Taiwan Hiking Journal: Jinmianshan 金面山

Jinmianshan trail is a very pretty hike through luxuriant green forest in the Daxi District of Taoyuan. The route that we walked started out gently-- following and sometimes crossing a small stream. At the summit there is a clearing and a decent view. On the way down there were steep, fun sections using ropes. We saw plenty of other hikers but it did not feel busy. Mostly it's a quiet trail and a good place to enjoy a day out of the city. Though its not long, there are enough rugged sections to make it a rewarding trip.

Distance/Time: 4.8 km/ 3 hours 53 minutes. More details as well as a map can be found here: http://rblr.co/OgOzf

The Trail: This is a moderate loop trail in the Daxi District of Taoyuan. It's not too hard but there are quite a few very steep parts with ropes, including one almost vertical rock face, which may be challenging for anyone not used to it.

This trail should not be confused with a popular one in Neihu with the same name. If you do a google search for "Jinmianshan" you are likely to get results for the one in Neihu.

The trail is sometimes wide, sometimes narrow and overgrown. The footing is mostly secure but there are slippery parts. In the beginning our route followed a peaceful stream. On the way down we followed a ridge with a lot of steep descents. The trail passes through dense forest and sections of bamboo forest. There is ample shade.

The trail is mostly easy to follow though there are a couple of places where you could go wrong. It is marked with signs in Chinese and with red triangles on the trees.

The hike can be done in either direction. The way that we went, started out gently and most of the steep, roped parts were on the way down but it would be interesting to do it either way. I think most people do it the opposite way that we did.

This trail can also be combined with Baishishan 白石山 and the Datieliao Historical Trail 打鐵寮古道 which would be a longer, more challenging walk. I've never walked the section that connects the two areas but have hiked Baishishan several times.

Jianmianshan 金面山 (667 meters), is number 21 on the list of the hundred small peaks of Taiwan (Xiao Bai Yue). At the top there is are two clearings and a view.

Jinshanmianshan 金山面山 (385 meters), is a small summit with a clearing but no view just before the end of the hike.

What to bring: Water, snacks, good shoes. I found a hiking pole helpful on slippery downhill sections but had to put it away during the steepest sections with ropes.

Transportation: We drove to the trailhead. Here is the google maps address for the chicken restaurant near the trailhead: Google maps link The final section of the road is very narrow and very pretty even before starting to hike. If two cars meet one of them may have to back up to a wide spot in order to pass.

There is parking next to the restaurant and more parking, up the road past the restaurant. But there are not many spaces so it's best to not to get there too late.

If I were going there without a car I would take a bus to Daxi and then get a taxi to the trail head which is only about a 15 minute drive. And I would be sure to get the taxi driver's card so I could call for the return trip.

Bus 710 leaves from near Exit 4 of Yongning MRT Station. This bus takes about an hour and comes every 30-40 minutes. However, people line up for the bus and if it fills up you will have to stay in line and wait for the next one. The bus seats about 30 people and standing is not permitted because it goes on the highway. So it's good to get there early. The last stop in Daxi is called Daxi Station.

On the way back, in a pinch, you could hitchhike. I don't think it would be hard, especially on the weekend when there should be plenty of hikers. Here I add my usual disclaimer that hitchhiking may not be for everyone. But I have always felt safe doing it in Taiwan.

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The hike: I had lots of plans for hiking in October but unfortunately most of them did not happen. There were weeks and weeks of rain and I also injured my back.

On this day I was still feeling a little fagile but decided it was time to go hiking again and thought some exercise might be good for my back. We were very lucky with the weather. The forecast said it would be cloudy with light rain but we had sunshine all day. A good friend and long-time hiking partner offered to drive. He picked me up in the morning and we stopped to pick up one of his work colleagues on the way.

The three of us got a little bit of a late start, parking at the trail head after 9:30 am.

Parking lot next to the local chicken restaurant

View of the hills from the parking lot

We started hiking about 9:55. We walked a few meters back down the road in the direction from which we had just driven. Here a narrow trail marked with ribbons climbed up a small hill. (To walk the loop in the opposite direction pass the restaurant and walk down the road until you come to a wide trail.)

This was a very nice, narrow trail. We passed a hissing, rubber irrigation hose.

After 25 minutes we came to the ruins of an old house being reclaimed by the forest.

Just past the house the trail turns right and crosses the stream. It's easy to go the wrong way here since a path with slippery stone steps continues straight. My hiking partners were ahead of me and went straight. I called them back and we crossed the shallow stream.

At a T-junction in a few minutes we turned left. The right turn is another entrance to the mountain which is further down the road from where we had started.

After turning, we were high above the stream, which was now below on the left but soon the trail descended to the stream again. It was more overgrown but still easy to follow.

Just off the path I noticed a small, gently flowing waterfall and stopped to check it out. At this point we were about 45 minutes into the hike.

A little further on there were two red triangles indicating a fork. We took the right fork up a slope. Near the top we spotted another waterfall through the trees. The other path must lead to the waterfall but we did not go back to take a look as we could see it petty clearly from where we were.

In less than 150 meters we came to a major fork. The path heading straight is a longer option that takes in two more peaks, Shisanfenshan and 583 Peak. After just over 2km it rejoins the main path just before the Jianmianshan summit.

I wanted to check out the longer way but my companions were ahead of me and had gone on. Also this was my first day hiking since my injury. Since two weeks before I could barely walk once around the park, I decided it was safer to not push myself and take the shorter route.

So with a bit of regret, I turned left.

This path took us all the way to Jinmianshan, first following a deep stream bed and then climbing away from it.

At a fork the path coming in from the right was the longer route rejoining the main path.

We stayed left and in about 5 minutes another red triangle on a tree marked another junction. Both ways lead to Jianmianshan.

I took the right fork which curved around the side of the hill and after a short climb, came out on the far side of the summit in less than ten minutes.

There was a noisy group already there but they were packing up and by the time I walked down the trail to a viewpoint and back, they were all leaving.

After a short break we continued along a ridge and down a steep path and came to a junction.

The left turn went back the way we had come. We continued straight.

A little further on we came to a clearing with a big flat stone.

My memory is a little hazy here and I did not get a good picture. I think there was a trail not marked on the map going off to the left just before the clearing. In any case, the way that we went was a slight right and was marked by ribbons in a tree. There was also a signpost in Chinese on the tree.

We followed a narrow, windy ridge for a while. This was one of my favorite parts of the walk.

But after this we came to the most exciting and fun part of the hike: several steep descents with ropes including a climb down an almost vertical rock face. None of it was too hard and there were plenty of hand and foot holds, though we did need to be careful.

This vertical section holding onto tree roots and ropes was a lot of fun.

We stopped at a flat promontory-like spot for lunch for about 20 minutes.

Then there was more downhill, until eventually the trail started to flatten out.

About 15 minutes after we stopped for lunch, the trail became wider and we encountered a total mystery. Just off the trail there was a white house with no windows and huge air conditioners humming. A large black power cable coming out of the trees led to the building. There used to be windows but they had been bricked up and painted over.

We went closer and through the door could here a voice speaking Taiwanese that sounded like a recording. I'm sure there is a simple explanation for the purpose of this building and I would love to know what it is, but it seemed bizarre.

I looked through some of the Chinese language blog posts about this trail but didn't see any that mentioned it.

A few minutes later we came to a trail going downhill on the left. This was the way back to the beginning of the hike.

Go straight here for the summit of Jinshanmianshan (385 m), and left to return to the start of the hike

But first I went on to the small summit of Jinshanmianshan (385m). It's definitely worth a look as it's less than five minutes from the fork.

Then it was back to the fork and downhill through more pretty green forest and a striking stand of tall bamboo. From Jinshanmianshan it only took about ten minutes to get back to the start of the loop.