Ratings by backpackers :

Note : I did not visit personally. The below infos is based on my discussions with travelers. 

Description : According to the Chinese propaganda, the "best scenery under the sky"

Comments : With such a reputation, plus the fact that the Valley joined UNESCO World Heritage List in 1992, the area is now submerged by tourism and it probably won't turn out to be the quietest trek of your life.  

What to do : Walk the road & explore around the road (72,000 hectares in total) / See how the Chinese tourists are enjoying the scenery / Observe some of the 140 bird species / 

What you may not like : The way the Chinese tourists are enjoying the scenery / The entrance fee / The price of the bus inside / The quality-cost ratio of the accommodations / The bad and expensive food / 

How long ? From 3 days (the bus pass is valid 2 days)  to much more if you want to get more value for your money.

Where to stay ? At three different lodging areas. The first night (dorm) is included in the entry fee. After, it should cost around Y30 for a bed or 120 for a basic Dbl with attached bath. Electricity from the evening to the early morning only. HW a few hours in the evening.

How to do it ?

If you want to walk light, you can leave your bag at Songpan in Songzhou Hotel. This will also enable you to stock on food to avoid the high cost.

From Songpan, you should arrive at midday, too late to really start any exploration but enough time to visit the Temple and walk to Heye Village (5km) for your first night.

The bus pass plus insurance (Y80) is valid 2 days and can be bought only at the gate. Once inside, drivers might therefore assume that you carry the official document (like everybody else) and might not bother checking it when you get on the buses. If they ask for it, you can pretend you did not know about it and ask to pay for the ride. As this is not possible to do, you will be asked either to get off or to take a seat discretely...

The best scenery are found on the west road, near Panda Lake & Arrow Bamboo Lake. 

Backpacker's Tips : Richard, UK (July 05)
« The cost of entry plus bus is now 310 yuan although entry on a second consecutive day is free if you get a photo ID on the first day which means leaving the park early. Whilst the tour crowds  are dreadful it is possible to avoid them for much of the day. The park officially opens at 7.00 but the ticket office opens about 30 minutes before and you can get on the first bus inside the park which seems to leave about 06.50. We took the bus to the end of the right hand fork and walked back and enjoyed having the path to ourselves except at one or two popular points e.g. the main waterfalls. However, on the second day we went straight to Panda Lake and had the waterfalls and lakes completely to ourselves for the first couple of hours. Officially it is not possible to stay in the Park but we met some people who managed to although they were very careful and did not walk around after 18.00 when the Park is closed. Jiuzhaigou is very beautiful but the experience could very easily be spoilt by the sheer volume of tourists and noise from the transport buses which ply the road at about 30 second intervals. » 

Backpacker's Tips : Ali, Pakistan (July 05)
« Jiuzhaigou: Its even more expensive now 235 Yuan for the gate pass and the bus tickect, 135 for students. Officially you are not allowed to stay in the park but its usually no problem and you can stay at one of the tibetan settlements for around 30Y/head (including meals). Minimum time for a decent view of all the features is 2 days. Plus: absolutely gorgeous natural scenery, staying overnight in the Park / Negatives: Expensive, have to cope with hordes of groups, noisy. A bit out of the way to be part of a longer tour. » 

Backpacker's Tips :  Franck (Nov 04)
« You can avoid the high ticket prices. I stayed 4 Days for 80 Yuan. Just buy at the entrance the ticket (student 80, They accept Angkor Wat 3 days passes as proof!), normal 100 yuan. Then walk to shuzeng village (3h). Ask for binguan. I paid for heated blanket bed 30 yuan/night. Next day take a bus... no one ask there for tickets. Don't leave the park, don't go around after 6 pm.»

Backpacker's Tips :  Girl from Singapore (Dec 03)
« No tourists allowed to stay in park, all hostels/guesthouses are closed down. You would have to stay in one of the hotels outside the park, and it's pretty difficult to get accommodation without prior booking. Entrance fee is 235 yuan including coach rides within the park. If you intend to visit the park on consecutive days, the next day will cost you 40yuan not including costs for coach rides. Getting there on your own would mean taking a public long distance bus from Cha Dian Zi Bus Station (There'sno more Ximen Bus Station), and the trip is about 12 hours, 89 yuan.
Suggested one day itinerary in Jiuzhaigou: If you are going on your own, do it this way to avoid the masses of tourists. (The guided tours are fairly standard, so just go in the opposite way) The opened areas of the park basically form a "Y", so visit the lower part of the Y in the morning, which will include Reed lake, Nuorilang etc. Early afternoon, visit the left arm of the Y which includes Swan lake. Save at least 5 hours for the right arm of the Y, which is the prettiest part of all.The Tibetan villages are very touristy and can be skipped.
Bus returning to Chengdu is in the morning and the latest bus is at 1.00 pm. Buses to Songpan leave by 11.00 am. The Jiuzhaigou-Huanglong airport has just been opened, so prepare for the crowds.»

Backpacker's Tips : Luanne Winchiu, South African/Canadian (March 03)
« I visited Jiuzhaigou August 2002 with an organized tour by the China tour group in Chengdu. I personally found this place to be a little too over-run by the local Chinese tourists. They came each day by the busloads to pretty much take over all the boardwalk, take photos, create too much noise and then leave. I almost got into a fight just trying to use the washroom where I was literally shoved into a toilet from the crowd! Not for the faint of heart. 
The scenery and the remarkable color of all the water did make up for everything though. As long as you didn't mind hiking a bit, and walk from feature to feature, the crowds weren't that bad. The air was very clean and the boardwalks have kept people from littering, ruining the scenery. 
I'd recommend this place only if you're willing to put up with the local tourist crowd and the noise. The nature is definitely worth going to see though and VERY spectacular. I'd go again but not with a group/guide. »

Backpacker's Tips : Anonymous (Nov 01)
« What a disappointment this place was !  To start, I was not allowed to enter until the second day. Then, I had to pay a huge entrance fee. And, last but not least, there was no way to escape the crowd : we were all driven from one place to the other until requested to leave the park.»

Backpacker's Tips : Wang Xiaocong, China (Oct 01)
« It is now rumored that the Jiuzhaigou entrance fee will be raised to Y400 and the bus fee to Y100 in the near future. That's 150% increase from the current rate for overall charge.» [Will this kind of inflation discourage mass tourism ? Will the "best scenery" turn into "the most expensive scenery under the sky" ? Ben.]

Backpacker's Tips : Wang Xiaocong, China (Aug 01)
« From July 1,2001, the number of tourists allowed to enter the park each day is limited to 12,000,and it is rumored that no overnight stay within the park is permitted, meaning that a tourist has to buy the entrance ticket each day he or she enters the park.»

Backpacker's Tips :  Gregg Butenski (May 00)
« Pricing scheme has changed so it's now the same for Chinese and foreigners. Admission to the park is Y102 plus a mandatory Y70 for unlimited use of the bus system. We were there in early April which turns out to be before the season starts. This meant we had to convince one of the guesthouses in Shuzheng to  let us stay (they were all officially closed). Shuzheng is a much better place to stay than Zehwacha.
There is no transport from Jiuzhaigou (or  Nanping) to Zoige (aka Ruoergai). You have to go back to Songpan and by the time you arrived you'll have missed the daily bus to Zoige. Best (if travelling south to north) is to visit Jiuzhaigou, then Songpan, and then continue north from there.»

 
Bus Schedules :

To	Price	Type	Duration	Time	Nb	Freq.
Songpan	35	sleep/ordi	2 to 4	6 / 16 to 17	1/1	na
Chengdu	75	sleep	12	6:00	1	na

The trip back to Songpan : Minibus / SSS / L&R / Y35 / 2 hrs

Two hours less than on the other way : not stopping for passengers makes all the difference...