I have 8 days so time should not be a problem but I was wondering in how far you can camp along the road
and in how many days you can do the whole climb?
It seems most people do it from the other direction from Puli to Yilan?
The overall plan would be to get to Tainan and then take a train back
but it all depends on how everything goes.
Another question is ofcourse how dangerous it will be in that area nowadays after the typhoon has passed by
last weekend?
You can camp pretty easily from about 25km out of Yilan. The immediate area around Lishan could be a problem for camping though. You should easily be able to do this leg in 3-4 days. Check the route on this map esp. after Lishan for some alternatives to the crowded Wuling-Wushe road.
You can camp pretty easily from about 25km out of Yilan. The immediate area around Lishan could be a problem for camping though. You should easily be able to do this leg in 3-4 days. Check the route on this map esp. after Lishan for some alternatives to the crowded Wuling-Wushe road.
[quote=“Feiren”]You can camp pretty easily from about 25km out of Yilan. The immediate area around Lishan could be a problem for camping though. You should easily be able to do this leg in 3-4 days. Check the route on this map esp. after Lishan for some alternatives to the crowded Wuling-Wushe road.
The roads will be fine with the possible exception of the LLixing Chanye Rd. which is always a mess but a lot of fun.[/quote]
Wild camping would be no problem all the way from Yilan, although once you start the climb to the Ciyuan Yakou (Ciyuan Pass) the options are more limited. After the Yakou, there’s the entrance to the Nanhu Mtn area - a good place. There’d be more spots on from there, around the junction to Wuling Farm. After that you’re into fruit farms and steep slopes until Lishan, with very limited opportunities.
No idea what the Lixing Chanye Road (Lishan to Wushe) would be like, there are many active landslide areas. You could well have to turn back and go Lishan-Dayuling-Hehuanshan. Or try a very steep side road out from Lixing Chanye up to the #14 above Qingjing. There’s a big slide zone only 7km from Wushe, and if that was damaged it would be horribly tempting to cross it, whatever the condition, as you’re so close to getting to the main road (#14). It’s a great route though, and you could easily spend 2/3 days just on that one section, running around.
As for distances, it depends on how strong a rider you are. Yilan to Lishan would be a full day. Same from Lishan to Wushe. Everything is a lot easier after that.
[quote=“kvbe”]Thanks for the info.
will let you know how it finally worked out!
How come btw there is no book about biking in
taiwan like the richard saunders books about hiking?[/quote]
Well, anyone who’s done much hiking in Taiwan will tell you that trails are harder to find (and even more importantly, harder to stay found) than roads.
Still, it would be cool to have a book in English with itineraries (with route info like grade and elevation), places to stay and pictures of the roads/views. But then again, you can do most of that on your computer using stuff like Google Earth, Strava, Mapmyride etc. etc. Also factor in how much conditions change (a hostel goes out of business, a route you publish doesn’t last through the next typhoon) and it might not be that practical. But If nothing else, it would be good toilet reading/coffee table decoration.
Perhaps even better would be a frequently updated blog that is organized according to categories (such as date, county, difficulty/UCI climb rating). There are some blogs, like Taiwan in Cycles, that have great routes but you have to sift through news and commentary when looking for ideas.
