The 2022 Ultimate Guide to Hiking in Taiwan
*This guide is aimed to be a living document. We will strive to add, edit and update this information as frequently as we can to ensure you, the hikers of Taiwan have the most up-to-date information available.
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Types of Trails
Like other destinations, Taiwan has a vast array of different types of hiking experiences and offers something for all skills levels and interests. While relatively small, Taiwan punches above its weight in terms of outdoor recreation and adventure experiences. Whether you are seeking a stroll in the woods or pushing your limits and physical fitness, Taiwan has plenty of hiking trails for everyone and is sure to keep offering something new and exciting year after year.
Trails in Taiwan are mostly expertly built and well maintained. There are plenty of rugged and less well maintained trails that crisscross the island, but for the most part, hikers are pleasantly surprised by the craftsmanship that goes into trail building here in Taiwan.
While there are a few good options to help you find the right trail for your skill set and fitness level, we want to align information with Taiwan’s Forestry Bureau trail grading system
Disclaimer: Taiwan is one of the most mountainous country in the world, where densely forested mountains cover nearly two-thirds of the country. There is a decent chance that there will be some level of climbing even on the easiest of hikes. If you don’t like the ‘up stuff’ do your research before going out. But remember, it always gets easier the more you get out! There are countless paths and trails across Taiwan that are relatively flat, well-signed and hard-surfaced trails. We could call these “Beginner Trails”. But to throw a monkey wrench there are also easy trails in Taiwan that are “easy-but-steep” (see the image above)!
Advanced Trails
These trails range from short and technical to longer, overnight trips that incorporate high mountain trekking. The later being included here due to the time, conditions and exposure as well as the elevation and strain they take on your body. While many of these trails are well-maintained, but utilize soft surfaces (read: compact soil, roots, rocks, etc), some of them are, how do we put it, less maintained.
There are technical climbs like the very popular Wu Liao Jian (五寮尖) in Sanxia Township (about 1 hour south of Taipei). This trail is gnarly and fun and has been documented a lot. Like here, here, here, don’t forget here, aaaannnnnnd here. (and a ton of vlogs here too). It’s a popular hike, if you do it, try for mid-week to avoid the crowds. But it is an example of how technical some of the hiking is in Taiwan.
100 Peaks (百岳) of Taiwan!
While we don’t intend to list every hike and trail in Taiwan (sorry if that was the expectation), we couldn’t compile an Ultimate (or even a Good) Guide to Hiking in Taiwan without a mention of the 100 Peaks of Taiwan (百岳)! Taiwan’s “100 Peaks,” or “baiyue” (百岳) was established in 1968 by the Taiwan Province Alpine Association (now known as Chinese Taipei Alpine Association), who selected 100 ascents balancing height, difficulty, beauty, and uniqueness. They set out to develop this list of exclusive hikes in Taiwan to encourage more people to get outdoors and hike the taller mountains in Taiwan. Nowadays these are on many ultimate travel bucket-lists for hikers! While they certainly vary in difficulty, we’ll bunch these into the more intermediate and difficult trails in Taiwan. Read More…
