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.
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’.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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!
I like the view from there too, great images!
Sometimes I wonder whether we are in the same island? Any luck in gold digging? I like these pictures. See you soon.
Certainly, I will try this trail in the future.
Hey, Stu.
Your blog is both beautiful and inspiring. I’m new to Taiwan and love, love the outdoors, but don’t have anyone to hike these incredible trails with. I looked on your site for an e-mail, but couldn’t find one. Are there any hiking groups here in Taiwan that arrange weekly/monthly hikes? Any info you have would be much appreciated (my e-mail is somewhere in this post). Thanks for the blog.
Tara
Hi
We have a group, Taiwan Adventures, and we organise a lot of day hikes and high mountain overnight hikes.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TaiwanAdventures/?fref=ts
Stu
Great shots from the north coast!
[…] reverse direction of most other hikers. Twice. From the same starting point, it is also possible to hike the Teapot first before continuing on to Mt. Banping. Not entirely sure how, but I suppose it’s all the same, […]
Hi, thanks for your beautiful pictures! How long does it take to walk up teapot mountain? We are bringing our children (3-year and 5-year old) to Jinguashi next weekend, so will probably turn around, rather than continue onto Banpin mountain as the ropes are probably too challenging for them!
It’s about a 45 mins to walk up there. Lots of steps mind! But nice views.
Hi Stu
I’m planning to get some beer in Jiufen via the same route you posted. I’m planning to go at it solo, will you recommend against that? How long will the whole trek take?
Thanks
It’s OK to do solo. There’s usually a lot of people on the trail. It takes around 4-6 hours depending on how quickly you walk.
Stu
Hi Stu we are a family of 2 adults and 3 kids age 4, 7 and 9 – we will visit Taipei for the first time and we love the great outdoors. Can you recommend some easy hikes for us that will take 1-3 hours return? How would the train ride take to these places? Is it easy to get a taxi from the train station?
Stu,
Thanks so much for this post. I did this hike a few days ago, and your notes were indispensable, especially the GPS map where the trail was a bit hard to follow. It took around 4 hours as you said, and there was absolutely no one else on the trail (weekday, overcast and drizzling).
FYI, I took the 1062 bus from Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station to Gold Ecological Museum in Jinguashi and it cost $NT109 (about $3.50 US).
Regards,
Damon
[…] restored. It offers a great view of the mostly abandoned town of Jīnguāshí 金瓜石 and nearby Teapot Mountain 茶壺山, which I still haven’t […]
Waowww,,, amazing hiking program, with that nice views will make the feel of adventure. I like your post and pic, I wish I stand there.
What a great hiking expeditions, would love to explore that beautiful views
[…] https://hikingtaiwan.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/teapot-mountain-and-banping-mountain/ […]
would one need a guide for this hike? if yes, can we ask for the contact person? need to know how much it would cost. thanks
You don’t need a guide for the hike. But if you’d be more comfortable on a guided walk, you can contact Taiwan Adventures
Just back from Banping mountain, crossing the 6-8 cliffs on top. Looking dangerous but survived the climb before landing down the unmarked lang lang grasses. It was interesting but quite dangerous crossing the cliffs, luckily there are white ropes and some markings along the way… save my day.
Is it obligatory to get the permits for Teopot hike? Which trails in Yangmingshan require permits and which not?
No need for permits