Haba

A local mosque serving one of the Hui Muslim communities in Haba. The mosque is located in the Muslim hamlet above the town centre.

Black Lake is a mountain lake, elev 4,100 meters, in a wide basin several km northwest of Haba Snow Mountain. Excellent views of the peak and lower rugged crags from the shore and surrounding slopes. A good time to visit would be May and June, when nearby forests burst into color with rhododendron and azalea blossoms. A brisk walk around the entire lake takes half an hour. Three trails or routes lead to the lake from Haba Village. The shortest, via Jian Shan Waterfall (尖山瀑布), is fairly steep and takes six hours. A longer and more gradual route via Lan Hua Meadow (兰花坪) and an unnamed pass (4,230 m) takes eight hours. Black Lake can also be reached from base camp (4,100 m) in four hours round-trip. This makes a good acclimatization day for climbers intent on reaching the 5,396 m summit. Black Lake can be visited in one very long day, but two or three days may provide a more enjoyable outing. Don't expect to find primeval wilderness here. Ramshackle huts dot the area and herds of yak may be encountered anywhere. Hiring a guide is mandatory for most hikers as mountain trails are unmarked and divergent paths confusing. For multi-day treks, you can hire a mule and handler to haul gear. A separate guide may prove helpful as personal assistant, cook and interpreter of the landscape. Bear in mind that none of the local guides speak English. Guides in their twenties and thirties most likely speak standard Mandarin (Putonghua). Older ones speak dialect that may be incomprehensible to outsiders. For a useful map of the area go to www.OpenTopoMap.org. It shows the lake and trails. Cost of three-day trek to Black Lake: mule and handler 3 x 300; guide 3 x 300; food 3 x 100; tent and sleeping bag rental 200. Total ¥2300 (Nov 2017).

The walk from Haba Village to Tiger Leaping Gorge via Benxi Village takes seven hours. Most will probably hire a guide for the journey. The route heads consistently southeast utilizing open meadows, dirt roads and sometimes obscure forest paths, possibly traversing a short portion of the paved road north of Ennu Village (恩怒村). The high point is a 3,000-meter ridge about an hour from Haba. From there it is all downhill. Crossing a high barbed wire fence may be required in addition to other fences. The route ends up on the paved road above Benxi Village (本习村) which descends to the road through Tiger Leaping Gorge. From there it is six km west (uphill) to Walnut Garden Village (核桃园村), the Ticket Office, Woody's and Sean's Guest Houses. Best not to walk this stretch of the road as it is subject to rockfall, especially in windy weather. Call a guest house for a ride. The reverse journey from TLG to Haba is considerably more strenuous, with an altitude gain of 1,200 meters. Cost for guided walk: about ¥400. This includes transport of personal gear from Haba to a guest house in TLG, as well as guide's transport back to Haba.

The trek around Haba Snow Mountain takes 5-8 days. Total distance 85 km of which about 20 km is on paved roads. The high point is Jizhi Pass (4,350 m) south of Black Lake, the low point Qiaotou (1,850 m) near start of Tiger Leaping Gorge. General route: Haba, Black Lake, Jizhi Pass, Jizhi Valley, Qiaotou, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Ennu Village, Haba. Most of the route is shown on maps online.