Tapung Fort – 李棟山古堡

The front gate of Tapung Fort

The Tapung Fort at the top of Lidong Mountain is a fascinating relic of Taiwan’s past.  It was built by the then occupying Japanese army as a way to control the local Atayl tribes and, even though only the walls and main entrance survive,  it still provides an intriguing glimpse into just how far the Japanese went to gain control over the island.

Qixingshan by night – 七星山

The moon was exceptionally bright

Qixingshan, otherwise known as Seven Star mountain, is the highest peak in the Yangmingshan national park.  This area is very different to most mountains around Taipei because there are very few trees and the trail is almost entirely exposed to the elements.  This means it can be a painful hike to do in the heat of the summer but it also means that you get fantastic 360° views from the peak.

River Tracing near Wanli

This was the second time we’ve been to this spot.  The first time we actually found it by accident.  Our intention was to go to a completely different place but we couldn’t find it and so we just settled on anywhere, anywhere being next to the Dixi bridge.  This time was pretty much the same!  Not finding the river we where looking for, we decided to revisit this one.

Danshui Cycling

Enjoying the views at Danshui

I recently got myself a new bike and so I was keen to get out on it this weekend.  I did the graveyard run a couple of weeks back and it was great, apart from the mental stray dogs. However, this weekend I wasn’t in the mood for climbing hills and so a nice easy ride along the riverside park up to Danshui seemed like the perfect alternative.

Wai Niao Zuishan – 外鳥嘴山

After a couple of rainy weekends, we were desperate to get out of Taipei. And when the weather looked like picking up, we all jumped at the chance to get on the bikes and head towards the mountains.  The place of choice this time was Neiwan 內灣.

Songluo Lake – 松羅湖

Songluohu 松羅湖 is a kind of swampy lake set in a small basin and surrounded by mountains on all sides. It’s a tremendously beautiful place and in some ways very similar to Jialuohu 加羅湖 which is also in Yilan. They are both great places to hike and camp and both can easily be done in a weekend.

We set off on Saturday morning and took the number 9 towards Yilan. It’s a great road to drive on, especially since most of the Taipei to Yilan traffic now goes through the Xueshan tunnel. And the views of the Yilan plain towards the end of the road are spectacular (weather permitting!).

Formosa Adventuers – The grand finale!

At long last, after a busy month for all of us, we’ve finally been able to sit down and put the finishing touches to our final video! The last stage of voting begins on the 1st of October and runs until the end of that month. After that it’ll be a tense wait until the 15th of November, when the winners of the million dollar prize will be announced.

Hopefully by putting this together, we’ve been able to inspire more people to get out there and enjoy the best parts of Taiwan, it’s moutains, rivers and jungles. And we’d all like to thank everyone for their continuing support especially all the people who helped us out all the way on the trip.

Cheers! And enjoy!

The Four Beasts and others – 四獸山

The Four Beasts 四獸山 are four small mountains in the Xinyi district that overlook Taipei city and Taipei 101. Separately they’re called Elephant, Leopard, Lion and Tiger mountain (象山、豹山、獅山、虎山). Rising up higher and behind the beasts are the peaks of Nangang mountain and Jiuwufeng.

The Formosa Adventurers

We finally made in back to Taipei late last night after four fantastic days of travelling down the east coast of Taiwan. We’ve all had a great time and looking back on it, it’s amazing just how much we managed to fit into only four days.

Eventually, when we’re all sorted out and fully recovered, I’ll publish an itinerary of what we did with details so that if anyone is interested in doing any of the activities will be able to use it as a guide.

In the meantime here are the videos and don’t forget to check back soon for the final video!!!

Thanks for all the support!

Day 1 Hualien – Rivertracing, the Ami harvest festival and the Nanbin night market.

Shidi Guan Yin Mountain 石底觀音山

This is a tough, tough hike, especially in the heat of the summer. We decided to head here after reading Richard Saunder’s article about the source of the Keelung river in the China Post. It sounded interesting and I found a map with a circular route we could follow up to the peak of Shidi Guan Yin Mountain 石底觀音山 and back down to the 106.