This is a cool hike in northern Taipei which combines nice views, a few temples, the forgotten grave of a Kuomintang general, and a stroll through Taipei’s hot spring district in Xinbeitou. It’s not my favourite hiking spot in the city by any means (there are so many!), but it’s a good call if you’re staying in Shilin or Beitou, or if you want to combine your hike with a little sightseeing – e.g. you could go for a soak in Xinbeitou at the end, and / or visit Shilin Night Market for a post-hike feed.
I won’t go into much detail describing the route in my usual manner, as I followed the exact hike described here on the excellent bikehiketaipei – you can simply do the same. The directions, pictures, and map are very easy to follow – one thing I’ll add though is that the trail isn’t entirely clear in the immediate vicinity of the radio tower at the top. Rather than walking right up to the tower (as I did, losing the trail and eventually finding myself looking down on Xinbeitou from the top of a steep cliff before backtracking), keep it to your left as you bear past and you should be fine.
For alternative routes in the area, see this great write-up here; one good suggestion, if you’re not so fussed about Xinbeitou, is to end the hike at Zhonghechan Temple (中和禪寺) rather than walking back up to the radio tower and then down again to Xinbeitou; from Zhonghechan Temple you can walk to Beitou Station in around 20 minutes. If you do this, you’re following the yellow trail on this map at the trailhead:
Have you been hiking in Beitou? Any questions or comments? Give me a shout below and I’ll get back to you.
Useful Links
Accommodation: search & book rooms in Taipei. Airbnb’s also a great option in Taiwan, if you’ve never used it before you can get a 30 dollar discount if you sign up with this link
For some more hikes in and around Taipei see here, and see my Taiwan overland travel guide here. Also check out my guides to hiking in Seoul, Tokyo, and Kyoto
Make sure you have a good insurance policy; World Nomads offer flexible travel insurance you can buy even if already overseas – most travel insurance companies won’t cover you if you’ve already left your country, and this can be a crucial point as I once found out the hard way in Thailand.
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