A couple of years ago I hiked all five peaks of Five Finger Mountain (五指山). At the end of that hike I came to the conclusion that the ring finger and little finger peaks are only worth hiking if you have the explicit goal of doing all five fingers, but can skip them otherwise. A few weeks ago I went back to Five Finger Mountain to hike what I consider to be the optimal route. Here you can see a map of my route, click it for more details.

It starts by going through the very narrow gorge called A Thread of Sky (一線天). Once your through that, you leave the official trail to scramble up a rather steep alternate route, which leads to a point between the index and middle fingers. This is a pretty fun climb, especially if you challenge yourself to not use the ropes.

Entering the Thread of Sky gorge

Looking up you can barely see the sky
Nearing the exit

Follow the ropes towards the top

At the top of the alternate route are signs warning you that it’s not official

Once you’ve connected back to the official trail, you take a quick detour to the middle finger peak. This is the only peak where you get a good view, so sit down for a moment and enjoy it. From there it’s a rather easy hike to the ring and little finger peaks, but like I’ve said, I think they’re not worth it, and I skipped them this time.

I can never get enough of the light filtering in through the trees
The view from the middle finger, just below the peak
More of that spectacular view

Having enjoyed the view at the middle finger peak, it’s time head back towards the index finger – passing the entrance to the alternate route – and go down via the thumb.

Thumbs up at the thumb
Managed to get one more shot of sunlight between the trees

As I was coming down from the index finger the mist came rolling in. There’s something really special about hiking through a forest drenched in fog.

When you’ve come down from the thumb you could go directly back to the parking lot. However, I find it’s more fun to add another short loop in the form of the Fairy Cave trail (仙洞步道). The cool thing about it, is that it passes by a couple of little shrines out in the forest, and as it loops back around to the parking lot, there’s a string of red lanterns along one side of the trail. In terms of hiking, it’s not very exciting, but the shrines and lanterns are all very atmospheric, especially on a misty day.

The start of the Fairy Cave trail is appropriately misty

Forest shrines

I just can’t get over how cool these lanterns look against the background of the forest enveloped in mist.

I think the combination of the steep climb up along the alternate route, the views from the middle finger peak, the atmospheric feeling of the Fairy Cave trail, and the fact that you skip the rather boring ring and little finger peaks, makes this the optimal way to enjoy the five finger mountains.