Hemei Hill 和美山步道

 

 

An easy walk with great views, abundant birds and butterflies and verdant trails. A family friendly trip and a nice escape from the city that is also very easy to get to. The route starts at Xindian MRT Station, crosses the Bitan Suspension Bridge with its view of the river and green clad cliffs, climbs to the summit of Hemei Hill, continues to another view point over the city and then drops down to a road via a fun, steep (but short) dirt path. At the end we took the Xindian Ferry which is a human-powered ferry that has been in operation since 1881. 

 Distance/Time: 4.4 km/ 2 hours 45 minutes

The Trail:  This is a leisurely but very enjoyable walk.  The trail is framed by dense, green plant life and is replete with bird, butterfly and other insect life.  At the summit there are great views for relatively little effort. Almost the entire path is paved, stone or wooden steps or packed earth. At the end we took a steep but short trail along a wilder dirt path. There are steps almost all the way to the top but even these are not too hard. Only the final push just before the top got my heart rate up a little bit.  

 This is a wonderful hike for families and a great escape from the city for anyone. My oldest teenage son who usually complains about hiking even said that it was a fun day. 

The area is crisscrossed with trails and there are lots of paths to explore other than the one that we took.

What to bring: We packed a lunch and enjoyed a picnic on the flat summit. Any type of foot wear with good tread is fine for this walk. I just wore sandals. On hot days sun protection would be a good idea because at the top there is little shade.  Bring some cash for the ferry at the end. 

There is a 7-11 at the MRT station and lots of shops and restaurants in the area. 

Transportation: We took the MRT to Xindian station and started walking from there.  

At the end of the walk we took the quaint Xindian Ferry 新店渡口文學步道 back across the river. The fare is $30/person. 

The hike:  This walk is featured in Richard Saunders' Taipei Escapes 2 which is where I first read about it. This was my second time walking this trail. My wife and I were thinking of a place for a family friendly hike and had enjoyed this one so much the first time that we decided to try it again.  We had 7 people in our group and we met outside of the MRT station.  The forecast predicted a 50 % chance of light rain. In the end it was a cloudy day but did not rain.

We turned left outside the MRT station and crossed the road, climbing steps next to a big, red "Bitan" sign. At the top of the stairs past the sign we turned left onto a path that goes along the river. 

We could see the Bitan Suspension Bridge ahead. We walked to the bridge and crossed it.

The trail begins on the other side of the bridge climbing up steps on the left--at first between a stone wall and a fence but soon opening up. 

The trailhead is just past the bridge on the left.

We passed the ruins of an old house and a temple shrine. 

In about 100 meters we came to a junction. We took the "Green Path" on the right instead of the "Blue Path" on the left but either path can be taken to the summit.

 We kept walking up the steps and in less than 200 meters came to where the blue and green paths rejoined. 

We took the path up the stairs. A sign pointing the way read Hemei Summit 450 meters. 

We came to a large stone plaza and crossed over to the far right corner and continued up. 

Near here we got our first view of the Xindian River from the hill and came to an interesting concrete tunnel painted with graffiti. We took a short side trip to check it out.

Next came a long section with wood steps and then a short, steep push to the summit. There was a great view of the city and the river from a wooden viewing platform.

Just past the viewing platform there was an open flat area of grass and packed dirt with benches and stones. We were lucky that another group of people were just leaving and we snagged a great picnic spot. We took off our shoes (some of us) sat in the grass and had lunch. We stayed here for about 50 minutes and the sun even came out for a while.

After lunch we continued straight along a level path and soon turned to the right past a small pool of green water connected to a water channel that was full of peeping and croaking frogs. 

A short walk across concrete slabs brought us to a clearing that ended in a sort of cliff with a great view of the city. In the valley below we could see the white Tung blossoms in bloom. (This would be another good place for a picnic and some people were resting and eating here).

 After this we walked back the way we had come until we came to a narrow, steep mud path now on the right side of the trail. This path is a short-cut to the ferry and for me is one of the best parts of the walk. Its a little slippery and steep in places but still not that hard even for casual hikers. My friend who was hiking with us called it a "bonus" because it's a mildly adventurous way to finish the walk. 

 It went steeply up for a short way then passed under an electricity pylon and started heading down hill. At junctions we stayed to the right always heading downhill. 

We soon came to a spectacular view of the river and a water treatment plant. 

We passed under another electricity pylon and then came to a final steep section with ropes just before arriving at a road. 

 We went left along the road, almost immediately taking a left fork and then followed the road around a bend, past some houses to come to a junction with a clear sign pointing left toward the Xindian Ferry. 

We followed this smaller road for just a little over 200 meters and came out to the river and the ferry terminal next to a temple.

We paid our fares, put on life jackets and took a short smooth ride across the river enjoying the view. On the far side a sign said that the ferry has been in operation since 1881. 

 We turned left and followed the path along the river back to the MRT station. The lower path is closer to the river and the upper path passes by cafes and restaurants with outdoor seating. We took a combination of both paths. 

Map and GPS coordinates:

Hemei Hill trailhead: 24.956322, 121.53504

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