Plank Walk in the Sky | Huashan Mountain

Also nicknamed the Walk of Death or the 'world's most dangerous hike', the Plank Walk in the Sky is somewhat of a pilgrimage for the adrenaline junky backpackers and Chinese tourists who flock to Huashan to hang off the side of a mountain for fun. The walk is notorious for being one of the most dangerous in the world, although without the kind of death toll you'd expect from a place with that kind of reputation. If you've been bungee jumping and skydiving but need something else to wet your appetite then the Plank Walk in the Sky may be for you. Whilst waiting in line I spoke with an Australian man who had done both extremes before but claimed the walk was the worst of the three for his nerves, mainly because of the long drawn-out process.

Before you read if you need advice on getting to the mountain you can read my blog post on Huashan Mountain and The Art of Being Present.

To get to the Plank Walk in the Sky you'll need to head to the South Peak of Huashan Mountain. From there it will only take ten minutes to reach the walk on the West side with plenty of signs to show you the way. You will come across a temple which you must pass through. Inside there's one of those stupid scenic photo spots where you can trick people into thinking you've done something amazing when in fact you just stood in front of a green screen. Carry on through with your eyes averted and you will find a line of people. Here there is a lack of signs but the amount of people lining up and disappearing into the distance sends you a very clear idea of where you are. In line the wait could be anywhere from ten minutes to two hours. I went the day before a public holiday and waited maybe an hour which I assumed was fairly quick considering. The worst part is the waiting. You're all lined up, on one side there's a cliff face, the other a steep drop with only a metal bar to stop you from falling. The further you shuffle along the worse the drop is. It doesn't help that the people who have just done the sky walk have to squeeze past you to get out and even if you did try to bail you'd be forced to do the same. 

At the start you pay 30¥, roughly £3.50, to hire the harness which is absolute pittance when compared with the experience. You throw your bags into an alcove, are put into the harness and then sent on your way. The first part of the walk is arguably the most terrifying. You're sent down a vertical drop with iron bars for stairs. You can go down this facing the stone or the drop depending on how confident you're feeling. There's one particularly horrible part where there's a small boulder in the way so you have to go over the boulder whilst continuing down. You're effectively climbing down a bit of an overhang at this point. When you reach the bottom there's a man sat on a wooden post without a harness watching the hundreds of tourists pass by him with a bored expression. If you exclaim anything along the lines of 'oh my God' whilst within earshot of this guy he'll make fun of you. The Chinese tourists I was surrounded by were unnervingly calm about the entire experience.

The entire walk consists of iron stairs, foot holes, planks and carved stone stairs. After the initial climb down you use the foot holes to get onto the planks. From looking at pictures and reading reviews I thought the planks seemed unstable but thankfully they're strong enough to hold at least five people at any one time. You hold onto the iron chains above you whilst you shimmy along the planks. Every few metres, even on the stairs, you have to unhook your harness and rehook it onto a new line which is fine considering you're given two hooks so that you're always safe. At the beginning of the plank walk there's a little alcove where you can have your picture taken while you hang off the side of the cliff.  If I remember correctly the cost of this picture is about 30¥. They print the picture while you're still on the plank walk and then give it to you on your way back. This means you have to carry a print whilst clambering your way back up those iron rods.

Yet another daunting thing about the Plank Walk in the Sky is that the entire walk is two-way traffic. The path takes you down the iron stairs, along the planks, up steep stone steps until you reach an outcrop of rock. The outcrop is the only time you can rest on the walk. It's big enough for a large group of people and offers some of the most beautiful views that you may have missed while trying to stay alive. In a small alcove there's a temple containing a statue. After arriving at the outcrop the only way back is to go the same way you came. There are usually two groups of people doing the walk at the same time which means while trying to do the walk you have to navigate through a whole line of people. The people starting the walk keep to the rock face, the people making their way back have to swing on the outside of these people to get past. Imagine having to do this at the stairs. Imagine doing this when you're just over 5 foot. Like I said, daunting.

The Plank Walk in the Sky is an experience I'd been dying to do ever since I saw images of it online. It was surprisingly easy to get to, cheap and straightforward to accomplish even with zero climbing knowledge. It was one of the best experiences of my life up until now and let me conquer a fear that had slowly been brewing within me for years. I can't recommend it enough. It was insanely fun, I met some amazing people and took a healthy risk for my soul.

A good video to watch is this one by Unboundly Inc. which shows you the Plank Walk in the Sky and gives you some useful tips.


Disclaimer:
Unfortunately none of these photos are mine. I'm petrified of heights and therefore find it impossible to have a camera dangling from my neck or even hold a phone in my hand.