Best hikes around Taipei
Not only is Taipei a big and living city, just on the outskirts of the city are plenty of mountains to be found where you can spend time in the incredible nature that Taiwan has to offer. So if you’re just considering in hiking for 1 day or don’t have the time to go to one of the big main national parks, in this article we will be going over some of the best dayhikes just outside the city of Taipei!
Elephant mountain
One of the most famous hikes to do whilst being in Taipei is Elephant mountain or also known as Xiangshan hiking trail. The reason for this is because of its location and stunning skyline of the city.
This trail is located in the Xinyi district of Taipei, its very easy to get there and its still in the city. The hike is not difficult and has a stairset and concrete path the whole hike, this makes the hike suitable for most people. We highly recommend doing this hike a little bit before sunset so you can enjoy the view of the city skyline in the light and in the dark!
To get there you have to take the MRT to Xiangshan, walk out exit 2 and you can follow your google maps to make sure but there are also signs that you can follow that lead to the trailhead.
The four beasts
The four beasts of Taipei is actually a combination of 4 mountains : Elephant mountain, Tiger mountain, Lion mountain and Leopard mountain. The hike takes around 3 to 4 hours to hike over the peaks and ending at Elephant mountain. Also on this hike is the path and the stairs well made out of concrete. But beware it can get kinda slippery when wet.
There are 2 different roads to choose from on this hike, 1 is the more high route and this one is a bit more difficult and the 2nd one is on a lower path and that makes it less intensive.
How to get there all depends how you want to hike the trail, the 2 most famous routes are from Elephant-Tiger mountain or the other way around. If you want to start from Elephant mountain just look above where we described how to get there and from there is it very easy to find the way because there are a lot of signs on the trail.
If you want to start from Tiger mountain you will have to take the MRT blue line to houshampi, from there take bus 207 or 263 to Fongtian temple. From there you just have to follow fude street to the trailhead.
Qixing mountain/Yangminshan national park
The Qixing mountain or Qi xing shan is the highest mountain of Taipei and is located on the Datun volcano group in Yangmingshan national park. Its is also the tallest sleeping volcano of Taiwan rising up to an altitude of 1,120 meters high.
There are many different hikes to be found and the difficulty is relatively easy because the paths and stairs are constructed out of concrete. Depending on the hike you will choose, average duration of the hikes are around 3 hours, so make sure you calculate enough time so you don’t have to hike when it gets dark. This hike doesn’t require any permits so its makes Yanmingshan is an ideal and easy destination just outside of Taipei for hiking!
To get there you should take a MRT to Jiantan station, go outside and look for the bus stops where you should take bus number R-5. This bus its final stop is Yang Min Shan bus terminal, here you have to get off and you will find the trailhead.
