In early July I went to Chengdu on a last minute trip to scale 峨眉山 (E’mei shan | Mount Emei 3099m) and found ourselves having to sneak to the peak. Very little planning went into this trip, which is how I like this kind of adventure. If you don’t plan much, you don’t set expectations and you can let the mountain work its magic. Just make sure you don’t miss the peak–you kind of have to sneak your way through to 万佛顶 (Wan Fo Ding), the highest peak at 3099. 金顶 (Golden Summit 3079m), isn’t actually the highest peak, but is where climbers are led to and then told the path is closed off to Wan Fo Ding. So read on or skip to the bottom to find out how to get to Wan Fo Ding, which is closed off.

I flew into Chengdu on a Sunday morning to meet my good friend Paul who loosely planned the climb. Paul has over 8 years of China experience under his belt and practices esoteric buddhism–probably nobody better to climb a mountain covered in temples with. We’ve gone on a few rides in the mountains surrounding Beijing and shared many meals together. He is currently studying in Alaska, where he is from, but made a last minute summer trip for a ceremony in Chengdu. It just so happened he had a few extra days and wanted to climb Mount Emei (for his second time) and invited me to come along.

I must say, there were many obstacles from keeping us from Emei Shan, which made it all the more desirable. First, I met Paul at his hostel in Chengdu on a clear but hazy day. The people working at the hostel advised us not to go to Emei Shan because they received reports it was closed off due to torrential downpours. We went to catch the two hour train anyways. (We bought our tickets for the train around noon on Sunday for a 6:30pm train. There were no seats available, only hard sleepers for about $12 USD. We booked the tickets. You can also catch a bus which takes a bit under 3 hours for a couple bucks.

We found ourselves sprinting to the train. I guess we lost track of time enjoying what Chengdu had to offer. We just made the train, settled into our hard sleepers and tried to doze off. About 45 minutes into the ride, the train hit the brakes abruptly and I found myself up against the wall. Yikes. I was in the 11th car and had no idea what was going on. I noticed people outside were running towards the front of the train, but not much else…About 30 minutes later we started up again. As we passed where the front of the train would have been, I noticed hundreds of people gawking around an area where there was a hole in the fence that blocked off the tracks…

We arrived at our stop in Le Shan then found a black cab to take us to the base of the mountain for about 25 RMB. We stayed at the Teddy Bear Hostel which was superbly clean and $15 bucks for a double room. As we were checking in at around 10pm, we also bought tickets to the local hot water springs which were just up the road (125 RMB and I HIGHLY recommend it). We anxiously soaked up in the hot springs, which was designed more like a small water park. Midnight struck and the hot springs closed. We went back to our room and I watched USA lose against Germany in world cup as I fell asleep. Meh…

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We woke at 7-something and headed out of the hostel and started hiking. Last time Paul scaled Emei Shan in 1 day starting from Wan Nian Temple up to the Golden Summit, a trek that is about 20km from base to summit. This time, we wanted to spend more time hiking and taking it all in and spend 1, maybe 2 nights on the mountain. We decided we would hike to Baogou Temple, head to Qingyin Pavilion, then over to Xiangfeng Temple, cross over to Elephant Bathing Pool, then make a straight shot to the Golden Summit, a total of about 45km.

As we started to make our way up and arrived at the main entrance and ticket hall, sure enough the mountain was closed off. But not due to weather. There was a sort of disagreement between the local villagers and the folks who usually wear dark boxy suits, red ties and lapel pins (not naming names as I don’t want to have my blog blocked in China). The entry was completely blocked off–not just a swing arm down and a sign saying closed, but imagine a small gang of villagers that wouldn’t allow us to pass. Again, we found the forces fighting against us. There was no way we were going to head back to town, we were determined to get up the mountain. We started walking back and a Chinese guy walked next to us and whispered to us in broken English “if you go back 150 meters, there are a few buildings on the hilside and a staircase between the two. Go up the staircase.” We found the staircase and headed up. We were on our way to what seemed to be a dated trail up the mountain. On the main path there are concrete or stone steps the entire way up. We got a little lost on the broken trail but after 2-3 hours and 10-15km, we found the main trail. By the time we found it, there was a slight sense of relief by both of us.

For the next 20-25km and about 10 hours we hiked up and down, through spruce forests and bamboo forests. On paths and off paths. We came across mountain streams and several temples. The best thing is we maybe ran into a half dozen other tourists, which is unheard of during summer months in China where most tourist attractions and mountains are littered with tourists. I guess ‘torrential rains’ were enough to scare most people away.

There are a dozen or so temples on the mountain and you can sleep at any of them for about 50rmb. The idea was to hike as high as possible, get some sleep but rise before dawn and hike to the summit to catch the sunrise. That didn’t happen. We made it to Elephant Bathing Pool Temple (洗象池) around 10pm at just over 2000m. Just before we arrived there, there was a villagers kitchen on the hillside who happily announced in Chinese “you made to to Elephant Bathing Pool! Eat here because there isn’t anything to eat up there.” We ordered a mountain chicken in YinYang soup, some eggplant, morning glory and a couple beers. It was almost dreamlike. Here we are, 2000m+ up Emei Shan in the pitch dark and there is a restaurant and beers. After eating, we climbed a few minutes and arrived at the footsteps of Elephant Bathing Pool Temple. It was dark, but the little light that was shining over the temple walls was inviting and had a dream like aura. We got a room and our beds had heated blankets, there were power outlets, drinking water and HOT showers! After climbing over 10 hours and around 20-25km through hot humid climates to cooler damp weather in higher elevation, I wanted nothing more than a hot shower.

The next morning I woke to the relaxing sound of monks chanting mantras and prayers. I rolled out of my cozy heated bed to crisp, clear refreshing air and this view:

I wanted to just hang out at this temple all day. It was amazing. But we had the urge to carry on and make it to the top. Just above the temple was another restaurant, which is where we had breakfast. A couple monkeys dropped in on our outdoor seating so we had to move inside. Be careful, the monkeys are hungry and want your food. They will take it if you aren’t cautious. They will even rip into your backpacks or bags to find food.

About 7km from the top, there is a road that leads from the base up. This is where we ran into the crowds of tourists. The majority of them take a bus up, then the option of a chair lift or hiking the last leg. Finally, we made it to the Golden Summit (3079m) which has a golden temple, a silver temple and elephant statues. Pretty cool.

I guess we were also lucky with weather. Usually the top is covered in fog and clouds. We had some blue sky and a clear floor and ceiling of clouds. We were content that we made it to the top and were thinking of the hot springs already. However, there was the other summit in the distance. We made it this far, we better make it to the Wan Fo Summit (3099m).

We hiked along a trail that we thought lead to Wan Fo Summit but it looped around and led to a closed off monorail. It appeared that Wan Fo Summit was closed off. We asked around and people said it was closed. We started to head down the mountain. We asked one more person if it was possible to get to Wan Fo Peak and they said there was a trail behind the hotel at the top. We walked around the back of the hotel and sure enough, there was a trail that led along the Monorail.

We walked on the monorail (which I wouldn’t recommend) to avoid the prickly shrubs and muddy path. The monorail usually ran one to two meters above ground but at one point was about 10 or so meters above ground. Creepy and sort of stupid. Anyways, we came up to the temple and Wan Fo Summit and didn’t see another person along the way. Peaceful and surreal. The track and temple reminded me of the animation film Spirited Away.

If we never made it to Wan Fo Peak, I think I would have had some regrets. I’m glad we snuck our way to this peak as the feeling of accomplishment was great and the view was priceless. I’m starting to understand and enjoy why hiking mountains is so popular…