Mount Cangshan – Hiking High In Dali

We arrived in the Chinese pseudo-hippie destination of Dali with no plans and no idea about what there is to do (which is almost always our style). After we checked into our hostel, we scoped out the list of things to do around the old city. Taking a boat ride across Erhai Lake came highly recommended, as did the Three Pagodas of Chongshen Temple. But the one that really interested us was hiking up on Mount Cangshan – The 4000+m mountain that looms over the city of Dali.

On our first day we went for a walk out to the Three Pagodas, and nearly fell over at the price: 121RMB. We were quickly finding out that attractions in China don’t come cheap. After a brief consultation, we decided to skip it; after all, we will come across plenty of pagodas across China in the coming months. We instead spent the entire day walking around the old city, taking in the interesting ambiance and chuckling to ourselves at the hordes of Chinese tour groups that were herded around the town.

Waking up on the second day, we decided to skip Erhai Lake and instead hike straight up Mount Cangshan to enjoy the sensational views over the region. Mount Cangshan stretches for over 50km north to south and has 19 peaks, with the tallest being Malong at 4122m. Picturesque creeks run between each of the summits, and serene waterfalls cascade their way down the rocks. Designated as a national-level Global Geopark, Mount Cangshan has a diverse range of flora and fauna, which has been attracting nature lovers for years. We couldn’t wait to start our hike!

After getting lost on our way to the trail head (for your information, the start of the trail to Mount Cangshan is next to the Dali movie studio), we paid our entrance fee of 40RMB and began trekking up the surprisingly well-built pathway. We were immediately surrounded by fragrant pine trees, their seeded cones peppered along the trail. For the first 30 minutes small cement gravestones periodically broke up the lush views, with scatterings of offerings left behind by relatives of the deceased.

We didn’t even attempt to count the number of steps that seemed to never end on the way to the Cloud Traveller’s Path – a 12km paved trail that runs along the mountain. Despite the constant ascent, the time flew by as we were constantly immersed by the natural beauty. It took only an hour to reach the path.

We decided to…