The Water Curtain Tunnel

The Baiyang Waterfall Trail in Taroko Gorge is a beautiful and gentle walk that can be done by almost anyone.  The hike begins just a bit north of Tianxiang with an eerie walk through an unlit 100m tunnel.

One of the many tunnels on the Baiyang Trail

Last time I was here the first tunnel was shut because of an enormous landslide, and we had to take the tougher route over the mountains from Tianxiang to get to the other side of the tunnel.  We walked the rest of the trail only to find the final bridge had been washed away and we couldn’t get over to see the waterfall in full.  But, now the tunnel’s been reopened and the final concrete bridge that takes you over to waterfall viewing platform has been rebuilt.

Gorgeous valley below

The trail was originally built by the Taipower company.  Back in the 70s and 80s, there was an idea that Taroko Gorge could be dammed for hyroelecttric power and this road was built as part of that project.  Luckily the plan never came came to fruition and the national park was left with a great trail.

The trail is popular, but the tour buses don’t seem to come this far up, so it’s not too bad.

The walk follows the old road, passing by a number of tunnels.  It’s only about 2 km long, but a very pleasant walk.

The Baiyang Waterfall

Once you reach the concrete bridge, you can go left to see the waterfall or right to get to the Water Curtain Tunnel.  When this tunnel was built, water began to cascade into it.  It’s a spectacular sight, but rain gear or an umbrella is a must otherwise you’ll end up soaked.

Another shot inside the water curtain tunnel

The trail stops at the other end of the tunnel.  I had a quick look and it seems like the road has collapsed in a number of places so that’s as far as you can go.

Some more photos here

The trail starts here 24.185122,121.489939

If you’re interested in hiking in Taroko Gorge, contact us at Taiwan Adventures

Walking through a frost covered forest in Taroko Gorge National Park

Mount Bilu and Yangtou are located near the top of Taroko Gorge National Park.  Both peaks are above 3000m and can be done as individual days hikes, a mad single day traverse or a 2-3 day traverse with camping.

Day 1

It’s a long drive from Taipei to Dayuling for the start of the hike.  With the restrictions on the Suhua Highway, we had to come via Lishan and it took almost 6 hours to get there.  The trailhead starts next to the Dayuling Tunnel which is the intersection for Lishan, Hehuanshan and Taroko Gorge.

Not the quickest way to do the forestry road!

The first 9km of trail are along an old abandoned forestry road.  It’s flat and pretty easy going for the most part.  There’s just the odd landslide to negotiate.  It took us around 2.5hours to reach the campsite where we spent the night.  There’s a good water source in the way of a small waterfall, but this is the last chance for water and so the next day we needed to fill up with enough to last us for the next two days.

Shortly after we arrived at the campsite, another hiker came along.  He had been up Bilu that day and was making his way off the mountain.  He looked in a terrible condition, walking painfully slowly.  We chatted for a moment, but it was already 5.30pm and it was getting dark quick.  He still had the 9km of the forestry road to complete and we spent the next 2 days worrying about whether he would be OK or not.  However, when we got back to the trailhead, his car was already gone and so I assume he made it.

Day 2

We woke up at first light and slowly ate breakfast and pack up the tent.  The day before had been a relaxing walk along an old forestry road, but this day’s hiking would be in complete contrast.  The trail heading up to the ridge that connects Bilu and Yangtou is incredibly steep.  It’s an 800m ascent over no more that 1.5km of trail.  It’s relentless and with 5 litres of water, a tent and enough gear to survive below zero temps it was a really tough climb.

This trail just goes up and up forever

Along the way, we spotted loads of large pine cones that had been split down the middle.  We couldn’t work out what had happened until we spotted two black and white birds hammering away at the cones on a nearby tree.  I tried to get a picture, but with the low light of early morning, the image came out a little blurred.

Pecking away

One of many cliff sections. Nothing technical about climbing them.

It took around 2.5 hours to reach the ridge line which looked spectacular.  Overnight, drops of water from the clouds had froze onto the trees covering everything in thick white ice.   The clouds had cleared away as the sun rose and we were treated to some amazing views.  We dropped packs and made the short walk to the top of Bilushan (3371m).

Coming up to the ridge line of Bilu and Yangtou Mountains

Phil on top of Bilu Mountain

From Bliu, you can see the whole of the ridge all the way to Yangtoushan.  From there it really didn’t look like it would be too difficult, but the ridge is covered in small cliffs, some of which need to be climbed with fixed ropes.  It reminded me a lot of the Holy Ridge, but thankfully there was no snow on the ground this time.

Looking north towards Nanhudashan and Zhongyangjianshan

The Bilu-Yangtou Ridge

More ice

We arrived at the campsite just passed Jushan (one of the peaks on the ridge) in the early afternoon.  We had originally intended to spend the night there, but we got there far too early and neither of us fancied sitting around for the whole afternoon in near freezing temperatures.  Whilst researching the hike, I spotted a campsite marked on a map that was located below Yangtoushan.  It wasn’t marked on our map, but we decided to climb Yangtou and then head down to find that campsite anyway.

We skirted around this cliff rather than climbing it

Back on top of the ridge

The trail gets a bit easier after the campsite and our wobbly legs were grateful for the break.  We got to the fork in the trail for Yangtou, downed packs and made our way to the end of the ridge.  It took longer than we expected.  I think at this point we were pretty much exhausted, but we struggled on and made it to the top of Yangtou.  The clouds were beginning to come in and we didn’t spend much time at the top.

On top of Yangtou Mountain, wrecked!

When we got back to the packs, it was beginning to get late and we didn’t really know how far down the trail the campsite was.  Luckily it was only another 800m and we made with plenty of daylight still left.   The campsite is OK, but not particularly flat, and with the noise from all the animals that passed by at night, it was difficult to get a good night’s sleep.

Camp for the night

Day 3

Having already come down off the ridge the previous day, we only had a short 2km walk to get back down to the number 8 highway.  The finish and start of the hike are some 20km apart and we were going to wait for the one bus that passes by, but we were lucky enough to get picked up by some locals on their way to Hehuanshan.

The weather had been terrible through the night and continued to get worse, with hail coming down as we arrived back at the car.  It seemed that we were incredibly lucky with the weather and managed to be on the ridge in near perfect conditions the day before.

Also, we spotted this thing below on the trail. I think it might be from a weather balloon. If any knows any better, I’d love to hear what it is!

What’s this then?

More photos here

Practicalities

The trail for Bilushan starts at the north end of the tunnel by Dayuling. The trail for Yangtoushan starts at Cien, 20km down the road towards Taroko Gorge.

You need a park entry permit and a police permit for this one.  You can apply for the park entry permit at the Taroko Gorge National Park website.  Beware, the site only works in IE.  Also, the park won’t allow foreigners to lead a hike, nor will they accept foreigners as the emergency contact.  You’ll need a Taiwanese person for both, along with their DOB, telephone no, ID no and address.   Once you get the park entry permit, they apply for and send you the police permit via email.

Other than the waterfall at the campsite on the Bilu Forestry Rd, there are no other sources of water on the trail.  My map has one marked on the Yangtou trail, but it’s not reliable.

After Jushan (there’s no trig point so it’s hard to work out which one it is!).  There are a number of spots that could be used as a campsite.

The bus come from Hualien and goes to Lishan.  It arrives at Cien around 11am(ish).

Teapot Mountain as seen from Banping Mountain

Teapot Mountain on Taiwan’s north coast has to have some the most amazing views you can get for a day hike from Taipei City.  The hike begins in the rejuvenated Jinguashi Gold Ecological Park. I remember visiting this area years and just thinking how depressing it was, but it’s now fully open and makes for a nice place to visit especially in the morning when the crowds aren’t too bad.

Teapot Mountain does actually look a lot like a teapot!

Unfortunately the nice yellow on the coast there is actually pollution from the old gold mines

We walked though the park passing one of the reopened gold mining tunnels and then crossed a curved bridge before steeply climbing up towards the road.  The beginning of this hike is quite deceptive, but the stairs and road disappear as soon as you reach the base of the ‘teapot’.

Climbing into Teapot Mountain

A tight squeeze to get out!

You climb up towards the mountain on fixed ropes and then finally into and through the teapot, coming out on its southern side.  It’s a great climb and the shade that the rocks provide is a welcome relief from the heat of the exposed trail.

Superb views of the coast

The climb to Banping Mountain goes up some fixed ropes

Once out of the teapot the trail heads towards Banping Mountain and its rocky ridgeline.  In the winter the part isn’t too bad, but with a summer of growth, the silver grass was as tall as us and our arms were covered in scratches – long sleeves and trousers are highly recommended!

Keelung Mountain

The views from Banping Mountain are exceptional.  Keelung Mountain, pictured behind Teapot Mountain, shoots up from the ground.  I assume it’s a former volcanic judging by the shape.  On this particular day we could way up the coast past Yeliu and all the way to the easternmost peaks of Yangmingshan National Park.

Nice sunset from Jiufen

From Baping the trail turns eastwards following the ridge before finally dropping down onto  a road.   There are loads of options from here.  Turn left and then right about 50m down the road to head up to Caiguangliao Mountain.  Beware the climb down on the otherside is treacherously muddy on wet days and even on this clear day, we saw an ambulance and fire crew heading away from that area with a presumably injured hiker.

Turning right, you can head either to Jinguashi via the gold eco park or Jiufen, we carried on to Jiufen reasoning that there would be more beer there!

How all hikes should end!

Practicalities

In the summer the sun and heat on this trail are brutal.  Cover up, bring plenty of sunscreen and water. Winters in this part of Taiwan or notoriously wet and the exposed nature of the walk can leave you feeling pretty cold. Bring a fleece and be prepared for rain.

Trains run regularly from Taipei Main Station to Riufang where you can get a bus or a fixed rate taxi to Jinguashi.  The bus stop moves on weekends.  Come out of the train station, turn left and head down the road 200m.

There are a number of buses running to and from various parts of Taipei.  Use google maps to work out the best way for you to get there.

Not many places to buy supplies in Jingushi so stock up before getting there.

I’d recommend giving Caiguangliao Mountain a miss on rainy days.  Too much potential for injury!

Sunrise at the trail to Yushan

We headed down to Tatajia on the Saturday.  It should be a 5 hour drive but it ended up taking the entire day with the summer holidays starting and an awful coach crash meaning there were huge traffic jams.  Anyone wanting to climb Yushan must watch a safety video and so we rushed to get to the visitor centre in time.  Making it with minutes to spare, we were told there was no need to watch the video.  It seemed like to guy in charge just couldn’t be bothered to play it for us which was just fine by us!

We spent the night at the Dongpu Hostel which is at Tatajia.  It’s a very confusing name which often has people looking in the hot spring village of Dongpu a good hour’s drive away!  The hostel is very basic but at least there’s a kitchen and bedding is provided.  It makes for a good place to acclimate before the big hike, just remember your earplugs!

Hiking the trail to the Paiyun Cabin

A laughing thrush

We were up at 3am the next day and hit the trail at 4.20am.  There’s a 2.5km road that needs to be walked before you reach the trailhead proper and by the time we got there the sun was already up.  Luckily in the early morning, the trail stays in the shade and it was a very pleasant walk to get to the Paiyun Cabin.  If you’re doing the single day ascent, you’ve got to get to the cabin by 10am or you won’t be allowed to continue the walk.  We were there around 8.30 and so we had plenty of time to take a break before the big slog to the top.

Almost at the cabin and the sun starts to make things harder going

The new Paiyun Cabin

The new cabin is looking pretty good and pretty much finished.  I asked around to see when it might open and was met with “don’t know” each time.  It seems the legal wrangling continues.  One person said that won’t be settled any time soon and if it’s not sorted by winter time, then the cabin won’t open until the spring of next year.  Other’s also complained that the cabin will house 100 hikers, but the kitchen, toilet and waste facilities are only enough for 50.  The whole thing sounds like a farce.  Hopefully things will get sorted out sooner rather than later.

The tunnel just before the turn off for the main and north peak. Watch your head on the way down!

There are some quite difficult parts on the final climb

The hike up to the peak is very different to the walk to the cabin.  Very quickly you’re out of the tree line and climbing up the switch backs on scree.  It’s a very steep climb that only gets steeper as you go.  The final push from the turn-off to the north peak is especially tiring, but it’s all worth it when you get views like we did.

Beautiful weather on the peak

Yushan Main Peak

Panorama from the main peak

We stayed for a long time at the top and made it back to Paiyun around 1pm.  By this time the clouds were coming in and in a matter of moments, the heavens opened and it began to pour down.  The heavy rain was accompanied by lightening and it made for a cold , wet and quite scary walk back.  The precipice, a cliff like section of rock, was turned into a waterfall because there was so much rain.

">Video of the rain

Thankfully we all made it down safely and by the time we got back to the trail head the sun was back out.  It was hard to imagine that just a couple of hours earlier we had been slogging our way through ankle deep puddles.  All in all it took just under 12 hours to finish the hike.  Well done to everyone who came!

The valley leading to Dongpu

Practicalities

Applying for the permit is a nightmare.  You’ll need photos of each member of the team on top of a 3000m+ peak, each member must sign a declaration that they know what they are getting into, you have to come up with a training plan……. and so and so forth.  Contact the national park for all the relevant paperwork.

It’s about a 12 hour hike to the peak and back.  You must get to Paiyun Cabin by 10am or you can’t carry on.  Headlamps are essential in case you aren’t down in time.

The shuttle bus to the trail head runs, but it doesn’t start early enough and so you’ll need to walk up from Tatajia.  It’s possible to get a ride down – 100NT per person.

There’s still a water source at Paiyun and a toilet/shack so there’s no need to carry huge amounts of water.

Dongpu Hostel website.  There’s a form to fill in online to make a booking, but you’re better off calling them - (049)270-2213.  The kitchen has stoves but you’ll need to bring your own pots, pans, chopsticks and food.

Sunrise as seen from the peak of Yushan

When the new Paiyun Cabin for Yushan opens (if that ever happens!) there’ll be a new policy of charging foreigners $700 to stay there.  Locals will continue to pay the usual $220 as before.  I’m very much against this as I think it’s unfair and it will damage Taiwan’s reputation.

The reason given for the increase is to pay for the new English services, but a blanket charge for foreigners will affect those coming from non-English speaking countries too.  How do they benefit?  I also worry that we’ll see no changes to the poor English on the website/signs in the park etc.

In addition to this change it is also rumoured that when the cabin opens, foreigners will no longer have the option of climbing Yushan as a single day ascent, regardless of experience.  I can only think that this is because the park wants foreigners to stay in the cabin to extract money from them.

If you too are against this, Richard Saunders has set up a petition for anyone who would like to sign it.

Online Petition

Also you can email the national park directly to ask about the new pricing policy.

Email the Yushan National Park

The Yue Mei Keng Waterfall in full flow

Richard Saunders let me know about the Yuemeikeng Waterfall sometime ago and he mentioned that it was a relatively unknown and hidden place and so when I visited last year, I decided not to write about it to try and keep it that way.  But now it has been discovered by the masses and the trail is well tagged and well beaten, I think it’s OK to write a quick post.

Following the river along a rough track

The weather on the weekend was looking decidedly dodgy with some heavy downpours in Taipei and I was somewhat nervous about going.  The last part of the hike follows the stream up to the waterfall and it would be a bad place to get caught in a thunderstorm.  However, the CWB showed that Yilan was pretty much dry so we met at the train station and went all the same.  I figured if the river was too high, it would be easy enough to turn back anyway.

Heading towards Yue Mei Keng Waterfall

Fourteen brave souls showed up at the train station which was not a bad head count given the weather!  I got there early and was half expecting no one to come.

We caught the bus to the hot spring town of Jiaoxi and then walked the road up the start of the Wufenqi Waterfalls.  At a small park below the trail to Wufenqi, there’s a river with a makeshift bridge.  We crossed it and turned right to follow a rough track up to the trailhead.

The river leading to the falls is particularly beautiful

The hike in is pretty short.  After a crossing couple of bridges, we should have made a left, but someone had moved the sign and I sped straight past it up the mountain.  Luckily we realised pretty qucikly and got back on the right trail a few minutes later.  I am very curious to find out where that other path goes though.  It seemed to be heading towards the top of the waterfall.  Anthoer adventure for another day perhaps?

Crossing the river

Heading the right way, we climbed down the steep path to the river.  From here the trail crosses over the river once before dropping down in the water on the opposite side.  I was trying desperately to keep my feet dry, but one slip and I was knee-deep.  I gave up and just waded up the rest of the way.

I love this canyon like section just before the waterfall

With all the we rain we’ve had recently, the waterfall was in full flow and looked spectacular!  Most of us stripped off and got into the pool below.  It was an awesome experience, the wind created by the huge of volume of falling water was like a gale and the roaring noise was deafening.  It was very intense and after getting out and walking away just 10m,  it felt strangely peaceful compared to being under the raging waterfall.

Almost there!

Hiking out we stopped near the entrance to the Wufenqi Waterfalls before walking back to Jiaoxi for a well deserved pint.  I was really glad I didn’t cancel.  A great hike!  Thanks for coming along everyone!

Practicalities

We got lucky with the weather.  I really wouln’t recommend coming here on a day with a lot of rain.

You can catch the bus to Jiaoxi from the new bus station north of Taipei Main Station, the new station by Taipei City Hall MRT Station or by the Technology Building MRT Station.   It takes around an hour. Coming back always seems to take longer with the traffic in the Xueshan Tunnel.

From Jiaoxi Train Station there is a tourist bus that heads up to the Wufenqi Waterfall car park.  However it only runs every hour or so. We missed it both times and just decided to walk.

The hike itself is fairly short.  Perhaps 1-2 hours.

Look out leeches!  Most of us made a friend or two in the water and even those who didn’t get in, still got bitten!

More photos

The Shuiyang Forest and Lake was created during the 921 Earthquake

We'll be camping out under this giant over hanging cliff

The second trip is to Taroko Gorge where we’ll explore some of the gorge’s lesser known and more exciting trails as well as spend an afternoon gently freewheeling our way down the gorge by bicycle.  For this trip we’ll stay in a small B&B in Xincheng for 2 nights.  Again we’re organsing this one through facebook.

Cycling down Taroko Gorge is an unbeatable experience

A bridge that leads to the natural Wenshan Hot Springs

Also, although we’ve been going for a while, I’ve never officially announced the founding of Taiwan Adventures, an outdoor adventure and hiking company.  There are four members of the team, myself, Neil, Ross and Phil.  We’re mostly aimed a hiking, be it day trips around Taipei or longer hike mountain excursions, but we also run photogrpaphy trips, sightseeing tours, eco-tours etc.

Check out the website for information!

Sunset near the Kuaigu Cabin

Having failed to get a permit in the Yushan National Park because of the snow season, we headed a little further south to Pingdong County to hike Beidawushan which is Taiwan’s southern most Baiyue (top one hundred mountain). In the past this was a reasonable 2 day hike, but a large landslide caused my Typhon Morakot means the trailhead is much lower and further back making it a much tougher walk. We did it in 2 days, but if you’ve got the time, I think 3 days would be more enjoyable.

Although it’s one of the smaller Baiyue (3092m), Beidawu is a mammoth rock that rises sharply from the ground. The strip of land that it lies on is only 80km from the west coast to the east coast and on fine days you can see both (or so I hear!)

The new trailhead begins at the side of the road. It’s very, very steep and in an hour we had already climbed some 400m up to get to the old trailhead. The new route passes briefly on the old road before plunging back up the mountain and finally rejoins the road for a short time again.

The walk up to the cabin is really nice. We spotted several Formosan macaques, a flying squirrel and a bird of prey that swooped down on the forest as we walked by.

On the trail to the Kuaigu Cabin

The walk to the Kauigu Cabin took around and 3 hours and we arrived with plenty of time to explore the stream and waterfall nearby as well as walk the 300m back to an exposed area of the trail to catch the sunset. The cabin is one of the nicer ones to stay in with lots of seating, covered areas, places to cook and relax and now spaces can be booked online! Unfortunately you’ll need a Taiwanese ID to do so.

The Kuaigu Cabin at Beidawushan

Phil takes a look at the waterfall near the cabin

The small stream nearby has lovely shade of blue to it

Sunset near the Kuaigu Cabin

We were up at 2am for breakfast and headed up the mountain half an hour later. I usually enjoy hiking at night, but by the time we got to the old Japanese Shrine on the ridge, I’d had enough of groping around in the dark and falling over tree branches that I couldn’t see. We considered hanging around by the shrine before heading over to the peak, but the cold pushed us on.

For a while it promised to be a spectacular sunrise but as we neared the peak, clouds blew over and we really didn’t see much. With nothing to look at we headed back along the ridge. Now the freezing temperatures and the wet clouds combined to cover some of the trees with a thin layer of frost which looked especially nice in the early light.

Ice on the trees near the peak

A brief glimpse of sunrise

We stopped for a second breakfast at the shrine and read up a bit on Beidawu’s history via the sign board. The Shrine was originally built on the actual peak despite the protests of the local Paiwan Aborigines. It was eventually moved further south after it was repeatedly struck by lightening.

The Japnese shrine near the peak of Beidawushan

A monument to the aboriginal soldiers who fought for the Japanese

Another interesting relic just next to the shrine is a momument built again by the Japanese to honour the aboriginal soldiers who fought for the Japanese in the second world war.

There are quite a few sketchy parts to cross

A giant redwood on the trail

From here walked back to the cabin packed up and then headed all the way down to the trailhead. It was a long and exhausting day with some 12 hours of hiking in all!

Practicalities
2 days is really tough. You’re looking at a 1000m climb and then a 2000m descent on the second day. 3 days would make the hike much more enjoyable.

The Kuaigu Cabin isn’t too bad. There’s plenty of space inside and lots of decking and covered areas outside too. Nearby there are a number of wooden platforms for camping on.

You can now book the cabin using the forestry bureau’s website, but you’ll need a Taiwanese person’s ID to do so. Unfortunately, the camping space can’t as yet be booked.

There’s a good water supply at the cabin and toilets too.

You only need a mountain entry permit for this one which can be applied for at the police station in Jiaping. Ask ahead to see how people are up there if you don’t have a space in the cabin booked.

There road leading to the new trailhead is currently undergoing repairs and it still isn’t in great shape. Might be best to avoid heading up on rainy days.  Call ahead to get the lastest info on road conditions.

Trailhead is roughly here 22.611931,120.698934

Police Station is here 22.591537,120.629003

Hegu Waterfall, the first waterfall on the trail

When I woke up on Sunday the weather in Taipei wasn’t too bad, just a slight drizzle and so I had high hopes for our hike.  However, the further east we got, the heavier the rain became and when we finally arrived at the tiny station of Sandiaoling, it was pretty much a persistent downpour.  Still, everyone was in high spirits as we headed along the tracks and got onto the very muddy trail.

You can’t get that close to the first waterfall, but the view of the Hegu Falls 合谷瀑布 from the trail is spectacular.  From here the trails cross several new rope bridges and follows a stream up to the next fall.

Hiking up a small stream towards the next waterfall

My favourite of the waterfalls in this area, the Motian Waterfall 模天瀑布 cascades over a cliff with a cave behind it and smashes into rocks at the bottom.  After all the rain we’ve been having recently the fall was just amazing as was crawling through the cave to get behind it.

Motian Waterfall (was this one once called Sandiaoling Waterfall?)

The cave around the back of Motian Waterfall

From here the trail gets rougher with a few fixed ropes, some very slippery slopes and a wooden ladder of sorts before finally coming to the last fall, the Papi Waterfall 杷枇瀑布.  It too has a cave behind it but you can’t climb into it.

The last waterfall, Papi Waterfall

A steep and slippery climb to the top!

It’s a short scramble up to a concrete track above the waterfall.  We turned left here and followed the track, criss-crossing a road a few times before finally get to the small village of Xinliao 新寮.  Just before the village we spotted a group of Formosan Magpies in a field but by this point my camera and I were much too wet to get a shot of them.

At Xinliao we made another left and followed the road to Yeren Valley 野人谷, which looks very much closed and dilapidated.  We took the stairs to the right of the building and climbed up and then down to the red bridge which finally leads to the train tracks on the other side.  The stairs are lethally slippery and almost everyone fell on the way down. (I didn’t!)

On the Pingxi Railway Line tracks heading towards Shifen

At the tracks you can go left to get to Dahua 大華 and right to Shifen 十分. We turned right and shortly arrived at the Shifen Waterfall.  It’s $80 to get in to see the falls, but we’d seen enough water and waterfalls and instead made our way to the town of Shifen to catch the train back to Taipei.

They have sky lanterns in Shifen too!

Practicalities

Trains – You can get a train from Taipei directly to Sandiaoling, but the trains are not very frequent and so it’s best to check the timetable first.  Make sure you select “all types” under train types or you won’t get any results.

Coming back you need to take the Pingxi Branch Line to Ruifang and then change to get back to Taipei.  Again the trains can be quite infrequent and it’s a good idea to print out the timetable in advance.

Technically it’s illegal to walk on the tracks but everyone does it.  Take care, keep an eye out for trains and keep the timetable handy so you know when it’s safe to enter the tunnels.

In the winter when it rains, you don’t get that much water and so it’s OK.  However I would avoid coming here in the summer on a rainy day.

Snow Mountain is Taiwan’s second highest peak and a great climb.  Some amazing scenery!

Snow Mountain Facebook Event

Dabajianshan is probably Taiwan’s most distinctive mountain.  Look on the back of a $500NT note, that’s the one!  It’s a great 3 day hike to this huge mountain and back.

Dabajianshan Facebook Event

If you’re interested in joining us on either hike or on some gentler day trips around Taipei, then join the facebook group, Taiwan Adventures – Group Hikes.