Echo's 2 Days Emeishan Hiking Tour

A few years ago when I didn't work as travel consultant, I went to Mount Emei for once with my friend. And the hiking experience I would never forget in my life.

It was New Year's Day, a 3-day short holiday. As it was in winter, it wasn't peak or high season for Mount Emei travel; we got up as usual and went to Chengdu East Railway Station to catch a train directly to Mount Emei Station. The train ride lasts about 1 hour. After getting off the train, we took a taxi to the entrance to get the tickets for Mount Emei.

Useful Links: How to Get to Mount Emei | Weather and Best Time to Visit | Mount Emei Maps

Our plan was to climb up the mountain in the afternoon and stay overnight at the mountain top - Golden Summit. But the villager we met told us there's no need to accommodate on the mountain top with more expense, as the opportunity to watch the sunrise is quite small in winter. And he successfully persuaded us to stay in his guest house near Wanniansi Temple. We dropped the big bag in the guest house before starting the sightseeing.

Mount Emei Hiking Map

√ 2 Days Mount Emei Leisure Hiking Tour from Chengdu

The first hiking part is from the Wanniansi Parking lot to Qingyin Pavilion. This part is flat and it only took about 1 hour to get to Qingyin Pavilion. Then we headed to Hongchunping. The plan was to watch the Ecological Monkey Area and then get back to Wanniansi to have rest in the same way, and went to the mountain top the next day. But we got Hongchunping very easily without any strenuous effort. Then we made an unwise decision to continue hiking upwards to Ninety-nine Turns. This is the beginning of tragedy. The weather changed not long before we climbed the steps. The rain stopped us from climbing and we had to take shelter from rain under huge rocks. It's hard to believe that I met rain day in winter! After about 30 minutes, the rain stopped but the whole mountain was covered with cloud and mist, the visibility was less than 10 meters. The higher we climb, the thicker the mist was, the colder the temperature was. We could even see some icicle hanging from the trees. Although the rain stopped, our coat and hair got wet in the mist water.

Hiking in the Misty Mountain

Zigzag steps seem no end in the mist, you can't imagine how desperate we were while hiking in the mist without knowing when and how to get rid of this scary place. There was nearly nobody else from Ninety-nine Turns to Jiulinggang. It felt like we are the only 2 people in this huge mountain. What if we were be attacked by bear or other wild beasts in the mountain. There wasn't any other transportation for us to choose or even a guest house or a vender along the route. We had to speed up and keep running when there was flat road and downhill steps. Finally we met a monk in Xianfengsi Temple and he told us the rest part was much easier, only Jiulinggang to Huayanding section took more efforts. The monk was like a god to give us hope and guide us to the right way when we were desperate in the mist. We kept walking, running and climbing and almost forgot that we were hungry, thirsty and cold. When we arrived at Huayanding, it became dark already. Luckily, the road also became wide and flat, we rested for a while and ran downwards to Wanniansi direction. Although it's getting dark already, we met several tourists who were back from the mountain top. There was also some light shining in the farm houses faraway and we could smell the dinner they were cooking. We finally felt that we were back to earth. When we got back to the guest house near Wanniansi Tempe, it was nearly 9:30pm. The owner made hot noodles and gave us electric blanket to help us warm up. When I lied in the bed, I couldn't believe what I had gone through on that day. Then my eyes were forced to tick after 8 hours hiking.

We never expect to see the sunrise in the early morning as the village told us the sunrise in winter could nearly be seen and it rained in the mountain on the first day. So we slept late to 10:00am the next morning. But the funny thing is that the sunshine spills on my face when I opened the door. How amazing it is! And how stupid I was!

√ 2 Days Mount Emei Highlights Tour with Sunrise and Sunset

Then we went to the Wanniansi Parking lot to buy the bus ticket up to Leidongping. After 1 hour's mountain road ride, we have to hike again from Leidongping to Golden Summit. There is cable car from Jieyindian to Golden Summit which only takes a few minutes. But we chose to hike to the top because the scenery above Leidongping was much different from the mountain we had seen the day before. The air was fresh, even some snow on the huge ancient trees, squirrel flashed in our sight to seeking for food. Good weather and the beautiful natural scenery made us forget the pain on our body. After about 2.5 hours enjoyable hiking, we stepped on the Golden summit. The statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva was shining with gold under the sun. The floating clouds were moving in the clear blue sky, and we could see snow-capped mountain faraway in the west of Sichuan. At that moment, I thought all the miserable things I'd been experienced before was worthy.

Beautiful Scenery of Golden Summit

Happy times always stolen away fast, we had to get off the mountain at around 4:00pm. The cable car was like a small bus carriage that helped us down to Jieyindian within 3 minutes and then walked to Leidongping to take the bus to the tourist center. After a local fancy dinner in the mountain foot, we took the train back to Chengdu. The dramatic 2 days Mount Emei tour ends.

It's been 4 years but every time when I think of this experience, I felt it was my stupidity and ignorance that made me suffered a lot in Mount Emei. If I learn more info about Mount Emei travel and do more research before starting the plan and journey, the tour would be more enjoyable. Anyway, after working in this filed for 3 years, I know more about the destination travel guides and facts and would never risk myself to challenge the unknown nature world; I am not as young and fit as years ago after all.

As foggy weather affected the visibility, we changed our plans and went to climb hill to pass time. Exercise always helps me relax, though the steep stairs made me wonder whether I had made a bad decision.