Do you need to book Milk Lake & Five-Color Lake in advance?
Yes — Milk Lake & Five-Color Lake in Daocheng-Yading runs on real-name advance reservation. A foreign passport works as the real-name ID. No linkable official booking page is recorded. The row does not provide enough evidence to name an official booking route. Our row says a foreign passport is accepted.
Verified 2026-06-13 · rules change; confirm on the official channel before you travel
The booking rule, in detail
- Reservation
- Required in advance
- Foreign passport
- A foreign passport works as the real-name ID.
- Official channel
- No linkable official booking page is recorded. The row does not provide enough evidence to name an official booking route. Our row says a foreign passport is accepted.
How a foreign visitor actually books it
These sit inside the reserve, so the only ticketing is the Yading park entry plus shuttle you already bought; the lakes themselves are reached on foot. From the end of the electric cart it's a hard high-altitude hike (several hours round trip) up to roughly 4,600-4,700m.
What else to know
This is the top of the trip and the top of the altitude. The lakes sit around 4,600-4,700m, higher than Lhasa, and the climb is steep. Do not attempt it on your first day at altitude. Some visitors hire a horse for part of the climb; availability varies and isn't guaranteed.
If the official channel does not work
Do not assume an unrecorded booking route is available. Recheck the operator’s current instructions; where the interface itself is the obstacle, the practical mechanics are in buying tickets the official way and booking without WeChat.
Other Daocheng-Yading sights and their booking rules
- Chonggu Monastery & Pearl Lake book ahead
- Yading Nature Reserve book ahead
Full city context, hotels that register foreigners, and what to eat: Daocheng-Yading guide. Release times across every city we track are in Reservation Radar.