The granite maze - Yunmeng Mountain

The granite maze - Yunmeng Mountain Yunmeng Mountain is located at the junction of Huairou and Miyun in Beijing. It is the largest contiguous granite distribution area in Beijing. There are countless granite peaks and ridges within an area of ​​hundreds of square kilometers. Granite is hard in nature and often forms rock walls hundreds of meters high and bizarrely shaped peaks. Other famous mountains made of granite include Huangshan Mountain, Huashan Mountain, Sanqing Mountain, etc. In Beijing there are Fenghuangling, Badaling, Linlong Mountain, etc. The beauty of Yunmeng Mountain is fully reflected in the granite peaks of P1-6. Yunmeng Mountain, with an altitude of 1,414 meters, is one of the commanding heights in northern Beijing and an excellent viewing platform for overlooking the Yanshan Mountains. However, the east side of the main peak viewing platform is blocked by trees, so it is more suitable for looking west. From P7-11, you can see many famous mountains from Huairou to Changping and then to Yanqing. 2 The vegetation of Yunmeng Mountain is also very distinctive, which is reflected in the mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests in P12-15. The main coniferous tree species are Pinus tabulaeformis. Many of the Pinus tabulaeformis trees that are over a hundred years old are tall and strong, growing on the cliffs, quite similar to the style of Huangshan Mountain. In addition, there are other coniferous tree species, such as larch, which are mainly distributed on the gentle slopes of the mountain top near the main peak. The broad-leaved trees are similar to those in most mountains in Beijing, including oak, maple, poplar, etc. There are also birch trees at higher altitudes. But Yunmeng Mountain has abundant water resources, and after being closed for a long time, the forest as a whole feels healthier. The abundance of water resources in Yunmeng Mountain is also reflected in the constant flow of streams and numerous waterfalls. This hike passed by two larger waterfalls, Lotus Waterfall (P16-17) and Tenglongtan Waterfall (P18). In addition, there are the larger Tianxian Waterfall, Kyoto First Waterfall, etc. in the Yunmeng Mountain area. When hiking through a ditch, you are basically hopping stones, that is, walking between the huge rocks in the stream, and the stream has a lot of water. In some streams, water can still be seen hundreds of meters away from the watershed. This may be due to the characteristics of the granite and the water conservation function of the mountains and forests. 4 This hiking trip starts from Liujiadian, climbs up the main peak of Yunmeng Mountain along the traditional hiking route, then goes down to Lengfengdian Liangtou along the wooden plank road, goes down along the stone steps of the scenic area to the fork in the scenic area, then turns around and crosses the pass to the direction of Wansui Yang and Lianhua Waterfall, and finally crosses the pass from Lianhua Waterfall to enter the Yougu Shentan Scenic Area and exit the mountain. The whole journey is 18 kilometers and takes 10 hours. The first half of the route is more friendly to novices with some hiking experience, but after passing Wansui Yang, it gradually leaves the scenic area, and after passing Lianhua Waterfall, it even leaves the public hiking route. The route is vague and the hiking difficulty is relatively high, so novices should stay away. There is no difficulty after entering the Yougu Shentan Scenic Area from Tenglongtan. For details, please refer to the two-step route "20231022 Liujiadian Yunmeng Mountain Lotus Waterfall Valley Shentan", written by "Bear in the Mountain". 5 There were two major mistakes in the hiking route. One was that there were two forks in the road on the east side of Yougu Shentan. The pass we took on the north side was the lowest, but there was almost no downhill road afterwards, which was very difficult to walk. It seems that more people walk through the pass on the south side, you can try it next time. Second, the Tenglongtan Waterfall at the end of the Yougu Shentan Scenic Area is very steep. The correct way should be to go around the mountain from the south. We accidentally chose to go straight down the waterfall and climb up from the cliff next to it, which was very dangerous.