Colina de la Trompa del Elefante

Elephant Trunk Hill is the single most iconic natural landmark of Guilin, a karst peak on the western bank of the Li River at the very center of the city whose silhouette unmistakably resembles a giant elephant dipping its trunk into the water to drink. The hill has served as the official emblem of Guilin since the 1990s, and for most visitors it is the image that comes to mind when they think of the city. Its location at the confluence of the Li and Taohua rivers places it at the geographic and symbolic heart of downtown Guilin.

The "trunk" is formed by a natural water-level arch carved through the base of the hill, creating a rounded opening through which the river flows, while the broader body of the peak rises above to form the elephant's back. A small pagoda, the Puxian Pagoda, crowns the summit, its placement on the apparent back of the stone elephant giving the hill a literary as well as visual appeal that has drawn Chinese poets and painters for centuries. The hill and its arch have become so recognizable that they have been featured in national promotional materials and in international creative performances celebrating Chinese landscape imagery.

For foreign visitors, Elephant Trunk Hill is an essential stop and one of the easiest to reach, since it sits within the downtown core and requires only a brief visit to appreciate. The park surrounding the hill offers multiple vantage points for photography — the classic view of the arch framed by the river is best captured from the opposite bank in the early morning or late afternoon — and the short climb to the summit pagoda gives a panoramic view over the rivers, the old city, and the surrounding karst peaks. A visit typically fills an hour or two, making it easy to combine with the Two Rivers and Four Lakes cruise, the Solitary Beauty Peak, or the lakeside parks that cluster in central Guilin. It is the most photographed single sight in the city, and even travelers with only a few hours in Guilin tend to find time for it.