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Mount Hua is one of the Five Great Mountains of China and has had religious significance, mostly to Taoist, since the 2nd century BC. It’s often referred to as “the most dangerous hike in the world” and you will see a photo of the Plank Walk with that title. But the plank walk isn’t the only dangerous hiking section. There are many areas of trail that are on solid rock and the only thing between you and a thousand foot fall is 2 chains, one at waist level and the other at knee level. But these days it’s not as dangerous as it used to be, since, according to the internet, they’ve put up lots more safety chains.
And while the Plank Walk is probably the biggest draw for western tourists, It was the Chess Pavilion that made me want it on the itinerary. I saw a picture of it many many years ago and decided that I really needed to see it. Not so much to stand in it, but simply to see it. But until recently I didn’t know it’s name or where it was located. I just new the image of it. So while it’s probably not on most peoples bucket list, it was the 3rd such item I got to check off of my list on this trip.
Mount Hua has 5 peaks. The West peak is at 6,845’. The East peak is at 6,857’. The Middle peak is at 6,685’. The North peak is 5,295’. And the South peak is the highest at 7,087’. The only peak we didn’t go to was the North peak. It’s set quite a ways off from the other 4.
The day we visited it was a bit chilly, very wet, and there were some strong wind gusts. In fact the peaks where mostly shrouded in fog for the majority of our visit. And while I would certainly liked to have had different weather, the fog did add a level of other worldly beauty to being there. Unfortunately the weather also meant that both the Plank Walk and the path to the Chess Pavilion where closed.
All said and done it was a very good day. A very tiring day, but a good day.
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