Hiking in Taiwan just might be the best thing that you can do here. Fresh air, beautiful views, and a bit of exercise can really help you to forget the traffic, noise and pollution of the cities. I find it really sad that a lot of the people who live here never leave the cities. I’ve met foreigners who have lived here for years and have literally never left the city once. Personally, I go crazy if I can’t get out of Taipei at least every other weekend. Sometimes, I head to the mountains, sometimes the beach, sometimes the hot springs.
Last weekend, my friends and I decided that a little hiking was in order. Stu Dawson is completely insane about hiking and has started a website called Hiking Taiwan. He knows his stuff, so if he has a hike planned, I’ll usually try to tag along.
Last weekend we headed out to a small town called Pingxi 坪溪, just 30 minutes from Taipei. Surrounding Pingxi 坪溪 are some beautiful, jagged mountains that are perfect for a days get away.
We chose one called Feng Tou Jian 峰頭尖 that sits on a complex system of trails that crisscross Taiwan.
I’ll keep the story short because Stu did a great job of writing about it on his website. So if you want the details and practicalities of going to this particular trail, go to his site. I just thought I’d share my pictures from the hike to hopefully motivate some of you to get out there and start enjoying yourself!
In the beginning, we could see two of the peaks we would cross.
More hiking in Taiwan after the jump…
