Wuzhishan 五指山 Five Finger Mountain

A moderate ascent through coniferous forest that connects five peaks (four of them over 1000 meters), a very steep, jungle-like descent and a deep rock-crevice known as "a thread of sky."  Five Finger Mountain in Beipu Township, Hsinchu is named for its peaks--each one named after a finger. On this trip we hiked only three peaks climbing to the highest point and then going back down.

Distance/Time:  4.6 km/ 3 hours 40 minutes.  More information as well as a map can be found here: http://rblr.co/OeE1l

The Trail: The route that we walked was a moderate hike. On the way up there were some steep parts but actually it was not very challenging and we reached the highest peak much faster than I expected. However, the very steep, very slippery trail we took on the way down was more difficult.  Walkers who want to avoid this decent could just go back down the same way as on the way up. 

It is also possible to make this walk longer and more challenging. We only hiked three peaks but there are five and actually there is a sixth peak in the area Da Ai Shan 大隘山 (862 m) that could be included before starting up Wuzhishan.  

There had been afternoon thunderstorms in the week before we went so the path was wet. The trail on the way up was wide and a mixture of stone steps, wooden steps, boardwalks and dirt. The trail we took on the way down was narrow, lush and there were lots of ropes and straps to hold onto. 

 It was a very hot day in June but there was plentiful shade and a comfortable breeze.  It was clear that summer had arrived because all day the air was filled with the loud singing of cicadas. 

Wuzhishan is number 31 on the list of small 100 peaks of Taiwan: https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/%E5%8F%B0%E7%81%A3%E5%B0%8F%E7%99%BE%E5%B2%B3%E5%88%97%E8%A1%A8

 What to bring: Nothing other than the usual things. The path is mostly shaded but I put on sunscreen and wore a hat. Good hiking shoes are essential. I took plenty of water and packed a sandwich and snacks.

Transportation: This hike is not accessible by public transportation. Four of us went in a friend's car. The trail starts at Wuzhishan Zaojun Temple 五指山灶君堂 and Yu Huang Temple 玉皇宮  which is just off of county road 37 in Beipu Township.

If coming from the Taipei area it takes about an hour and a half to drive there depending on traffic.

The hike: In September of 2021 I had come to this area with my wife and kids. We visited the Beipu Cold Spring and walked a family friendly trail at the base of the mountain. Here is the blog post about that visit: Beipu Cold Spring 北埔冷泉 and Wuzhishan Scenic Area 五指山風景區 

Since then, I had wanted to walk the trail to the top of Wuzhishan and finally got a chance to return. My friend picked me up at my apartment, we picked up two other hikers and we were on our way.  We got to the parking lot near the temple just before 9:30 am. 

Across the street from the temple there is a view point and looking back, its also a great spot to see the peaks of Wuzhishan rising up behind the temple. 

We went into a tunnel between the two temples, up steps with ornate railings and came to an area with many worshipers praying and burning incense. 

Just to the right was a shelter house and passing around the far side of the shelter house we came to an indistinct trail that went up very steeply. 

 

In about 200 meters we connected with the wider main trail and turned right. 

 

This path was surfaced with stone and there were wooden steps and boardwalks. The forest was very nice but the stones were mossy and slippery. Once we started the climb to the first peak the footing was much better. 

About 40 minutes after we started, we came to a T-intersection, and took a trail climbing up on the left.  

For the trail to Da Ai Shan, you would turn right here and the trail would be past another temple and the road. But I can't say what it is like as I have only looked at that section on a map and have never been that way.

 The climb to Thumb Peak 姆指峰 was probably the hardest in terms of climbing. It wasn't that difficult but it definitely got my heart rate up and my clothes were soaked with sweat by the time we reached the top. 

Along the path there were clear signs in Chinese and English and occasional benches for resting. 

Just before the trail turns to the left along the ridge there is a narrower trail joining from the right. This is where you would rejoin the path if you took the path to Da Ai Shan.

 

The flat top of Muzhifeng (Thumb Peak) 1024 m

 After a short rest at Thumb Peak we continued straight ahead. Again a clear sign pointed the way to Shizifeng (Index Finger Peak). 

The trail went straight along the ridge until we came to two limbs lashed together into an "X." A clear indication not to go that way. Instead the path went right and down wooden steps to the saddle between the two peaks. 

At the bottom the path began the climb up again and before too long we arrived at Shizhifeng (Index Finger Peak) 食指峰 (1040 m).

 

Shizifeng was crowded with people taking photos in front of the sign when we arrived but in just a few minutes everyone left but us four and it seemed strangely quiet. 

After another short rest we repeated the same process as before-- going down the saddle and then starting the climb up to the highest peak. 

 In less than 100 meters, at the bottom of the saddle, we passed the path we would later take on the way down, just next to a large flat topped rock. 

It can't be seen in this photo but just in front of the stone is a path going downhill. The path straight ahead continues to the middle finger peak.

 

We came to a really nice shaded clearing with a cliff at the far end but only a bit of a view through the trees.  Here and at the peak would both be great places to camp but you would need to carry water.

 Then we continued through pine forest. One path went near the cliff's edge and others meandered through the trees. This was one of the most beautiful parts of the trail and I took a video to try to capture the feel of the forest.

 Just before reaching the peak the path comes to a road. You can continue through the trees or just follow the road. 

It only took about 30 minutes to walk from Shizhifeng to Wuzhishan also known as the Middle Finger Peak 五指山(中指峰) (1061 m). 

In photos that I had seen the sign at the peak had a big middle finger and I was looking forward to posing at the peak with it. I can't convey how disappointed I was to see that apparently this sign had been replaced with a normal one.
 

Me looking disappointed at not being able to flip off the camera with a middle finger sign. There were lots of butterflies though which somewhat made up for it.

There was a decent view and another nice view just a little further downhill. 

It was hot and sunny so we went into the shade of the trees and had lunch near the base of a communication tower. 
 

 

We ate and rested for about half an hour. We discussed going on to the fourth and fifth peaks (an out and back trail) but the sky was getting dark. In the previous few days there had been spectacular and violent thunderstorms in the afternoons and some of us felt we had hiked far enough, so we made a group decision that it was better to head back down.

We walked back to the path we had passed earlier and started down. 

 

This path was very slippery and steep and we had to take care but it was one of the most fun parts of the hike. 

 The entire decent is 410 meters. After 180 meters--less than half way down-- there is a junction that is not very clear because its very overgrown. We went straight down ignoring the left hand turn. 

The left turn comes out closer to the temple and straight path goes to the rock crevice known as the thread of sky and the parking lot. 

At the bottom we rejoined the stone path and went left soon coming to the thread of sky. 

As we walked the last short section to the parking lot it started to rain. At the next intersection we turned, came to a dirt road, took a left and came out to the car.

This was a really enjoyable hike and I think we made the right decision to only do three peaks but I look forward to coming back to hike all six. 

GPS Coordinates and map:

Parking lot: 24.643646, 121.090877

Muzhifeng (Thumb Peak): 24.637232, 121.090838

Shizhifeng (Index Finger Peak): 24.639334, 121.093206

Wuzhishan (Middle Finger Peak): 24.641353, 121.096168

 

http://rblr.co/OeE1l