Hiking the Four Beasts Mountains四兽山, which are Hu Shan(Tiger Mountain虎山), Leopard Mountain(豹山), Lion Mountain (狮山) and Xiang Shan (Elephant Mountain象山)
The whole hike, based on blogs, was to take about 2.5hours. I think that is a very generous estimate. Considering that I was walking quite slowly, I could have done it in 1.5hours. (I did the whole hike in 2 hours as I did a detour towards the end of the hike.) Granted that I did not stop much and didn’t stay to take many photos.
A very doable hike. Maximum elevation of 184m at the peak of Elephant Mountain. Lots of stairs only at the start and when nearing Elephant Mountain. The rest were generally flat grounds or downhill.
The start of the trail from the back of Fengtian Temple. (There are other trails to start from. I chose this as I wanted to see Fengtian Temple.)Map at the start of the trail from the back of Fengtian Temple.From Fengtian Temple, you come to this junction. The trail continues up. I entered this cave and saw the locals having a karaoke session in the cave. Fun!!View along the way to the peak of Tiger Mountain.View along the way to the peak of Tiger Mountain.I was holding onto the rails while climbing up the stairs then I saw this hairy caterpillar. Afterwards, I didn’t dare hold onto the rails so closely.View along the way to the peak of Tiger Mountain.View along the way to the peak of Tiger Mountain.The peak of Hu Shan (Tiger Mountain虎山）
I took about 30mins to get here from Fengtian Temple. I was walking quite slowly.
Seen at the peak of Hu Shan (Tiger Mountain虎山）
After the peak of Hu Shan (Tiger Mountain虎山）, you come to a road, and you would walk along the road, where the peaks of Leopard Mountain and Lion Mountain are a slight detour from the road.
At this temple, there is the detour to the peak of Leopard Mountain (豹山) on the other side, which I almost missed as I was looking at the small temple.The peak of Leopard Mountain(豹山) It was about 5 mins from the peak of Hu Shan (Tiger Mountain虎山）There is even a toilet along the way. Along the whole trail, you can see wooden signages to point the way for you.I missed this signage that was pointing to the peak of Lion Mountain (狮山)Peak of Lion Mountain(狮山)
From the peak of Leopard Mountain(豹山), it was another 5mins to the peak of Lion Mountain(狮山)
The short 100m path to the peak of Lion Mountain(狮山) is not properly paved. Due to the rains yesterday, the path was quite muddy and slippery. So be careful.
From the peak of Lion Mountain (狮山）, after another 10mins, you would walk off the road.
Along the way to the peak of Xiang Shan (Elephant Mountain象山)
From the peak of Lion Mountain (狮山）, I took about 30mins to reach the peak of Xiang Shan (Elephant Mountain象山)
Peak of Xiang Shan (Elephant Mountain象山)Peak of Xiang Shan (Elephant Mountain象山)Heading down Elephant Mountain. This is a nice rest stop with tables and benches to enjoy the view.The view from the rest stop which has tables and benches. View from another rest stop. I ended my hike at Yongchungang Park, which might not have been a good idea, as it was in the middle of nowhere and still on the mountain.
Will travel 