Laohuzui (Tiger's Mouth) Tunnel Mouth
▲ 1,240 mBetween Zishi and Xin'gou the road squeezes tight between the gorge walls near 1,240 m — the Laohuzui, or "Tiger's Mouth," tunnel is the clear marker before the east slope of Mount Erlang.
Day 3 of 20 · Act 1 · Out of Chengdu
Mount Erlang · the Cloud Sea
Tianquan → West Erlang
3,437 m High point First big climb · cloud sea
The first serious climb of the route, up Mount Erlang to a 3,437 m pass that often floats above a sea of cloud — the wall that historically guarded the road west.
Landmarks
Erlang Pass
二郎山垭口 · 3,437 m
A 3,437 m pass famous for its cloud sea; the old road’s great barrier west of Sichuan.
Stops along the way
2 scenic check-in spots on this stage — pull over at any of them for a postcard.
Mount Erlang Tunnel Viewpoint
▲ 2,161 mAt about 2,170 m the cloud sea spills over the mountain gap, and the 4,176 m Mount Erlang tunnel swallows the most perilous stretch of the old Sichuan–Tibet road into the mountain's belly.
Questions about this day
How high is Mount Erlang pass?
The Erlang pass tops out at about 3,437 m — the first serious climb of the whole route and historically the great wall guarding the road west out of Sichuan.
Is Mount Erlang a hard climb?
It’s the first real test: a long, sustained ascent into thinning air, often with fog rolling across the road. In the game, settle into a low gear early, watch your heart rate, and let the cruise rhythm carry you up rather than burning your sprint.
What is the Erlang cloud sea?
Erlang is famous for floating above a sea of cloud — the pass often sits in clear sky while the valleys below are filled white. Catching it depends on the weather and time of day, which both shift live in the game, so it’s one of the route’s great postcard moments.
A shared postcard from Cycling 318
Ride your own 318
Cycling 318 turns the road to Lhasa into a daily, cozy ride. Check in at the landmarks, collect a postcard from each, and fill your 318 passport.
Coming soon to the App Store