Wulong Karst - Three Natural Bridges and Wulong Karst - Qingkou Giant Doline
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
243 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 00
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.
243 km from Huolu to Huolu, about 4 h 00 of riding. The stops in between: 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Wulong Karst - Three Natural Bridges
In Wulong, in the mountains of Chongqing, the rock is the architecture. The karst here, a limestone landscape of caves, gorges and sinkholes, has been carved by water over millions of years into huge forms, among them three natural bridges, giant stone arches that span a river gorge. Tianlong, Qinglong and Heilong bridges, each one rising well over a hundred metres, with spans of tens of metres, are among the biggest natural bridges in the world, and the river runs beneath them, in forest so deep that the light is green.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wulong Karst - Three Natural Bridges 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 46 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 Wulong Karst - Three Natural Bridges. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Wulong Karst - Three Natural Bridges to Wulong Karst - Furong Cave
Wulong Karst - Three Natural Bridges → Wulong Karst - Furong Cave is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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 Wulong Karst - Three Natural Bridges
back through Wulong Karst - Furong Cave → Wulong Karst - Three Natural Bridges is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.