Jiuzhaigou Part 5: Emei Shan

Emei Shan (峨眉山) is one of the four sacred mountains of China. It has been designated a World Heritage Site because of its breathtaking scenery, misty mountain, and historical Buddhist sites. Emei consists of a chain of very high summits (3100 meters, 9300 feet).

How we got there:
From Chengdu, it was a 2-hours bus ride (nice highway) to the foot of the mountain. Emei is 9300 feet. To save on walking, we boarded the special mini-bus that took us part way (1.5 hours) up the mountain. We then hiked 40 minutes up to reach the cable car stop (at 7500 feet). The Swiss-style cable car ride took us up 15 Km to the summit – well, not quite. We still have to walk the remaining 20 minutes to reach the summit. The final hike had me huffing and puffing in the high altitude. Luckily, Sam bought me a bamboo walking stick that helped me challenged the summit.

One of Emei habitats are the monkeys. Their best talent is to snatch food from tourists. We were advised by our tour guide to conceal food in our backpacks.

What’s at the summit?
Emei is best known for the sea of clouds and the many temples. The most famous temple is Jinding (golden roof temple) at the summit. It was raining and foggy that day (Emei is foggy most days) for us to see anything or to take good pictures. Next to Jinding is a small little temple that is reported by Sam to be very spirited.