Changbai Mountain and Heaven Lake

Changbaishan is a stratovolcano whose last major eruption, around 946, was among the largest of the past two thousand years, and its summit caldera holds Tianchi, Heaven Lake, at 2,189 metres: a crater lake some two hundred metres deep, half in China and half in North Korea, with the border running across the water. The mountain is sacred in Korean and Manchu tradition alike. Below the summit, Changbai Waterfall drops sixty-eight metres from the lake's outflow, hot springs bubble at the valley floor, and the vegetation zones change from broadleaf forest through conifer to tundra within a few hundred metres of altitude. Cloud hides the lake more often than not.

What you actually see

• Heaven Lake - the caldera lake at the summit, when cloud allows.
• Changbai Waterfall - the sixty-eight-metre fall from the lake's outflow.
• The vegetation zones - forest to tundra compressed into a short climb.
• The hot springs - geothermal water at the valley floor, used to boil eggs.

When to go

July to September, when the summit road is open and the lake most likely visible; snow closes the north slope summit access from around October to June. Even in summer, cloud obscures the lake on many days and there are no guarantees.

Honest expectations

The lake is hidden by cloud more often than it is visible, and visitors regularly make the whole journey and see nothing. Access is by compulsory shuttle buses with additional charges to the summit. The area is crowded in the short season. The border is patrolled and marked.

Nearby

Baihe is the base town; the Koguryo sites at Ji'an lie southwest.