Outdoor paradise: hiking in Penang Valley

Penang Valley, located in Luotaping Township, Yongding County, Zhangjiajie, is a typical karst landform area with various caves, ground fissures, strang

Outdoor paradise: hiking in Penang Valley

Penang Valley, located in Luotaping Township, Yongding County, Zhangjiajie, is a typical karst landform area with various caves, ground fissures, strange peaks and rocks and beautiful vegetation.

? I heard a long time ago that there is a place in Zhangjiajie called Penang Valley, a paradise for hiking. This time I got together with more than a dozen senior outdoor friends and came to Penang Valley. When staying in Penang Valley House, Mr. and Mrs. Yang are simple and hardworking local villagers, but they are our outdoor hiking guides.

At night, the mountain breeze blows slowly here, which is very refreshing and cool, and the outdoor is quiet. Only the stars in the sky are shining, which seems to welcome our foreign guests. Some of our teammates live in inns, some live in tents, and outdoor people are so casual.

The next morning (June 24, 2022), the tour guide led us to start hiking in Penang Valley.

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The first stop is in Maxi Scenic Area. As soon as we reached the mountain pass, we saw a stone peak standing in front of us. The tour guide told us about the strangeness of this stone peak, which was nicknamed "Grass Mud Horse Peak" by netizens because it looks like an alpaca. "Grass Mud Horse Peak" is 1 19 meters high.

20 14 Asian spider-Li Man child star is naked. Climbing the "Grass Mud Horse Peak" made the peak famous in one fell swoop and became a scenic spot among network celebrities.

Walking in the canyon, watching the landforms formed after hundreds of millions of years of geological changes is amazing. The peaks on both sides of the canyon stand upright, beautiful and majestic, and the peaks are covered with vegetation, which adds a lot of mystery to its beautiful scenery and brings infinite reverie and visual feast to tourists.

In the canyon, flowing streams and lush forests bring us coolness, and the sloping flat land is the unique planting base of strawberry tea here. The local villagers braved the hot weather in the mountains to pick the newly grown vines. Respectable efforts!

Strawberry tea belongs to deciduous lianas. According to the local old man, people here used to cut the rattan into small pieces, put them on the unique fireplace of Tujia nationality and boil water in an iron pot. I heard that strawberry tea has good medicinal value, which can cure colds, bronchitis and lower blood pressure ... I specially made a cup of tea with strawberry tea. I tasted it, sweet first, then sweet, and the aroma lingered on my nose. Boss Yang told me that this raspberry tea won't go bad in hot weather for a few days, and it's really distinctive. Our teammates felt very good after drinking it, and immediately bought a lot of strawberry tea to take home.

? In recent ten years, the local government has vigorously supported the development of strawberry tea industry. Everywhere I go, it is a vibrant and lush strawberry tea planting base, which has become the main source of economic income for the villagers here.

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In the afternoon, I climbed a mountain and entered another canyon. There are many stone peaks and many things to see. This is the famous bimodal rock. On a hot summer day, it's really sweaty to see the mountains, waters and strange peaks and rocks in Zhangjiajie on foot, but the sweat and fatigue in front of this beautiful scenery are not worth mentioning.

Because the weather was too hot, we finished the first day of hiking early in the afternoon, hid in the inn and prepared for the next day's trip to hell.

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After breakfast at seven o'clock in the morning (June 25th), we couldn't wait to follow the direction to the core scenic spot of Penang Valley and walk down an ancient stone road, which led us into a huge cave. The tour guide said that out of this cave, the road into the canyon can go straight to Chongqing, Sichuan. When soldiers and bandits were rampant, the villagers here used this cave to escape from bandits. This hole is called betel nut hole. Some people say that this cave is shaped like betel nut. Some people say that this cave was originally a stronghold of a stockade owner, with protective walls and other facilities. The name of this stockade owner is Penang, so this cave is called Penang Cave.

Standing at the betel nut hole and looking out, the hole suddenly opened up. There are once barren farmland, paths leading to the outside world, rocky valleys washed out by rivers, and overlapping peaks. Standing here, you can enlarge your imagination space into endless reverie. To experience the merchants and nobles who passed by here in the past, the villagers who went into the mountains from here to avoid the soldiers and bandits, and the hardworking villagers who worked hard on this beach. Although everything has passed, history must still have the imprint of that year and will not disappear.

Out of Penang Valley, the most classic hiking route began and went to the gate of hell.

The Gate of Hell is also called the Cave of Mysteries. The entrance to the gate of hell is like the open mouth of a wild animal, and a layer of white fog stands across the entrance, like the tongue spit out by a wild animal, which suddenly makes people feel mysterious. Is the gate of hell closed to people today? I feel uneasy.

? It was dark when entering the hole, so everyone could only use flashlights and mobile phones to emit faint light. Stalactites occasionally grow in the cave, mostly sand and branches poured down by mountain torrents. A big tree with a bucket of thick water and roots rushed into hell.

? If I don't go to hell, who will? The real test came one after another. The passage in the cave is narrow, the head is covered with rocks, and the feet are slippery, making it difficult to walk. It was dark in front of me and I went up through one small hole after another. It's really like a mouse drilling a hole, but people are not as flexible as mice. We had to throw away our backpacks and crawl in the wet hole. Our trousers are worn out, our shoes are worn out, our hands and feet are worn out, and our hats are knocked off, but they are not hindered by the excitement, courage and extravagant hope of overcoming difficulties brought by challenges. Teammates were covered with dust and sweat, and rushed out of the gate of hell like prairie dogs.

? We didn't have time to rest and headed for city of angels together. City of angels has two routes, one is more mature and the road conditions are better, and the other is the challenge route. The guide led all the team members to the challenge route according to the requirements of the team leader.

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The gap in the canyon wall is narrow and steep, wet and slippery, and only a ray of light shines from the top of the head. In some places, a person used to have to squeeze in sideways, but fortunately, there was no big fat person to participate this time, otherwise it would definitely need to be squashed to get through. After drilling into a small hole, you arrive at the famous double-layer hole. This place not only tests courage, but also challenges strength and needs will. It is difficult for a timid person to walk through here with his bare hands. Fortunately, all the players help and encourage each other. In the end, although there was an accident, none of the players left behind and collectively reached the top of city of angels. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief Wow! We're out.

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Standing on the top of the mountain and watching the angel's gate is spectacular. Angel Gate is a natural stone bridge in a huge cave. I was thinking, I had a little accident when I came out of the jaws of death. Wouldn't it be smoother if we passed the angel's door and had the help of angels?

After most of the team members chose to end the hole exploration tour ahead of schedule, three other team members and I chose to continue to challenge Gaergou. Because the tour guide said that if you don't go to Jiaergou in Penang Valley, you will come to Penang Valley for nothing. What the tour guide said hit me too hard. In the past outdoor sports, we were never timid.

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The guide led the four of us (three men and one woman) from a path that had not been taken for a long time to a deep ditch. From the top of the mountain to the cliff more than 200 meters deep under the ditch, there is a stream in the ditch. According to the tour guide, this place used to be extremely short of water. During the drought, people had to drink water from deep ditches, so they ventured to carve a path on the cliff. People carry buckets on their backs and crawl carefully with their hands to get some domestic water, so the water here is very precious. At that time, there was a saying that "it is better to send a bowl of rice than a glass of water". While listening to the introduction of the tour guide, we carefully completed this legendary road.

? Now, because the local government has built a reservoir, everyone can turn on the tap and have water, and the drinking water problem is completely solved. I sighed in my heart, how happy people living here now are.

Jiaergou, also known as the ground fissure landscape, is one of the most classic routes in Penang Valley Scenic Area, and is called the outdoor extreme challenge route.

Jiaergou has a total length of more than 2,000 meters and a vertical height of more than 200 meters. The widest part of Jiaergou is less than 5 meters, and the narrowest part is only 1 meter. The bottom of the Gaer ditch is full of rubble that has been washed spotless by water. Looking up, only a ray of light leaked from the top. This is a lonely place, where you can release your original vitality and wash your soul spotless. More than 2000 meters of ground fissures pass through, sometimes crawling in the crevices, sometimes hanging on cliffs in fear, and sometimes walking through the rubble piles washed clean by streams.

The beauty of the mountain, the depth of the cave, the mystery of the valley and the danger of the ditch all require us to be close to nature with awe, feel the greatest courage, enthusiasm and persistent pursuit that nature gives us, and challenge, explore and perceive the charm of nature. Walking in this magical and mysterious world, you can only experience the hardships, dangers and hardships of this hiking trip by yourself. To complete such a challenge, you have to be awe-inspiring, obedient and decisive.

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I can't express this expedition to Gargou in simpler language. I can't imagine that at the age of 70, I can still walk out of this crack in Jiaergou safely. I really dare not think about it. Now I can proudly say that Jiaer has bought it! I made it! I beat you!

? Finally, I would like to advise all friends who love the outdoors to explore Gaergou, preferably in autumn or winter.

? Finally, I sincerely wish people in Penang Valley more and more prosperous tourism and better life.

This is the unique "grass mud horse"

? Shuangfengyan is better than Tianxia Peak.

? Penang Valley Lantian Tianhua

? Hell angel * * * magic.

? Narrow victory over Qiyou Jiaergou

? Outdoor paradise is worthy of the name.

? The fragrance of strawberry tea flies thousands of miles.

? Countries that used to be poor are beautiful now.