Big Black Mountain | On trails through orchards and farmland, near Big Black Mountain
On trails through orchards and farmland, near Big Black Mountain.

Hillwalking Challenge: Big Black Mountain to Moss Mountain

An 19km trek through the Huairou hills, passing through terraced valleys full of chestnut trees and finishing with a walk out between the cliffs of the valleys below Moss Mountain.

Level 4+
6–7 hours over around 19km. (Can I do it?)

This hike is not currently scheduled

Contact us for schedule updates or set up a private hike

For this long hike, we're joining two of our good hillwalking trails to make a tough trek through the Huairou hills. There's a reasonable amount of up and down on this hike, but most of the climbing is long and slow.

On trails through orchards and farmland, near Big Black Mountain
On trails through orchards and farmland, near Big Black Mountain. (Click for larger image)

Part 1: Big Black Mountain hike

We begin our hike north of the Black Mountain and follow a farm trail through chestnut orchards up to a ridge, crossing over at the highest point on the whole hike. Before heading down the other side, we will have a short break and admire the view – Black Mountain behind, Great Wall in front.

The trail we follow is seldom used, and overgrown and bushy in places: trousers and a long-sleeved top will help you protect yourself from the worst damage of any scratchy bushes you encounter.

After descending and walking out a long valley, the trail meets a river. Close by to the river is a small network of tunnels, which we can explore with a torch. The tunnels were constructed during the 1960s, perhaps as a sort of bomb shelter, perhaps as a possible site for a field hospital, and were quite extensive before being blocked up.

From the river we'll walk along a road and through some orchards on the way to another village. From this village we'll have a short climb up to the to an archway in the Great Wall, which we'll pass through on the way to the Walled Village.

Hiking through the forest towards Moss Mountain
Hiking through the forest towards Moss Mountain. (Click for larger image)

Part 2: Moss Mountain hike

We'll walk on from the village, first following the concrete roads that service the villagers' chestnut orchards and then turning off on to a gravel road that heads up towards a quarry.

Behind the quarry a brushy trail leads uphill and into a forest, and deep in the forest we'll find a small shack right next to a huge pine tree.

From the pine tree the path leads further up into the forest, crossing at a pass on a ridgeline and descending into an area of orchards, terraces, and rocky hills. Eventually we join up with a park trail, and follow it out to the main road.

COVID-19 and participation precautions

The current precautions are minimal. Please read in full here: Operating hikes under COVID-19 precautions

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Photos and trip reports: Hillwalking Challenge: Big Black Mountain to Moss Mountain

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