The weather is cooling down and the hiking season is upon us, so here are some hikes that have good summit views in northern Taiwan but don’t get mentioned on blogs very much and are out of the range of Richard Saunders’ Taipei Escapes books:
HuoShaoLiaoShan (840 meters). This is 6 kms directly north of PingLin and quite a short hike once the trail head has been located via the maze of tea farm roads that weave through the hillside. The neat thing about this hike is there is a gazebo at the peak making an overnight stay possible. Watch out for bats flying around at dusk though.It’s marked on Map 10 of the Taipei County series.
FuFuShan (1,870 meters). Actually, two peaks: ‘Husband’ and ‘Wife’ at 1,780 meters.It’s on Sun River Map 4. This trail is accessed by turning left at km 31 on the North Cross-Island Hwy. The side road crosses the river and winds up through a farming area. The hike isn’t so long because most of the height gain is on the road. The rocky peaks allow big views of the gorge like section of the river valley.From these peaks there is also a path on to LaLaShan which is quite rough.
NaJieShan (1,520 meters). This one is a bigger effort to get to depending which direction you approach it from.It’s on Sun River Map 4. From LiDongShan or the North Cross-Island Hwy routes are long, so most day hikers come up from ShweiKou in JienShyr District of Hsinchu County. The peak here is on the ridge with an epic view looking down a side valley to the North Cross-Island Hwy. Like FuFuShan it’s a rocky peak with a bit of ropework. Having done all the routes to this peak, I’d say it’s probably better to do this as a two day hike carrying plenty of water with the advantage that you can start in one valley and finish in another.
ErGerShan (678 meters). Saw the dawn of the new millenium here. It’s west of the Mount Bijia ridgewalk. Coming from Xindien take the Pinglin bus (but not the one that goes via the freeway). At the highest point of the road there is a side road on the left leading to the trail head for ErGerShan and further up the road on the right is the ridgewalk trailhead. The ridgewalk is written up in Taipei Escapes 1 (but going from east to west) but the short route to ErGerShan and it’s wonderful views might be preferable for some.
TangSueiShan (2,090 meters).It’s on Sun River Map 4. A small farm road leads down from Galahe to the path. This is one steep mother. Some locals do this as a one long day haul probably because there is only one small area flat enough to camp at about a third of the way up. It’s a marvelous geography lesson as the lush forest gives way to the Shenmu area and the path weaves through tree roots and fallen giants. From the bare top, it’s possible to see DaBaJienShan to the north and LaLaShan to the south.
Needless to say, the higher mountains in The Central Mountain Range mostly have unobstructed views, but for those keen to move on from the crowds and snorers at the peaks with huts (I’m thinking of your recent woes, MM!), I’d recommend HsiuKuLuanshan (across from Jade), NengkaoShan South Peak, BiluShan and BaiGuDaShan - all places that aren’t busy because many casual hikers aren’t willing to carry tents.