Chengdu Panda Base and Leshan Buddha Tour: One Day Trip Highlighting Panda Encounters

Experience an unforgettable one-day trip in Chengdu, China, where you’ll encounter adorable pandas at the Chengdu Panda Base and marvel at the magnificent Leshan Giant Buddha carved into a cliff face.

Duration: 8 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding - Keep your camera ready as you explore two of Chengdu’s most picturesque locations on this full-day tour – the UNESCO-listed Grand Buddha in Leshan and the Chengdu Panda Base. Begin your day by getting up close with China’s charming native pandas, with opportunities to see Giant Pandas, Red Pandas, and baby pandas.
  • Leshan Giant Buddha (Da Fo) - A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Leshan Giant Buddha rises 133 feet (71 meters) tall at the confluence of three rivers—but Leshan offers more than just the statue. This private full-day door-to-door tour allows you to experience the Buddha from every perspective—from a boat, from the stairs carved into the cliff, and even from above his head.
What's Included
  • Private transportation
  • Bottled water provided
  • Professional driver
  • Parking, fuel, and toll fees included
  • Hotel pick-up and drop-off included
  • Round trip to Chengdu Panda Base and Leshan Giant Buddha
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • panda base and Leshan buddha tickets
  • tour guide service
  • lunch
Additional Information

The Panda is a main attraction in the tour of Chengdu, with the panda base being a short 30-minute drive from the city center. Chengdu’s giant panda breeding and research center magnetizes approximately 100,000 foreign tourists annually. Spanning several hectares adorned with bamboo groves and habitats similar to their natural environment, the center houses over 50 pandas, and is the only place where baby pandas can be seen in the summer.

The renowned 71 meters Leshan Giant Buddha, cut from a cliff face, depicts a seated Buddha with his hands resting on his knees.

It holds the record as the tallest statue of Buddha, and boasts a shoulder span of 28 meters. The smallest toenail can comfortably fit a person, and the 7-meter-wide ears can hold two people. The Buddha’s 14.7 meters tall, 10 meters wide head is adorned with 1,021 buns of coiled hair. People often refer to this saying: ‘The mountain is a Buddha and the Buddha is a mountain.’

  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
Location
Chengdu
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(19 Ratings)
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Sam_g
Aug 4, 2024
Private ride with help accessing sites - Our driver was extremely helpful, taking us to buy tickets and showing us where to go in. At Leshan he even queued for us, insisting we sit and cool down. The comfy car with free water and air con were also lovely given the heat.
Review provided by Viator
Dylan_r
Jun 1, 2024
Great Experience - This was a great experience. I would recommend this tour if you’re in Chengdu for a short period of time. Both sites are must see if you are in Chengdu. Our driver Huang Lin was very friendly and helped us buy the tickets for both sites and told us exactly where to go. The drive was very comfortable as leshan is almost 2 hours away.
Review provided by Viator
Alejandro_m
May 21, 2024
Loved the trip and the organization! - We were very happy with the trip! Our driver didn’t speak a word of English but she helped us to get to both the panda and Buddha leshan perfectly not only bringing us there but also showing us where to buy the tickets. Thank you very much Huang Lin!!! Also on the way back to Chengdu she brought us to an ancient town to spend some time. THANS AGAIN!
Review provided by Viator
Emma_w
May 14, 2024
Excellent! - We absolutely loved the trip. It was really well organised and comfortable. Our driver and guide Liu Zhijun was great. He arrived early to pick us up as he hadn't been able to reach me the day before to confirm the trip, and had prepared information about the pandas and leshan buddha for us which was really interesting. Everything ran smoothly and at our own pace because it was a private tour with just me and my partner so we felt no pressure to rush, and he also helped us arrange the tickets for the pandas and leshan buddha directing us where to go. It was a perfect day out. I highly recommend this trip for no stress, exciting trip.
Review provided by Viator
Mariagrazia_p
Apr 30, 2024
Giant Panda Base and Leshan Budda - Great experience all day long, big thanks to our friendly and patient driver Master Guan who drove us safely to Chengdu giant panda centre and Leshan Buddha. In addition he gave us a good tip where to go in Chengdu after this beautiful day. Xiexie
Review provided by Viator
Victoria_c
Mar 24, 2024
Pandas and Leshan - If you want to visit the pandas and Leshan Buddha, I totally recommend this tour! Our driver was fantastic! He drove us to the panda base and walked us to the entrance. He assisted us with buying tickets and the logistics. When we arrived at Leshan, he walked us to the entrance and also assisted with buying tickets and walked us to the boat- it was a long walk from the entrance. On our way back to Chengdu, he also stopped in an ancient town for us to visit. The tour is just transportation, but he was so helpful. I don't know how we would have visited these 3 places without him. Yes, the panada are near the city, but for non Chinese speakers with no Internet on their phones- it would have been very difficult for us to do on our own. His English was good enough to help us throughout the day and he drove us safely with the crazy traffic of Chengdu. If you're thinking about this tour, book it. They are also very flexible and you can spend more or less time at each location.
Review provided by Viator
Jasmin_s
Mar 17, 2024
Great day thanks to Wu Wei - We had a wonderful day thanks to our driver 吴畏 (Wu Wei). He was very kind and spoke English very well. Even though he is a driver and not a guide, he told us so many interesting facts about Chengdu and the region. He helped us with the tickets and the communication. We felt very safe and were very happy with him. Thank you Wu Wei!
Review provided by Viator
Barberinec1
Jan 11, 2024
Panda base and Leshan Buddha tour - We had an amazing day thanks to our driver Wuwei, he was extremely kind and explained to us many things about Chengdu and Leshan. We would definitely do it again!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Zoe_t
May 16, 2024
Solo female trip - My recent experience was overall very pleasant! Li Chao whom was very polite was in my hotels lobby on the time they mentioned they would be, and drove me to some of the popular landmarks that Chengdu had to offer. The language barrier made communication a bit tricky but he does make the effort to converse with the use of a translator app. Would defo recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Florence_s
Jun 13, 2024
Not a tour, a taxi ride and only in Chinese - Overpriced and oversold. The information is also incorrect at worst and ambiguous at best. Talks about English guide/ driver- ours didn’t speak a word of English!! Didn’t even attempt to introduce himself! On getting into the car - it stank of smoke - totally unacceptable and unprofessional and very unpleasant when you don’t smoke!! Guide for Leshan Buddha was a folder with copy of Wikipedia article - didn’t even bother to take ‘citation needed’ out!! No instructions on what to do when got into panda centre so wasted time finding out about shuttle bus because signs obviously all in Chinese!! Expected us to communicate via WeChat which luckily had but many visitors wouldn’t. At Leshan he took us towards the ticket offices via translator what tickets we wanted - did we want a cruise? Well on the basis we had no information provided about options it is impossible and very frustrating to make a choice! These ‘taxi firms’, because that’s all they appear to be, should not be allowed to advertise on Viator at over inflated prices offering nothing but a day ride share wrapped in an alleged tour packages. I have already cancelled a trip later in holiday because it became apparent it was just a taxi! If you want to see the pandas and/or the Buddha whilst in Chengdu - save yourself a lot of money and either do a legitimate ‘tour’ that supports you, and communicates to make your time pleasurable or failing that just use your own taxi bookings - much better value!
Review provided by Viator
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September 2024
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