I plan to ride with my scooter from Hsinchu to Yilan (via Neiwan and Jienshih).
I’ve been riding to Jienshih Township a couple of times (and consider it a piece of cake).
But I wonder if I can go from there to Yilan City. On the map it looks easy (just follow road number 7)…
Anyone ever done this before?
Oh, and anyone knows where to get GOOD maps of the mountain areas in Taiwan?
In chinese would be ok… all the maps I have right now are folding maps and rubbish if it comes to the mountains.
The two volume Formosa Complete Road Atlas by Sunriver are good, very good, but not perfect. I haven’t seen any perfect maps, and given the environment here I don’t expect to.
The road from Jianshi to the No 7 was passable in a car - and on a scooter as well in May. As there have been no serious typhoons and the roadcrews have been working continously on them since, they should be better now.
They should therefore be perfectly passable, actually.
I have been on the no7 and on the road leading from Neiwan to No 7 - they are both good for cars and scooters as well.
Engerim, I was on part of this road in late August, the part where the road rises steeply from JienShyr and over into the next valley. As you head down to Baling, you can see there are roads on both sides of the river. There is even a third road, a farm road (unsealed) way up near the ridge line on the north side of the river, but perhaps it’s not so good for a scooter. If you want to do a little hike, a very good and not too long one is to go to LiTungShan. It’s on a side road near the crest of the ridge as you come up from JienShyr. After about 10 kms approx down the side road which contours around the mountain, you will come to a hostel comprised of a collection of wooden buildings. An old mainlander homesteader used to run this place and throw in a free meal for guests who lodged there. Anyway, the path is behind there, and it takes two hours to the utterly stupendous view at the summit where the remains of a Japanese era fort can be seen, the walls with gunslits, since this was a strategic place to keep an eye on the aboriginals in this area.Climb the weather tower to get the unobstructed view.
The road from Baling upwards to the ridge and MingShyr, before dipping down to the Ilan valley (ie The North Cross-Island Hwy. segment of your plan) is well-maintained. I just hope you and your scooter are too, that’s quite a lot of ups and downs!
Engerim, I was on part of this road in late August, the part where the road rises steeply from JienShyr and over into the next valley. As you head down to Baling, you can see there are roads on both sides of the river. There is even a third road, a farm road (unsealed) way up near the ridge line on the north side of the river, but perhaps it’s not so good for a scooter. If you want to do a little hike, a very good and not too long one is to go to LiTungShan. It’s on a side road near the crest of the ridge as you come up from JienShyr. After about 10 kms approx down the side road which contours around the mountain, you will come to a hostel comprised of a collection of wooden buildings. An old mainlander homesteader used to run this place and throw in a free meal for guests who lodged there. Anyway, the path is behind there, and it takes two hours to the utterly stupendous view at the summit where the remains of a Japanese era fort can be seen, the walls with gunslits, since this was a strategic place to keep an eye on the aboriginals in this area.Climb the weather tower to get the unobstructed view.
The road from Baling upwards to the ridge and MingShyr, before dipping down to the Ilan valley (ie The North Cross-Island Hwy. segment of your plan) is well-maintained. I just hope you and your scooter are too, that’s quite a lot of ups and downs!
Is his hostel still open? I stayed there several times in the early 90s. That guy was a classic. He was an organic farmer before they invented organic farming here. He aslo made the greatest fried potatos and pork Shandong style that you ever had.
I bicycled the Yufeng Access Rd. last weekend from Baling to Neiwan. That’s the road on the north side of the river. It was in bad shape with lots of minor rockfalls. A scooter or bicycle are fine, but I think you would have trouble in a car. Amazing area.
[quote=“Feiren”]
I bicycled the Yufeng Access Rd. last weekend from Baling to Neiwan. That’s the road on the north side of the river. It was in bad shape with lots of minor rockfalls. A scooter or bicycle are fine, but I think you would have trouble in a car. Amazing area.[/quote]
That road always has rockfalls and is in bad shape…But much more scenic than its across the river counter-part.
If you plan to go that route from the Jianshi side I’d recommend asking at the white bridge where the road starts. Most of the bad rockslide areas are closer to Baling, and it would be a real drag to spend a couple of hours getting over there, only to find you are blocked two or three km’s out of Baling.
If your goal is Yilan then I’d suggest staying on the left side of the river.
[quote=“Jah Lynnie”]
If you want to do a little hike, a very good and not too long one is to go to LiTungShan. It’s on a side road near the crest of the ridge as you come up from JienShyr. After about 10 kms approx down the side road which contours around the mountain, you will come to a hostel comprised of a collection of wooden buildings. An old mainlander homesteader used to run this place and throw in a free meal for guests who lodged there. Anyway, the path is behind there, and it takes two hours to the utterly stupendous view at the summit where the remains of a Japanese era fort can be seen, the walls with gunslits, since this was a strategic place to keep an eye on the aboriginals in this area.Climb the weather tower to get the unobstructed view.
The road from Baling upwards to the ridge and MingShyr, before dipping down to the Yilan valley (ie The North Cross-Island Hwy. segment of your plan) is well-maintained. I just hope you and your scooter are too, that’s quite a lot of ups and downs![/quote]
I might try both ways, giving the fact that I have to go back to Hsinchu. I’ll see if I find your japanese thing and make some photos
[quote=“MJB”][quote=“Feiren”]
I bicycled the Yufeng Access Rd. last weekend from Baling to Neiwan. That’s the road on the north side of the river. It was in bad shape with lots of minor rockfalls. A scooter or bicycle are fine, but I think you would have trouble in a car. Amazing area.[/quote]
That road always has rockfalls and is in bad shape…But much more scenic than its across the river counter-part.
If you plan to go that route from the Jianshi side I’d recommend asking at the white bridge where the road starts. Most of the bad rockslide areas are closer to Baling, and it would be a real drag to spend a couple of hours getting over there, only to find you are blocked two or three km’s out of Baling.
If your goal is Yilan then I’d suggest staying on the left side of the river.[/quote]
OK. so it seems there are two ways after I winded up the mountain when passing the bridge with the aboriginal statue. Either 玉峰道路 (Yufeng Dao Lu) or 馬美道路 (Mamei Dao Lu). Marked as A and B in the map below. I guess 秀巒道路 (Xiuluan Dao Lu) (leading more south) is out of question.
I think I’ll just stick on 玉峰道路 (Yufeng Dao Lu) left of the river from there on.
[quote=“Feiren”]Is his hostel still open? I stayed there several times in the early 90s. That guy was a classic. He was an organic farmer before they invented organic farming here. He aslo made the greatest fried potatos and pork Shandong style that you ever had.
I bicycled the Yufeng Access Rd. last weekend from Baling to Neiwan. That’s the road on the north side of the river. It was in bad shape with lots of minor rockfalls. A scooter or bicycle are fine, but I think you would have trouble in a car. Amazing area.[/quote]
Sounds nice. How long a ride was it and how did you get your bike to Baling?
