Hiking on Cangshan. A great day out! by cfrancis
Cangshan Mountains. Take the chairlift up to Zhong He Temple (worth it as the hike up is not that great, the paths hard to find and rather painful). Entrance to the Mountain Park cost RMB30 and the Cablecar RMB60+ return or 30RMB one way. Budget conscious travellers can enter the park (student ID gets you half price RMB15) and take the chairlift up for 30RMB, then walk down.From Zhong He Temple you have a choice of paths running North or South, with each offering equally spectacular views of the mountains, valley and lake.
You can head South along good paths for up to 11 kms towards the Gantong Temple (with several early exit points down the mountain) and enjoy the view. The path itself is clean, very well maintained and easy walking. Each of the 4 valleys offers spectacular views of both the mountains and forests as well as the entire Dali valley. From an altitude of 2500m you can view both the peaks which range up to 4100m and the valley and Erhai lake below.
The Northern route of 6kms of path offers one of the sharpest cliff views of the entire Dali valley, and on a clear day you can see Jizu Mountain (one of the most famous Buddhist mountains in China) well beyond the Erhai lake. The route, at the bend in the main valley, also offers a path up the mountains for 2 kms which ends at a mountain pool where you can take a swim on a warm day.
A suggested route would be to take the chairlift up to Zhonghe temple, take the Northern path for 3 kms enjoying the clearest view of the entire valley, then head back South past Zhonghe temple towards Gantong temple. Good coffee is available at cafes behind the temple, so take a break, then keep walking the full 11kms until you reach Gangtong. If you are not up to the full walk, you can exit the mountain about 3kms past Zhonghe temple down a well made stairway behind the Dali Tianlongbabu TV City. The signage along the path is very good with regular updates in English on just how far you have to go.
I've spent some very happy days up on Cangshan. Highly recommended.