Distance/duration: 6 hrs 7 min/ 9.9 km.
More details as well as a map can be found here on my ramblr account.
This could have been a lot shorter. My is guess it could be done in about 4 hours. We really took our time. Furthermore, I don't recommend anyone follow the first part of our track. To get from the Jinlong Lake bus stop to the trailhead, we ended up trespassing through a private gated community. I will explain and give options for getting to the trailhead in the transportation section below.
Trail Overview: The beginning part of the route we walked is on a feeder trail and not the main trail that most hikers take to Neigoushan. It is a nice, clear trail and I recommend it for those comfortable with somewhat rougher trails that get less traffic. It was very muddy when we walked it because it had rained for the previous three days. Once we joined the main trail to Neigoushan it was wider. We walked a more-or-less U-shaped route that followed a ridge and ended at Jinlong Lake.
Cuei Lake is a small, peaceful pond in a deep valley. There is some open water but most of it is filled with aquatic plants. There is a good trail all the way around the lake and there are benches and tables and flowers. It's a peaceful, secluded-feeling spot. The lake was formed during the Japanese colonial period when mining waste was dumped in the valley blocking the stream and creating the lake. It provides habitat for fish, frogs, birds and other wildlife.
There is an old mine site, the Beigang Erkeng Mine Site, downstream of Cuei Lake. Mining at the site began in 1901.
None of the peaks on the route are high but there are excellent views of the surrounding hills, Taipei City and nearby communities. There were some sunny areas but most of the time there was plentiful shade and a cooling, breeze even on a hot day. The trail surface was dirt, natural stone or wood steps. Some of the wooden steps had seen better days and it was better to walk on the packed earth next to them. Throughout the hike we saw lots of butterflies and saw and heard lots of bird life.
Neigoushan (137 m) is a rocky point reached by an exciting but not difficult climb up aluminum ladders. Laojiujian (193m) has a great view. It's a good place for spotting birds of prey floating on updrafts and is also called Laoyingjian or Eagle Peak. Other peaks include Laojiujian South Peak (157 m) and Xuetouposhan (120 m).
Jinlong Lake, at the end of the hike, is a large urban lake with a walking path around it's perimeter.
What to bring: I packed water and food. Sun protection is important on the exposed sections.
Transportation: I took a train from Taipei Main Station to Xizhi and met two friends there.
At Xizhi station, I exited through the main hall at the Xinyi Road exit. You can take bus 817 to Jinlong lake from the bus stop across the street.
I did not prepare very well for this hike. I had read that you could take the bus to Jinlong Lake and then walk to the trail head and I was pretty confident I could just look at the map and cut across the streets to the trail. As one of my old friends said before a hike in Arizona a long time ago, "It's no fun, if you plan too much." (Though I would also add that sometimes it can be a disaster if you don't plan enough.)
As an aside, on the Arizona hike we set off on a multi-day hike through a canyon with no idea how we would get home at the other end. On the way, we met two guys going the opposite way who had left a car at either end of the trail. One of the guys gave us the keys to his Saab and we drove his car to the other end (where our car was parked) and dropped it off for him.
The problem in this case was that in the area I planned to cut across, there was a private gated, community. We did walk through it but I definitely don't recommend going that way. We attracted the attention of security guards and it took longer than expected. I'd like to go back again and do this walk correctly and also hike Shuiwantanshan which we did not go to on this trip.
I think there are a few options for getting to the trailhead. The easiest might be to just get a taxi or Uber from Xizhi to the main Neigoushan trailhead (not the feeder trail that we started on). Here is the Google Maps link.
Another option would be to take a bus to the Zhongshan Street Entrance bus stop which is near the trail we took. You could also walk along a footpath next to a stream for a little over 1 km to the main Neigoushan trailhead.
Bus 53 goes there from Donghu MRT Station.
Bus 630 and 646 and 903 go there from Huzhou MRT Station.
Another option would be to take the 817 to Jinlong Lake and walk the trail in the opposite direction that we did and then either try to call a taxi or Uber at the end or catch one of the buses.
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The Hike
We got to Jinlong Lake and started walking a little after 8 am.
We walked around the western side of the lake and up a hill.
At the top, we were confused and asked a man if he knew the way to Neigoushan. He said we could get there through the community and asked if we had a key. He said it was lucky we had asked him (Hai hao ni you wen wo) and he opened a side door for us with his key card. It was a very clean, very nice community of private condominiums.
I felt conspicuous strolling through the community and it wasn't long before we attracted the attention of a security guard. I could see on the map that there was a trail to Neigoushan that started within the complex but when we checked it out we found that someone had cut grass clippings and brush and piled it all up in a huge mound to block the trail. It was clear they did not want people going that way. As we were checking out the trail, a security guard on a scooter told us we couldn't go that way and asked us where we wanted to go. He didn't really challenge us but his demeanor seemed to communicate that he would rather not have to deal with us. He told us the way to the da men (the main gate) and drove away.
At the main gate, another security guard, came out of the guard station and asked us more sharply Ni yao qu nali (Where do you want to go?). I guessed that the other guard had radioed him and told him to watch out for us.
Just outside the main gate of the community we passed the Zhongshan Street Entrance bus stop. I recommend starting here and taking the trail that we walked or alternatively walking along the stream-side path all the way to the main Neigoushan trailhead--which is a little over 1 km away.
We crossed the stream and turned north walking on the path next to the stream.
After 250 meters we turned right and crossed the stream again.
At the next corner we turned left into an alley and came to the trailhead which was at the end of a messy path going between a fence and a building.
At the end of the alley the trail became clear. We started up leaf strewn steps and we were finally on the way!
The trail meandered and went up and down a bit. It passed close to the community which we could see below through the trees. At the next junction, we turned right.
After just 1.2 km we came to a crossroads. The path on the left came up from the main Neigoushan trailhead, the path straight ahead went to Neigoushan and the path on the right led down to Cuei Lake. We decided to go right and see Cuei Lake first.
The path here was slippery and a bit steep and we had to take care. I could see on the map that we would need to make a bridge less stream crossing. As we got closer I could hear the water and was worried it might be high after the heavy rain. But actually it just took a couple of steps to cross.
We followed the trail to the left, going upstream next to the water. We came to a stone table and benches and a T-intersection where we stopped for a rest and a snack. (If we had first gone right after crossing the stream we could have visited the Beigang Erkeng mine site which is just a little bit downstream but I did not realize it until later. )
Turning left at the T-intersection we came to the lake after just a couple of minutes. We took the trail going around the right side. The lake is not very big and it did not take long to walk all the way around to the end and the other side where there was a rectangular clearing of packed earth.
We turned left at the clearing and just at the end of it came to a trail heading uphill (on the other side of a short wooden footbridge). This trail took us back up to the top of the ridge in just a few minutes.
Now we were on the far side of Neigoushan so we had to backtrack (to the left) first to summit the peak. This was one of the most fun parts of the hike. The peak is reached by way of two aluminum ladders and a rocky path with fixed ropes.
The peak was smooth, dry stone. There were two benches. We stopped for another rest and some food.
We went back down the aluminum ladders and along the ridge. The trail from here was wide and easy. We followed signs for Laojiujian (老鷲尖). On the way we passed a nice view point. Looking toward Taipei we could see the Grand Hotel, the Shinkong Mitsukoshi department store building at Taipei Main Station and parts of Yangminshan National Park.
We climbed up a long, set of wooden steps--probably the most strenuous part of the whole hike.
At the top there was a side trail going up more steps to Laojiujian.
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Laojiujian |
You can go on to Shuiweitanshan from here but we went back down and continued following the ridge. (Turning left at the bottom of the steps leading to the peak.)
We went over Laojiujian South Peak and then the wide trail led us along a cliff looking over a valley.
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Laojiujian South Peak |
We came to an amazing view point which was reached by a thrilling climb up another ladder and along a narrow rocky spine. It was possible to take a trail around it instead but we couldn't resist and the view was incredible.
From here we just had to follow the ridge all the way down to Jinlong Lake but we still had a ways to go and some ups and downs, with views along the way.
We came to one rocky point where I crawled out onto a smooth stone promontory and lay there feeling the wind and watching it blowing the trees in the forest far below.
Getting closer to the city we passed along the top of a stone wall and looked down into the streets below and then went through a bamboo grove.
There was a map board and a sign pointing to Jinlong Lake. We turned left and followed the road to Jinlong Lake.
We followed Lane 5 Hudong Street to Mingfeng Street and turned left and walked to the 817 Jinlonghu bus stop.
Map and GPS coordinates:
Trailhead where we started: 25.080091, 121.624983
Beigang Erkeng Mine Site: 25.087155, 121.630607
Cuei Lake: 25.089177, 121.628973
Neigoushan: 25.08906, 121.627381
Laojiujian Peak: 25.095899, 121.626152
Laojiujian South Peak: 25.094475, 121.627193
Xuetouposhan: 25.077372, 121.636513
Jinlong Lake: 25.074139, 121.632385