Jinfoshan Karst and Wulong Karst - Qingkou Giant Doline · 385 km from Dongcheng
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
385 km
Riding-time estimate
6 h 12
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
385 km from Dongcheng to Dongcheng, about 6 h 12 of riding. On the way it passes Wulong Karst - Furong Cave, Wulong Karst - Qingkou Giant Doline and back through Wulong Karst - Furong Cave. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,200 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Jinfoshan Karst
Jinfo Mountain rises out of the humid hills of southern Chongqing like a lump of dark green stone, its summit around twenty-two hundred metres, ringed by sheer limestone cliffs that fall for hundreds of metres in places. The name means Golden Buddha, and the story is that at sunset the cliffs of the peak catch the last light and take on the colour and shape of a seated figure. The mountain is a tableland, a block of limestone lifted high and sliced by weather, and the top is covered in clouds for much of the year, in a world of mist, bamboo, moss and rhododendron.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jinfoshan Karst is where the day begins. Next is Wulong Karst - Furong Cave.
2. Wulong Karst - Furong Cave
Wulong lies in the folded mountains of southeastern Chongqing, where the Wu river has carved its way through limestone for millions of years, and the result is among the most dramatic karst landscapes in China. It forms part of the South China Karst, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the area includes Furong Cave, the Three Natural Bridges and the Qingkou Giant Doline, a sinkhole so large that it holds a forest inside it. The scale of everything is hard to take in until you stand at the edge.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wulong Karst - Furong Cave comes up about 116 km into the recorded legs. Next is Wulong Karst - Qingkou Giant Doline.
3. Wulong Karst - Qingkou Giant Doline
The ground drops away without warning. At Qingkou, in the hills of Wulong in the south of Chongqing, the forest opens onto a hole in the earth so large that you can hardly believe it: a giant doline, or sinkhole, hundreds of metres across and deep enough to swallow a skyscraper. Karst country is full of such things, because limestone dissolves in rainwater, and over millions of years, caves and tunnels have collapsed to create these enormous pits.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Jinfoshan Karst. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Jinfoshan Karst to Wulong Karst - Furong Cave
Jinfoshan Karst → Wulong Karst - Furong Cave is 116 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Wulong Karst - Furong Cave to Wulong Karst - Qingkou Giant Doline
Wulong Karst - Furong Cave → Wulong Karst - Qingkou Giant Doline is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wulong Karst - Qingkou Giant Doline to back through Wulong Karst - Furong Cave
Wulong Karst - Qingkou Giant Doline → back through Wulong Karst - Furong Cave is 76 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Wulong Karst - Furong Cave to Jinfoshan Karst
back through Wulong Karst - Furong Cave → Jinfoshan Karst is 117 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.