Luoyang to Wanxianshan, Guoliang Village and Baligou 6 Days

A seven thirty start, the Lianhuo and Changji expressways, and Shangbali township in Hui county three hours later. Lunch outside the gate, bags into the guesthouse, then into Baligou. The ticket is 120 yuan and covers Baligou, Jiulianshan and Tianjieshan for three days. A shuttle reaches the gorge mouth and forty minutes of boardwalk leads to the Tianhe waterfall, dropping the full height of the cliff, close enough to soak you when the flow is high.

Attraction introduction: Baligou lies in Shangbali township of Hui county on the southern flank of the Taihang range. The 120 yuan ticket covers three valleys, Baligou, Jiulianshan and Tianjieshan, and the shuttle pass is 40 yuan, both valid three days. The valley is built on waterfalls and the Red Stone River, with a gentle boardwalk underfoot.

Tips: The first afternoon stops at the waterfall and goes no deeper. Guests generally find the shuttle interval long, with a twenty minute wait if one is missed. In practice the last returning departure is checked before entering, so the group walks to the fall and comes back with time to spare.

Today goes up the valley. A shuttle to the Red Stone River, where the whole bed is red rock and the water slides over it shallow enough to wade. Beyond that the path climbs towards Yuhuang Peak, steep from the start, two hours with rests to the viewpoint and the entire gorge lying behind. A packed lunch on the mountain, the same path down, back at the guesthouse by evening.

Attraction introduction: The Red Stone River is the upper bed of Baligou, its rock a dark red, water spreading into shallows and thin cascades. Yuhuang Peak closes the valley, its viewpoint facing the fault cliff of the southern Taihang. Both sit inside the main Baligou valley and are covered by the ticket.

Tips: The river rock is slick, and wading shoes beat trainers. Guests generally find phone signal patchy inside the gorge, so agree a meeting time before splitting up. In practice the day is given entirely to the valley, no second site, and depth depends on how the group feels.

A change of valley, same ticket, valid across all three. The park bus reaches Qingfeng Pass, then a second vehicle climbs to Laoyeding at 1,570 metres, the road winding enough that a sensitive stomach wants the front seat. Ridgelines stack up from the top, and the Yunfeng Gallery boardwalk loops along the cliff with sheer sandstone directly below. Lunch on the mountain, a slow descent, the night at the foot of Tianjieshan.

Attraction introduction: Tianjieshan is one of the three valleys on the Baligou ticket, its main peak Laoyeding standing at 1,570 metres with quartz sandstone pinnacles along the ridge. The Yunfeng Gallery is a loop walk cut into the cliff face with the Taihang fault below. Qingfeng Pass is the transfer point for vehicles going up.

Tips: The road bends constantly, so keep your eyes off the phone. Guests generally find cloud settling on Laoyeding after two in the afternoon and the ridge turning white. In practice the summit is done in the morning before the cloud builds, with the boardwalk left for a slower afternoon.

North after breakfast, a little over an hour to Shanyao township and Wanxianshan. Tickets sorted, a shuttle climbs straight onto the cliff road, 1,250 metres long with 35 windows punched through the rock so light sweeps the cabin in sections. Work began in 1972 and the road opened in 1977, five years of hammer and steel bar on a cliff face. The bus stops at the village mouth, stone houses in a row along the edge, rock above and a deep valley below.

Attraction introduction: Wanxianshan lies in Shanyao township of Hui county, and Guoliang village hangs on the cliff at around a thousand metres, reached only by the road cut through the rock in front of it. The road runs 1,250 metres with 35 windows for light and air, started in 1972 and opened to traffic in 1977. Film crews have used the village so often that it is known as a studio village.

Tips: The cliff road is single lane and passing means waiting at a window. Guests generally find the afternoon light behind the rock after three, washing out photographs of the openings. In practice the drive up is set for half past three, with the sun raking in from the west and both sides of the tunnel readable.

A walk through the village at first light, mist climbing out of the valley, roofs filmed white. After breakfast to Nanping, a village on a gentler slope where stone lanes link a handful of courtyards. The afternoon follows Danfen Gully, little water, big boulders, a drop at the far end. Back at Guoliang for the evening, sitting on the edge while the sun goes down behind the ridge.

Attraction introduction: Nanping is one of the villages inside Wanxianshan, flatter than Guoliang, its stone houses stepped into the slope. Danfen Gully runs off one side of the massif, its bed full of boulders and its flow seasonal, ending in a fall. Both are covered by the Wanxianshan ticket.

Tips: Keep clear of the edge where there is no railing. Guests generally find the village best in the early morning, the mist thickest around half past six. In practice day five holds no fixed morning call, and anyone who wants the cliff edge goes up on their own.

No rush, away at half past eight. A shuttle down to the gate, then the coach on the Changji and Lianhuo expressways, a little over three hours to Luoyang with a stop at the Hui county service area, home around three.

Attraction introduction: Hui county sits at the southern foot of the Taihang range and serves as the gateway for the main southern Taihang sites, Wanxianshan, Baligou and Baoquan all reached from the county town. The road back crosses the northern Henan plain and flattens out past Jiaozuo.

Tips: The last day is mostly road and carries no sightseeing. Guests generally find heavy truck traffic between Hui county and Jiaozuo, with overtaking limited to long straights. In practice departure sits at half past eight, clear of the early coal haulers, which keeps the drive easy.