Hemei Mt Hiking Trail in Xingdian, Taipei

Hemei Mt is a small mountain near the MRT Xingdian station (Bitan), the southern terminal of the green line. Bitan, which means green lake in Chinese, is famous for its green river and suspension bridge. If you visit Bitan, be sure to visit the mountain at the same time.

The Bitan Suspension Bridge is 100 m away from the Xingdian station. Just walk through the famous bridge, and then, you can find the entrance of the Hemei Mt hiking trail near the bridge pier. The trail is about 1000 m long with 100 m elevation gain. It takes 25 mins to arrive at the summit ( elev 152m), and you will be rewarded with a fantastic view of the whole Bitan area. Taipei101 is also a obvious subject of the scenery.

The entrance of the trail.

The map of the trails

The Trail

A pond on the trail.

Camphor trees are frequently seen in Taiwan, but most of them are young.  Camphor was Taiwan's main industrial product before the massive chemical synthetic procedures were invented. Therefore, it is not easy to meet a camphor tree so big. You can rub a leaf and smell the typical aromatic odor.

Taro is also a common plant in the forest of Taiwan, but this wild species is  poisonous. Do not try to eat it. 

Taiwanese and Japanese hikers are always looking for the triangulation points on the mountain summits, which were set up for geodetic measurements 100 years ago. Nowadays, they are functionally replaced by the artificial satellites. Gathering the triangulation points becomes a pleasure for local hikers. 

There are several hiking trails on Hemei Mt , and you can take anyone if you want. The small mountain is enclosed by the roads, therefore, it is impossible to be lost. I spent 1.5 hr to finish almost all of the trails.

If you still have time to kill, you can take a paddle boat tour in Bitan, or try the tea and cuisines at the cafe on the river bank. There is an Ubike station near the trailhead, and you can bike from Bitan to Taipei city centre along the river bank, and vice versa. Hiking, boating,and biking are the thiathlon of Bitan.

Simple info:

Xingdian MRT station

Entrance at the Bitan Bridge pier

25 mins to the summit. 

New Lomond Mountain Hiking Trail in Taipei

The New lomond Mt is actually pronounced as Xingshan Menghu(新山夢湖). Xingshan means new mountain; Menghu means dream lake.

The new lomond Mt trail is located in the Xizhi (汐止) district of New Taipei City, and this place is not accessible by public transport. The Menghu road (夢湖路) leading to this trail is quite small, and it is a branch of Section 3 , Xiwan road(汐萬路) .

This is a popular place for local hikers, and it may be hard to park your car on holidays. The lake is so beautiful, therefore many bride-to-be and groom-to-be take their wedding pictures here.

The lake is small and the 2 entrances of the trail are easy to find around the lake. It takes about 40 mins to go up to the summit of the Mt, and 20 mins to go down. I advise you to go up in a counter-clockwise direction. At some place of the trail, climbing up with a rope is needed, but not too hard. At the top of the mountain, you can see the east side of Taipei city and the Keelung island in the sea. There are some special rocks on the mountain top, and be sure to climb with caution. In my view , children elder than 6 years old can finish the trail, and it would be funny for them.

The round trail is 1900m in length. After hiking , you can enjoy the lake view, especially the reflections. There are many precious underwater plants and fish in the lake. The lake is also a habitat of dragonfly larvae, and you can see several kinds of dragonflies flying around the lake. The lake cafe is only open on holidays.

Simple info:

Menghu elev 325m

Xingshan summit elev 499m

A 1900m round trail , 2 ends at Menghu

An one hour trip

Drive to Section 3 , Xiwan road , Xizhi, New Taipei City

Then to the end of Menghu road

A short trial from the end of Menghu road to Menghu

The entrance of  trail around the lake.

Climb up with a rope

On the ridgeline of Xingshan, It is a bush. 

Near the summit . You must climb up or down with the rope.

Some rocks on the Mt top

The photos of the lake:

Nanzihlin Mt Hiking Trail in Taipei

Nanzihlin Mt (南子吝山)  is a small mountain in the northern Taiwan coastal area. Although it is not very high (elev 196m), its view is awesome.

View of the Nanzihlin Mt top

Although the mountain is near Jiufen/Jinguashi ,  it is not a popular place for the foreigners because of the bad public traffic accessibility. If you are in Jiufen, you can take Bus 856 to the Nanya 南雅 (South Xing Temple) stop, or just hail a taxi. If you just want to visit the north-east coastal region of Taiwan , including this trail, taking the Bus 886 from the Ruyfang rail station is more efficient. 

There is a big parking lot by the sea near the entrance of the trail. Go through the two temples, follow the road signs, and you will find the trail entrance about 100 meters away.

The trail is only 990m in length, but steep. A pavilion is located in the middle of the trail.It takes you 30 mins to go up and 20 mins to go down. It may be hot under the sun, thus wearing a hat is strongly recommended.

Go through the two temples

The trail head

The Nanya fishing village

On the trail

One of my best photo 

It's easy for girls, too.

A 360 degree view on the summit of Nanzihlin Mt.

Butterflies are everywhere in Taiwan, even in such a windy area. Many of them are not afraid of predators, because they have special strategies, that means you can take close-up photos. The monarch butterflies are common here, and they warn the predators "poisonous" by the opened brilliant wings. The butterfly (Heliophorus ila) likes to close the wings, which look like a vividly poisonous caterpillar. The moth (Amata spp) has yellow and back stripes over the body and  transparent wings; he is saying" Don't bother me, I'm a fierce wasp". The butterfly (Abraxas spp) looks having no special strategy for human beings, but its wings looks like a bird's poo. Ha ha, birds don't like to eat anything like their poo, either.

The monarch butterfly

Heliophorus ila

Amata spp

Abraxas spp

Nanya is famous for its coastal view. Since the mountainous coast has been eroded by the sea water for million years, a fantastic rocky coastal scenery was created. If you go there, be sure to visit the Nanya rocky formation (南雅奇岩) , which is about 500 meters from the parking lot. There is a restroom in the temple, and a family-owned convenience store near the road. No restaurant is available in this small fishing village. 

The photos of hiking on a misty day:

The nearby Banping Mt. in the mist

Simple info:

Nanzihlin trail head , (elev 0 m )

Trail length 990m ,  summit (elev 196m)

30 mins up, 20 mins down

Bus 856  Ruyfang rail station - Fulong tourist center ( through Jiufen, time-consuming)

Bus 886  Ruyfang rail station - Rongdongwan park