Zhuo Ma's Jiuzhaigou Home-Stay, Jiuzhaigou, China

Lonely Planet 2011 'Top Choice'. Home cooked breakfast and dinner are included! This is the only authentic Tibetan home-stay in the whole of Jiuzhaigou. It is one of the very few locally owned accommodations in the region.

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What the Lonely Planet, May 2001 Edition says:

A genuine Tibetan homestay, this beautifully decorated wood cabin in a tiny village about 10km up the valley from the main park has three simple rooms and a wonderfully accommodating family. The lovely Zhuo Ma speaks some English and is on hand to welcome foreign guests. Her mother (amma) is the host and cooks the meals along with Zhuo Ma's brother Ke Zhu, a Lhasa-trained chef who prepares the food at the family's restaurant, Abu Luzi. There's a common bathroom with shower, and prices include three meals a day.

If rooms are full, Zhuo Ma's neighbours offer spillover accommodation, although without a shower.

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Myslef, Zhuo Ma, and my brother, Ke Zhu run the home stay with our Ama (mother) and we also run the only authentic Tibetan restaurant near the entrance of Jiuzhaigou National Park called A Bu Lu Zi.

Our home is located in the beautiful Shang Si Zhai Valley which is 15km from the park entrance (free Jeep transfers from my older brother) where you will see local Tibetans go about their daily life like herding yak and goats as well as going on pilgrimages around our sacred mountain.

Horse riding is also available from some of the villagers.

We have 24hrs hot water and a western toilet. Ours is a traditional Tibetan home so we do not have en-suite bathrooms. We have one bathroom on the ground floor of our home as well as an out-house toilet. We do everything we can to make your stay a comfortable one but please note that this is a home-stay, not a hotel.

You will have a real Tibetan experience here and you will learn about our unique mountain culture.

We also offer cooking classes. Ke Zhu trained in Tibetan cooking for 7 years in Lhasa and Beijing and is also trained in Sichuan and Cantonese food - so the best of Tibetan and Chinese cooking.

Try yak butter tea and our home brewed Tibetan barley wine.

There are a number of homes in the valley that we can accommodate you in if you have large numbers.

Our home has rooms on the 1st and 2nd floors. The 2nd floor rooms are accessed by a steep stair case and because of this inconvenience is cheaper. Accommodation includes single, double and triple rooms.

We look forward to welcoming you, Tashi Delek.