Moonhill, the famous karst mountain of Yangshuo

Moonhill is for Yangshuo what the Eiffeltower is for Paris, Angkor Wat for Cambodia or the Big Ben for London. It's a symbol, in this case a natural formed rock formation in the shape of the moon. To many people, foreing and local, Moonhill is one of the main reasons to visit Yangshuo. That statement is too much for me but it is surely an interesting rock and a 45 minutes climb up gives you some extraordinary views over the surrounding land.

Moonhill is located 9 km south of Yangshuo town center. Combine a visit to Moonhill with a bike ride along the Yulong river. Be aware of the aggressive sales people at the entrance willing to sell you anything from water to hiking boots (well...al;most)

Moonhill, symbol of Yangshuo

There is an entrance fee of Y15, and includes a guarded parking space for your bicycle. Although the path is not difficult, it takes about 30 to 40 minutes slow walk up. You can walk up to the hole in the rock and have some good views over the surrounding karst mountains.

Just a kilometer before Moonhill, you can take either a raft on the Yulong river or follow the path along the river. See the map for directions. The paths are easy to follow and if you start from here, you will either end up at the Dragon Bridge where you can take a raft back (bicycle can be on the raft too) or you can cycle to Baisha and cycle back on the main road that connects Guilin with Yangshuo.

An old entrance ticket to Moonhill Yangshuo

The view in this area show clearly the limestone mountains seem to grow out of the flat lands. It's a very beautiful sight and for sure worth a visit.

A view through the hole in Moonhill Yangshuo

A trip to Yangshuo will not be complete without a visit to Moonhill and a bike ride/rafting along and on the Yulong river. This is the best and most spectacular area around Yangshuo. The only area that matches the beauty here is Xingping.

View through the hole in Moonhill

Usually it is more quiet in the earlier morning or late afternoon. The views are sometimes a bit hazy at those times but that gives it also a bit of a mysterious idea.

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