Diaoluo Mountain (吊罗山) is located in Lingshui County in the south east of Hainan. I believe part of the area is a protected nature reserve. As the pictures show, it is a lush rural landscape. The road fron Diaoluo Mt to Qiongzhong is one of the more remote roads in Hainan.
The final picture is of Fengguo Mountain Waterfall (枫果山瀑布), which is next to Diaoluo Mt.
Wuzhishan is the highest point in Hainan. It reaches 1867 metres. It is situated in central Hainan, about 30km from Wuzhishan Town. The name comes from its five peaks.
It is a protected nature reserve and contains primitive rainforest. It costs 15 RMB to enter the area.
To get to Wuzhishan by public transport you first need to get to Wuzhishan Town. From the main Wuzhishan Town bus station you can get a bus to Shuiman Village (about 10 RMB). Then you can get the shuttle bus from Shuiman to the mountain (5 RMB).
Map of Wuzhishan Town, Shuiman Village, and Wuzhishan Mountain.
Climbing Wuzhishan Mountain
It took me about 4 hours to climb to the highest peak and 2-3 hours to get back down. Near the start of the trail is a junction.
The left trail along the stream is quite short (about a 30 minutes stroll) and will take you to a waterfall. This trail is perhaps the most scenic part of the mountain and is worth exploring even if you don't want to climb the whole mountain. It is a good short trail to experience some of the rainforest.
The right hand trail leads to the top of the mountain. The climb is fairly steep. I often needed to use all 4 limbs and there are a few ladders. Most of the trail is tree roots and there are a few potentially dangerous parts that have steep drops off the side. Depending on the weather, you may get excellent views from the top. Unfortunately, there was a lot of rubbish dumped on the trail. This ruins the natural environment to some degree.
Official Wuzhishan website (only Chinese language, no English)
This hot spring resort is situated about 40 minutes by bus north of Sanya. It claims to be the best hot spring resort in China, and it just might be. I paid 160 rmb per person including a return bus from Dadonghai in Sanya (I booked through the Pearl River Hotel in Dadonghai, it costs more if you pay on arrival). It is a little expensive but after the trip I felt it was money well spent. Nantian hot spring resort combines a variety of different outdoor hot spring pools, a swimming pool and attractive landscaping. One of the highlights is the ‘fish therapy’ pool. The pool contains lots of small fish. Once you relax in the pool the fish slowly approach and begin gently nibbling away the dead skin on your body, giving you a natural exfoliation. The tickling sensation takes a few minutes to get used and provides a unique experience. I would recommend Nantian hotsprings if you don’t mind spending a little money. You could spend most of the day at Nantian if you wanted to relax and lounge around. Take some food or you can buy from the restaurant. You will need a extra 200 rmb for deposit.
This is an area I recently found through a trip with some local people. The area is geographically interesting due to the combination of massive rock formations, small beach coves, green countryside, and hilly terrain.
