For anyone who’s never climbed Elephant Mountain (at 369 meters, or whatever, the term “mountain” is a euphemism) or other mountains right in the city of Taipei, this is what it’s like. Very hot (so we try to leave the house before 7 or 7:30), lots of steep stone steps, a fair number of other people, but still a very nice way to start the day and get out of the house and away from all the cars, motorbikes, etc.
You’ll run into lots of people doing organized exercises or dancing.
Lots of views of the city.
But still the opportunity to run on dirt paths through the forest.
Well… There’re a kabillion things you can do here that you can’t do in Taiwan. Still miss that mountain, though. It was my ‘Waltons’ Mountain’, right there in the 'wan.
don’t forget either there are vertical rock faces with fixed ropes on that mountain…quite useful for testing your SO’s mettle before you attempt K2 over the CNY break…if she (he) can get up them ropes below 95 peak without freaking out you know you gotta a keeper…
Hello. My name is Darwin Roos. I live in Bloomington, IN, USA. I lived in Taipei from 6/95-5/03 and still really miss it. Taiwan still feels more like home to me than the US does. I’m very open to possibly moving back to Taiwan. Since I’m into hiking and backpacking, I’m interested in finding out more about hiking and backpacking in Taiwan. I have a couple questions:
1) Are there any long distance trails (160 Km or more) in Taiwan? If so, where could I get information about them?
2) Are there any hiking/backpacking clubs in Taiwan? If so, is there an e-mail address I could reach them at?
Thank you for your time. Take care and have a great day.
Sincerely,
Darwin
[daroos@indiana.edu](mailto:daroos@indiana.edu)
Darwin, don’t spam the boards. Ask a question in one place.
Here’s the link to Fcom’s own hiking club:
Richard Saunders who wrote a great series of books on hiking in he north of Taiwan also has a club. And there’s 523 as you discovered.
Also see the link at the bottom of this post to my hiking blog: Pashan.
Yes, there are trails 160km long. The Batonguan (see my blog from April 2008) is about 90km and there are two parallel trails of around equal length. Been planning the whole thing for a while,. It would take 17-18 days, maybe more.
See also Barking Deer, an adventure company run by a foreigner in Tainan. barking-deer.com/
There are some great hikes listed here, thanks for the tips. Me, I’ve tended to just do the same 4-5 places, so should try more. One that’s not listed that I did once is walking from Tamshui MRT, up a small country road to the Datungshan hike, then to the top of Datungshan. I ran/hiked that in just under 2 hours once-and 90 minutes down or so. I can give directions if anyone is interested. Also, the area to the East of Tamshui before Sanzhi is great for road walks-many small connecting roads, enjoying the view of the back of Yamingshan, and seeing small farms. I also like the area South of Chung Ho.
My request, if anyone could help please:
I need a few places to take someone walking for 3-8 hours that are flat, nothing too strenuous, so an easy pace can be maintained by an older person. I have thought of:
Riverbank walk from Peitou area to Tamshui and back
For a true outdoor adventure, hike up the back of Yangmingshan by tracing up Datun Creek which is located in that area. It’s the most strenuous hike I’ve done in Taiwan as parts of it are so steep that you’re actually clambering up the hill on all fours, and then when you reach the top you realize you’ve just climbed up the inside of a volcano bowl. Definitely bring gloves, wear long pants and carry lots of water if you want to attempt this hike. The best part of it is when you come out of the woods and join the tourists in the national park, you look like you just came out of the Amazon and people give you a wide berth on the bus down.
[quote=“Kea”]There are some great hikes listed here, thanks for the tips. Me, I’ve tended to just do the same 4-5 places, so should try more. One that’s not listed that I did once is walking from Danshui MRT, up a small country road to the Datungshan hike, then to the top of Datungshan. I ran/hiked that in just under 2 hours once-and 90 minutes down or so. I can give directions if anyone is interested. Also, the area to the East of Danshui before Sanzhi is great for road walks-many small connecting roads, enjoying the view of the back of Yangmingshan, and seeing small farms. I also like the area South of Zhonghe.
My request, if anyone could help please:
I need a few places to take someone walking for 3-8 hours that are flat, nothing too strenuous, so an easy pace can be maintained by an older person. I have thought of:
Riverbank walk from Beitou area to Danshui and back
Aforementioned small hills East of Danshui
The coastal road south of Hualian
Country roads around Yilan
If anyone can suggest further, that’d be great.
Thank you.[/quote]
One of the best walks would be from Wulai Village to Neidong Forest park and even beyond. It’s flat and mostly off the main road. From Wulai just follow the path along the river (beside the train) then pop onto to the road for a bit then at the old suspension bridge cross and follow the unused road on the other side up to Neidong.
For another hour’s hike you could get off the bus at the 11.5km mark before Wulai (at the village of Chenggong) and head right down the side road. Cross the suspension bridge and then head upstream on a wide clear flat path. In one hour this will pop you out at Wulai.
Hsinchu. They have a lovely coastal bike/walking path. I think it’s 17km one way. Flat as a pancake.
Get off Zoo MRT and cross the road. Follow the walking/cycle paths until they end and then follow the road upstream 1km to rejoin the paths. You can walk these all the way to say Dadaocheng and then catch the MRT back. Or at Jingmei park cross the little bridge and walk all the way to Bitan where you can catch the MRT again.
By the end of the year there should be a loop cycle/walking path starting at Fulong Beach. The path goes through the old train tunnel and drops you off on the coast. There should then be a dedicated bike/walking path back up to Fulong. Not sure how long that would be exactly. 20-40km? Other reports say the path will go from Fulong to Aodi. I would go to the Visitor Centre for exact details though be warned sometimes they are hopeless.
Another bike/walking path that is slated to open at the end of the year goes from Wai’ao down to Su’ao or Dongshan which would be around 30-40km.
The Pingxi Rail line. The line is 18km long and flat. People walk it all the time. Slow moving trains come by every hour or so. The schedule is fixed. If you wanted to avoid all trains just start in Jintong after the last train (around 6pm)
Pinglin Bike Paths. Start in the village. It’s 20km or so to the end. A bit of uphill near the middle so maybe just do the first half and walk back.
[quote=“Kea”]There are some great hikes listed here, thanks for the tips. Me, I’ve tended to just do the same 4-5 places, so should try more. One that’s not listed that I did once is walking from Danshui MRT, up a small country road to the Datungshan hike, then to the top of Datungshan. I ran/hiked that in just under 2 hours once-and 90 minutes down or so. I can give directions if anyone is interested. Also, the area to the East of Danshui before Sanzhi is great for road walks-many small connecting roads, enjoying the view of the back of Yangmingshan, and seeing small farms. I also like the area South of Zhonghe.
My request, if anyone could help please:
I need a few places to take someone walking for 3-8 hours that are flat, nothing too strenuous, so an easy pace can be maintained by an older person. I have thought of:
Riverbank walk from Beitou area to Danshui and back
Aforementioned small hills East of Danshui
The coastal road south of Hualian
Country roads around Yilan
If anyone can suggest further, that’d be great.
Thank you.[/quote]
Since you mention the Hualian area as an option, there’s a great easy walk, the Shakadang trail, near the Taroko Gorge visitors center. It’s really beautiful; there are a few flights of stairs down from the road at the start, but its pretty flat otherwise.
Hualian also has a nice bike path heading north along the shore to Qixingtan, it would make a nice coastal walk.
Just the one trail from the centre of town like or?
I saw a trail there but the sign was long on the losing yourself in the grandeur of nature routine and short on actual info.[/quote]
Trail starts across the 106 as you head down from the train station. Another entrance across from the nice red brick school just before town. It’s a pretty obvious system. You can’t get lost.
