Haba East Face Crossing

South Ridge and East Face

Haba East Face Crossing

Haba East Face Crossing

This two-day trek traverses the base of the East Face of Haba Snow Mountain. It is a serious route for fit and experienced trekkers. Portions of the route involve tough bushwhacking and the traverse of a kilometer-long mining tunnel.

The starting point sits at an elevation of ca. 3,000 meters, reached by traveling 15 km on a very rough and winding mining road above Bendiwan Village in Tiger Leaping Gorge.

The ending point is The Desert, a sandy area two km north of Ennu Village. The village is located east of Haba Snow Mountain.



The hike has the extraordinary feature of traversing a tunnel once used by the abandoned tungsten mine above Bendiwan. The tunnel is 1200 meters long and takes half an hour to traverse. Use of the tunnel allowed the hikers to avoid hiking over a high pass.



Directly under the East Face, a pipe collects water that runs down the mountain for a considerable distance in order to supply Ennu Village. The trekking route follows the pipe from ca. 4,400 meters down to treeline and beyond.


The water pipe runs along the base of the East Face. It is clearly visible in the photo.


The GPS track shows how the party continued following the pipe down to a recent slide comprised of mud, rocks and debris. Considering the terrain too steep and unstable, the party turned around and reclimbed the mountain. This was an excruciating decision as the party had already been hiking for 8 hours. They climbed from 3,500 meters back up to an elevation of 3,800 meters, gaining access to a ridge above a cliff and continued the descent.



A few intrepid residents of Haba Village have tracked East Face Crossing to reach Bendiwan village. The trip typically requires three days.

The GPS file was provided by Yannick Benchou.


Track Coordinates

GPS file for East Face Traverse (413 kB)


Written by
Pieter Crow
2024-07-16