Yuntai Mountain in Four Days: Red Stone Gorge, Tanpu Gorge and Zhuyu Peak, 4 Days 3 Nights

We leave Luoyang at eight, change onto the Jiaotong expressway and reach Anshang around ten past ten. The guesthouse sits mid village, two persimmon trees at the door still holding their fruit. Lunch downstairs is yam stewed with chicken and a plate of stir fried acorn jelly, both local. Then into the park for Tanpu Gorge, a two kilometre out and back on boardwalk with water the whole way and no need to hurry.

Attraction introduction: Tanpu Gorge, also called Xiaozhaigou, lies upstream of Zifang Lake, about two kilometres long, with springs, falls and pools joined along the floor, the least demanding walk in Yuntai. In the shallows people cross on stones, and the red quartz sandstone walls stand against the green pools, the round trip taking some two hours.

Tips: A one way gorge is a bad idea on the day of arrival, since there is no turning back halfway. Guests generally find this the easiest introduction, walked as far as energy allows and reversed when tired. In practice the gorge runs colder and damper than the open valley in November, so wear the light jacket from the start rather than digging it out later.

At half past eight we are at the mouth of Red Stone Gorge with only a few tripods ahead of us. The valley is still in shadow, and the red arrives only when the sun clears the rim, first at the top and then running down the wall. There is one path, followed nose to tail, shoulders turned at the narrow points. The floor gives way to a rising staircase at the end, and the back is wet by the top. The afternoon switches to Quanpu Gorge, three kilometres to the head where the great fall breaks into mist and the wind puts water on your face.

Attraction introduction: Red Stone Gorge, or Wenpen Valley, is cut through dark red quartz sandstone of the Danxia type, about a kilometre and a half long, walked in one direction only, its air cool all year. Quanpu Gorge runs longer, some three kilometres one way, ending at the Yuntai sky fall with a drop of 314 metres, the emblem of the mountain, full after rain and hung with ice in winter.

Tips: There is no toilet inside Red Stone Gorge and no side exit once committed, so deal with both beforehand. Guests generally find the window between half past eight and nine the quietest, with the walkway turning stop start once groups arrive at ten. In practice two gorges in one day is hard on the knees, and half an hour flat at the service area makes the afternoon possible.

The third day goes to Zhuyu Peak. A shuttle to the cable car station, then the ride up while the ridges drop away and the folds of the Taihang range spread out. From the top station a flight of more than 1,700 steps remains, forty minutes at an unhurried pace. A small Zhenwu shrine stands at the summit where the wind makes standing difficult, and the whole gorge lies below. Halfway down there is a glass walkway for twenty yuan, with nothing underfoot but air. The cable car returns us to the service area for a rest.

Attraction introduction: Zhuyu Peak at 1,308 metres is the highest point of Yuntai Mountain, linked to the Double Ninth climbing tradition through Wang Wei, a Tang poet who wrote of his brothers on this day, and a Zhenwu shrine still stands on the summit. Yuntai belongs to the southern Taihang, its landform Proterozoic quartz sandstone with red cliffs set against deep gorges, admitted to the Global Geoparks network in 2004.

Tips: The cable car is charged separately and runs to a daily schedule, with holiday queues long enough that the first cars are worth the early start. Guests generally find the summit five or six degrees colder, and the wind makes a light down jacket welcome. In practice the glass walkway and the summit are two separate branches, so choose the summit if time is short.

The last day stays outside the gates. A walk through Anshang village, whose single street is all guesthouses and kitchens, quiet at noon and quieter at dawn. Stalls along the road sell hawthorn, walnuts, dried persimmon and wild yam brought down from the slopes at prices better than the park entrance. We find a shop for a bowl of hutun noodles with pickled radish, board the bus at half past ten and reach Luoyang around noon without detours.

Attraction introduction: Anshang village sits at the entrance to Yuntai, a service village where nearly every household runs rooms or a restaurant, and the transfer point for the park shuttles. The Xiuwu country around the mountain produces hawthorn, walnuts and dried persimmons, with the autumn crop arriving in the village market cheaper and more negotiable than in the park shops.

Tips: Guesthouses in Anshang vary widely, and the same price buys a courtyard or a noisy street front, so ask about orientation and floor when booking. Guests generally find mid October to mid November the best window for mountain produce, when the persimmons have just frosted and the hawthorn is still firm. In practice the drive home takes over two hours, and a noon departure avoids the afternoon freight traffic.