Luoyang Departure: Shaolin Temple and Sanhuangzhai Cliff Walk, 3 Days 2 Nights

We leave Luoyang at half past eight and reach Dengfeng in an hour. A shuttle takes us in to the main compound, where the gate, the Heavenly King Hall and the Mahavira Hall line up from south to north; the ginkgoes in front are yellow in early November and the ground is already covered. West of the halls stands the pagoda forest, more than two hundred towers on a slope, tall and short in no order, the oldest leaning. We take seats twenty minutes early for the half past two martial arts show, close enough to follow the forms and the weapons.

Attraction introduction: Shaolin Temple was founded in 495 during the Northern Wei, taking its name from the dense forest on the shady side of Shaoshi Mountain. Bodhidharma sat facing a wall in a cave on Wuru Peak, and from there Chan Buddhism spread. The pagoda forest holds the tombs of abbots and senior monks from Tang to Qing, brick and stone mixed, a physical record of changing architectural fashion.

Tips: No photography inside the halls; the pagoda forest is fine but keep off the bases. Guests generally find the martial arts show is nothing like video and the front rows are worth claiming. In practice day one stays at the foot of the mountain.

In the morning the Shaolin cable car lifts us over the treeline and reaches the upper station in about fifteen minutes. The walk starts there, cutting sideways across the cliff face, rock on one shoulder and open air on the other, narrow enough in places for one person. Forty minutes brings us to Shuce Cliff, where the strata lie in shelves, cut clean as if with a blade. Lunch is what we carry. In the afternoon we either retrace the route or descend the far side, three hours or so in total.

Attraction introduction: Sanhuangzhai occupies the southwest flank of Shaoshi Mountain at around twelve hundred metres, named for the three legendary emperors. The massif is quartz sandstone, lifted and then cut by water into vertical joints and horizontal bedding; Shuce Cliff is the tidiest stretch of bedding. The walkway runs inside a joint, which is why it looks hung on the wall.

Tips: Some stretches have nothing beyond the railing, so hug the inner side if heights bother you. Guests generally find the cable car saves two hours of climbing and a one-way ticket is enough for strong walkers. In practice the cable car stops at four and we are back at the top station by half past two.

We drive to the northern foot of Shaoshi Mountain and walk into Chuzu Hermitage, a small compound whose hall keeps Song dynasty timberwork and columns still bearing inscriptions of the period. Behind it a twenty-minute climb leads to Damo Cave, its mouth facing south, shallow inside, a stone figure lit by light raking in from the entrance. Few people use the path and you can hear wind moving through the pines. After lunch we return to Dengfeng and are back in Luoyang around three.

Attraction introduction: Chuzu Hermitage northwest of the temple was built by later generations to honour Bodhidharma; the brackets and stone columns of its main hall are Song originals and among the earlier timber structures in Henan. Damo Cave sits halfway up Wuru Peak, where tradition holds he sat facing the wall for nine years. The chamber is small, five or six people fill it.

Tips: The climb is dirt and stone steps, slippery after rain, and a stick helps. Guests generally find the place so much quieter than the valley below that they linger. In practice nobody has to finish the path; sitting in the hermitage courtyard counts.