Neil Wade's Photography Blog

Tiger Mountain(虎山) is the second subject of three in this series of articles on hiking Taipei, Taiwan’s Four Beasts Mountains (四獸山).

Tiger Mountain is the most northern of the Four Beasts Mountains and the easiest to get to.  It’s not the easiest to find (that would be Elephant Mountain) but if you have transportation, it’s an easy walk along a well kept, level trail.

All along the trail are stunning views of Taipei 101, Taipei City, and Nangang.

"Taiwan's Tower of Babel" Viewed from Tiger Mountain.

Let me tell you a little more about the Four Beasts Mountains before I go further.  The mountains are located to the east of Taipei City in Taiwan.  They’re named after four animals that they supposedly resemble:  Tiger Mountain (虎山), Elephant Mountain (象山), Leopard Mountain (豹山) and Lion Mountain (獅山).  The highest point you can go in the range is called 9-5 Peak (Jiuwufeng – 九五峯).  They also have a fantastic trail system that’s the subject of this three part series.

If you’re paying attention, you might have noticed that I’m writing a three part series on this area.  “Huh?  Why a three part series on four mountains?” you might be thinking.

That’s because Leopard and Lion Mountains don’t really have any trails or reasons to visit them.  My three subjects are 9-5 Peak, Tiger Mountain and Elephant Mountain.  Have a look at this map and you’ll understand.

Tiger Mountain trail marker.

Tiger Mountain is physically the easiest to walk of the three main mountains, but you’ll need transportation to get there.  You can drive right up to the trail head and then it’s an level walk along a ridge line to the first view point.  The only real difficulty is finding the road that leads to it…  no worries!  Here’s a Google map.  You could also follow the directions at the bottom of this page and walk up in about 3o minutes.

Tiger Mountain hiking trail.

Like the 9-5 Peak trail and Elephant Mountain, Tiger Mountain has stunning views of Taipei 101 and Taipei City.  The first platform is a 5 minute walk from the trail head.  The second is about 10 minutes further and requires the navigation of a sturdy, but home-made and scary-looking staircase.

Tiger Mountain view point.

The one staircase on Tiger Mountain can be a little tricky.

Unlike the others, Tiger Mountain is not lit at night.  Be sure to take a flashlight if you plan to take some sunset or night time photos of Taipei 101.

The view of Taipei 101 and Taipei City from Tiger Mountain.

Also check out The Daily Bubble Tea’s post on the same area.

This is part two of a three part series on hiking the Four Beasts Mountain trails.  Part one is on 9-5 Peak and part three in on Elephant Mountain.

Thanks,
-neil

How to get there:
You can take bus Blue 10, 257, 263, or 286 to the Fude Elementary School , then take Lane 251 of Fude Street; or take the MRT Bannan (Blue) Line to Houshanpi Station and then take bus 207 or 263 to Fengtian (Fongtian) Temple. Then follow Lane 221 or 251 of Fude Street.