geologically a cold alpine Karst topography in nature. The nine villoges and the mountain lakes，called"haizi"(sea or son of sea),shining like crystal mirrors，dot in the depth of forests and snow mountains.At the upper most lies the Long Lake，while the Grass Lake is the end of Rize Gully. The two gullies run down northward and join together at Nuorilang to form the beginning of Shuzheng Gully. The height drop amounts to 1 000m or more from the joint of the two gullies to the outlet of Shuzheng Gully. Lining along the distance are 114 stepped lakes(The water is so clear that the bottom is visible despite depths of several dozen meters)，between which are 17 waterfall groups(Waterfalls are the essence of the scenery in Jiuzhaigou)，11 torrents，and 5 calcareous tufa shoals， forming"a fairy land under the sky" that features in alpine lake groups，waterfall groups，and calcareous tufa shoals，as well as snow mountains，virgin forests， and Tibetan folklore.
九寨沟位于四川西北部阿坝的南坪、松潘和平武三县交界之处的崇山峻岭之中，是一片深藏不露的人间仙境。多少年来，这里一直交通不便，只有马道和山间小路沟。这里有九个藏族村寨散落在高山湖泊群中。因而得名九寨沟。
九寨沟是眠山山脉中里‘Y”字形分布的树正、日则、则查汁三条沟谷的总称。风景区面积积约720平方公里，总长50多公里，属世界高寒喀斯特地貌。当地为藏族聚居区，九个村寨和许多被称为“海子”的高山湖泊仿佛一面而明亮的镜子，神奇地镶嵌在雪山森林深处则查汁沟的尽端是长湖，日则沟的尽端是草湖，两沟由南向北在诺日朗合为树正沟。两沟尽端湖泊至树正沟口高差1000余米，其间有呈梯级分布的大小湖泊114个(湖水之清，虽深达好几米，也能清澈见底)、湖泊之间有17个瀑布群(瀑布是九寨沟风景的精华),11段激流、5处钙华滩流，相串相联、形成以高山湖泊群、瀑布群以及钙华滩流为特色，集湖、瀑、滩、流、雪峰、森林、藏族风情于一体的人间仙境。