Mount Emei

Mount Emei rises above the Sichuan basin to just over 3,000 metres, and the classic way up is on foot, along stone staircases that climb for two days through fir and rhododendron forest past working monasteries. Most visitors now take a park bus for most of the way and a cable car for the final section to the Golden Summit, where a large gilded statue stands on a platform that is frequently above the cloud layer. The mountain has been a Buddhist pilgrimage site for centuries and is inscribed by UNESCO together with the Leshan Giant Buddha. Macaques along the middle path are habituated and confident, and are the main practical hazard.

What you actually see

• The Golden Summit - the top platform with its gilded statue, often looking out over an unbroken layer of cloud.
• The stone stairways - the pilgrim path of stone steps linking monasteries between the base and the summit.
• Monasteries on the route - halls such as Wannian and Qingyin, working temples rather than exhibits.
• The macaques - the resident monkey troops on the middle section, which will investigate bags and pockets.

When to go

Late spring and autumn are the most reliable. Summer brings heavy cloud and rain, winter closes some upper sections to snow and ice, and the summit is cold in any season. Sunrise from the Golden Summit is the main draw, which means staying overnight on the mountain. Book beds well ahead for national holidays, when the buses and cable car queue for hours.

Honest expectations

This is a long day of stairs even with the bus and cable car, and thick cloud can reduce the famous summit view to white in every direction. The macaques snatch food and plastic bags and are not shy about it. Ticket, bus and cable car are charged separately, so the real total is well above the headline entry price.

Nearby

The Leshan Giant Buddha is about two hours away by road, and Chengdu is a short train ride north.