Taiwan’s Top Hundred Peaks: 2. Eight Easier Treks

Yushan, Taiwan’s highest mountain, is also one of its easiest to climb

Mountains in Taiwan are famous for their sunrises, but often it’s the sunsets that are the most unforgettable

Early morning on Mount Tao, Wuling Quadruple

Jade Mountain is both an exciting climb and a surprisingly easy one

Let me start by saying I’m no expert at hiking Taiwan’s high mountains! Of the Top 100 Peaks (a list of one-hundred mountain peaks from the 270-odd summits in Taiwan that exceed 3,000 meters in height), I’ve so far only done 29 – a lot less than some hiker friends of mine. However I’m acutely aware that starting out on the Top Hundred can be be a bit daunting – the difficulty of the peaks on the list varies hugely, and while two or three summits on the list are within the ability of all able-bodied people, and a further ten or twenty can be conquered by anyone that’s reasonably fit and has a few Taiwan day-hikes under their belt, after that the difficulty level quickly goes through the roof, and inexperienced hikers could easily find themselves in serious trouble if they pick the wrong trek.

Mount Baiguda (白姑大山; 3, 341 meters)

The deceptively gentle-looking summit peak of Mount Baiguda

Dusk at Siyan campsite, day one

On the crags which lead to the final climb to the summit

Ancient trees (both standing and fallen) are a dominant feature of the trail to Mount Baiguda

Mount Baiguda (3,341 meters, no 45 on the ‘Top Hundred’ list) on the border between Nantou County and Taichung City doesn’t seem to get nearly as much love as some of the other summits on Taiwan’s Hundred Peaks list. Permission to climb is easy to get (only a police permit is required), yet there were few other people up there this last weekend, despite the absolutely perfect weather. It’s among the tougher peaks on the list I’ve done to date, especially since we did it in 2 days (meaning a 14-to-16-hour second day of hiking!), but it amazed us all with its beauty. Photos I’ve seen on blogs and elsewhere are usually of the deceptively gentle, rounded, wooded summit dome, which looks boring as anything, but is in fact steep and very rocky, with a stellar 360-degree view from the top. Even more rewarding are the series of crags which the trail follows on the way to the final slog up to the summit peak – nothing technical or difficult, but plenty of tough, knee-breaking  ups and downs, and absolutely stunning views over the surrounding wilderness. Definitely one of my top five high mountains so far, and among the tougher ones too!

Taiwan 101: Part 5. The South

The endemic Formosan macaque at Shoushan, Kaohsiung City

The Boat Burning Festival at Donggang, Pingtung County

Titantic Rock, Chiayi County

Sperm Whale skeleton, Taijiang National Park

Southern Taiwan has some of the most interesting aboriginal culture on the main island, with atmospheric (and often remote ) villages of Paiwan and Rukai stone houses, and several of Taiwan’s most memorable traditional festivities, including the insane Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival, surely one of the most intense traditional annual participation events anywhere in the world.

For lovers of natural beauty, Chiayi County is unsurpassed. The crowds all flock to Alishan, but the best places in the area are

Taiwan 101: Part 4. Western Taiwan

Hakka sanheyuan house near Xinpu

Dabajianshan, Taiwan’s most magnificentlly distinctive high mountain peak

Temples at Shitoushan, Miaoli County

Shuiyang Lake, a beautiful creation of the great 1999 earthquake

In Taiwan 101 western Taiwan is everything from the Hakka lands of Hsinchu and underrated Miaoli, through Taichung City, Changhua, Yunlin (another under-explored corner of the island), and beautiful Nantou County. This long swathe of the island comprises the flat and (for a nature lover) relatively uninteresting western plains, but these are dotted with some of Taiwan’s most historic (and interesting) towns, the majority of Taiwan’s

Taiwan 101: Part 2. Eastern Taiwan

Mugumuyu, Hualien County

Stone Umbrella Rock, Chenggong, Hualien County

View from Dongao Rest Area, Yilan County

Daylilies at Liushidanshan, Hualien County

Hualien and Taitung Counties are finally becoming easier of access, with fast (although famously difficult-to-book) Puyuma trains, and big improvements (still ongoing) in the notoriously dangerous Suhua Highway, and the undisturbed, peaceful nature of this region might eventually change, but for now it remains one of the most enchanting regions of the island. Since the Central Mountain Range is relatively inaccessible from the eastern side, the main attractions of the region (apart from Taroko Gorge) is its rich aboriginal culture, beautiful, often

Paiyun Hut on Yushan: FINALLY open again!

The summit of Yushan (3,952 meters)

Stu over at Taiwan Adventures pointed out the other day that Paiyun Hut, the usual overnighting spot for hikers doing Yushan (the highest peak in Taiwan and in all NE Asia too!) is finally open again after several years of first rebuilding and then, presumably, arguing over the legality of the rebuild and whether or not to charge foreigners vastly more than locals for the privilege of staying there.  I ran a petition last year protesting the idea as suicidal for public relations in a country that desperately needs foreign tourists. I’m not sure if that had any effect on the National Park when I sent it, but anyway they’ve finally seen the light and now everyone will pay the same price (albeit locals now have to pay substantially more than originally stated), and now everyone can enjoy this fabulous mountain on an even pegging, as it should be!!

Details are up on the blog section of Taiwan Adventures’ very nice new website , and they can also help you plan a trip up. If I get my act together, I’m hoping to go back again myself to bag a few more of the 10 peaks in the group later this year.

A Few Photos

Husband and Wife
Trees, New Central Cross-island Highway

Maliguang Waterfall, Hsinchu Conty

Above the aboriginal village of Laiji, Chiayi County

It’s been so long since I’ve been hiking that I’ve started putting on weight and seem to be entering a mild depression.  The plum rains seem – hopefully – to be loosening their grip on the island and there are hopes that we might have a good weekend exploring coming up (our last attempt, a scooter trip around the mountains of Chiayi three weeks ago turned into a soggy disaster). Meanwhile, partly as a little self therapy, and to replace my last, angry, post from top position where its been for the last couple of weeks, here’s a couple of photos from recent and not-so-recent trips around the main island of Taiwan. Thanks to Oksana for the ancient tree photo – much better than any of the ones I took myself!

On the road up to Luchang, an aboriginal village in magnificent countryside in Miaoli County

Stop the dual-pricing system on Yushan!! (Please sign my petition…)

UPDATE JULY 19th:

I received some hopefully great news from one of the petition signers (and hiker) about two weeks ago, but since I’ve been in China (where WordPress is blocked!) for the last three weeks, there was no way to share it. Here it is (thanks T!):

…according to [his contact], the planned differential pricing has been reviewed and OVERTURNED.
The fees will be revised to remove the two-tier pricing policy.
No change on the Yushan N. P. website yet, but hopefully that’s simply because things take a bit of time to filter through. Fingers crossed….

Snow Mountain – third time lucky??

Near Snow Mountain East Peak, en route to 369 Hut

The one thing I absolutely detest about Taiwan (sometimes at least) is the damn weather here! Lousy conditions have turned many a promising hike into a wet and slippery trudge, have led to me cancelling scores of others, and  (three or four years ago) even contributed to my avoiding high mountain climbs for several years, after a miserable three-day trip into the mountains when a group of us were stranded in a cold, damp mountain hut for the duration of a continuous downpour that lasted a day and two full nights!

The trailhead, above Wuling Farm

Mounts Junda and Xiluanda

The summit of Mount Junda

Yushan (Jade Mountain) is not only the highest summit in northeast Asia, but also forms the high point of its own mini-mountain range. Yep, Yushan is officially (and I suppose there’s geological evidence to support this) the smallest of central Taiwan’s three big mountain ranges, boasting eleven peaks on the ‘to do’ list of any budding Taiwan peak-bagger.