Taiwan Hiking Journal: January 2024

Looking toward Keelung Shan from near Keelung Shan East Peak

Astonishing scenery from atop a coastal ridge: ocean and mountain views and hillsides covered in waving silver grass. This exhilarating hike near Jiufen is suitable for experienced hikers. I walked a circular route starting with a climb to Keelung Shan (588 m), followed a slippery ridge to the steep, rugged pinnacle of Keelung Shan East Peak (467 m) and then descended a precipitous trail to Shuinandong, visiting the Huangjin (Golden) Waterfall 黃金瀑布 before taking Shanjian Road Trail back to the starting point.

The trail to Keelung Shan East Peak

Distance/Time: 5.8 km/ 4 hours 53 mins. More details as well as a map can be found here

What to bring: Bring sufficient water as there is nowhere to refill on the hike. Long pants are recommended. A hiking pole really helped me to keep my footing on the numerous steep, slippery sections. I don't usually use them but gloves might be a good idea as well.

The Trail:

Keelungshan is an easy and popular hike and suitable for anyone reasonably fit. It's a pleasant walk to the top with nice views along the way and from the top.

However, the East Peak is tough. It is very steep and was extremely slippery when I was there. A sign that is posted in front of the trail on top of Keelung Shan reads "This area is dangerous. Watch out for your safety." Which pretty much sums it up.

I don't mean to exaggerate because I walked it without incident, (though sometimes instead of walking, I was scooting, sliding or rappelling), but I would not recommend this hike to anyone who has not had experience on some of Taiwan's rougher trails.

The final descent from Keeling Shan East Peak to Shuinandong was sheer, relentless and a little scary. However, if you are cautious it is well worth the effort because the scenery even on a grey, overcast day was magnificent and it was a lot of fun.

From talking to people I met on the trail, it seems that most hikers do this the opposite way which is probably a good idea. The hikers I talked to said it was easier to go up the steepest parts than to go down which I usually find to be true.

The trail to Keelungshan is on stone steps and a dirt path. The path to Keelungshan East Peak is slippery mud and occasionally close to an edge. It descends from Keelungshan, goes over a hump, descends again and then climbs to the top of the east peak for a 360 degree view. There are lots of ropes on this path as well as on the descent to Shuinandong. Normally, the ropes are a welcome aid but on parts of this trail I don't think I could have done without them. Some sections descend rock faces that, if not 90 degrees, are very close to it. I recommend avoiding this trail after or during rain.

At Shuinandong you can see the former Shuinandong Smelter situated on a hill and visit Huangjin Waterfall (Golden Waterfall), a wide waterfall with rivulets of white water meandering over stones stained copper from ore deposits. The waterfall is beside a road and a popular spot. Tea Pot Mountain can also be seen from here and several points during the hike.

The Shanjian Road Trail is a set of well-maintained steps that wend through a neighborhood and ascend back to Jiufen. Initially it's hard to find the way to the trail through the dense neighborhood so a map app would be helpful but once you reach the steps it's easy to follow.

Transportation: I took bus 965 from Ximen MRT Station. The bus stop which is at exit 2, is past the first two bus shelters and past the next intersection. At first I went to the first bus stop and had to rush when I saw the bus pulling up on the other side of the next intersection. The bus runs about every 30 to 40 minutes and takes about 50 minutes to reach Jiufen.

In Jiufen I got off at the Geding bus stop which is the first stop after passing Jiufen Old Street. The Shanjian Road Trail is directly beside the bus shelter on the opposite side of the street and the Keelung Mountain Trail is just a few minutes up the road.

On the way back I took bus 965 from the Geding stop to Beimen Station in Taipei. (It does not stop at Beimen on the way to Jiufen). Bus 1062 also goes to to Taipei or you can take bus to Ruifang Station and then a train back to Taipei.

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The hike: I set out on New Years Day and got a little bit of a late start because I was feeling lazy after staying up late on New Year's Eve. The weather was overcast and cool but stable.

I didn't know much about this trail before I went and so, by chance, discovered a really amazing hike. In December 2023, I had hiked the Xiaocukeng Historic Trail 小粗坑古道 from Houtong to Jiufen. On that day, I had also planned to hike Keelung Mountain but because it was cold and raining hard, I cut the hike short after arriving in Jiufen. Then as I was thinking of going back to Keelung Shan and looking at the map and realized I could do some more exploring and make it a longer hike.

I got off at the Geding bus stop. It was colder than I had expected in Jiufen and windy. I put on a long-sleeved shirt over a T-shirt and wore a down vest. I started hiking at about 9:30 am.

A set of stairs going down, just next to the bus shelter on the opposite side of the road, is the Shanjian Road Trail. The trailhead for Keelung Shan is just a few minutes further up the road-- back in the direction of Jiufen Old Street.

I walked to the trailhead for Keelungshan. Going up the stairs, I could already see the hump of Keelung Shan straight ahead but soon I turned onto the second dirt trail on the left.

I turned left here. The second left.

The trail on the left is more indirect but it passes through pleasant woodland and is more scenic. There were dirt sections and a few stone steps. I warmed up and started shedding layers.

The trail went around the side of the hill and passed a large, flat panel that I think is a radio tower. (There are two huge, prominent ones on top of Miantianshan in Yangmingshan National Park). I saw a dead mole next to the trail.

After this the path started to climb and looking back there were nice views.

I came to a junction and rejoined the steps, passed a shelter house (from which there was a view of Jiufen) and arrived at the summit about 50 minutes after I had started hiking. The summit is wide and flat and there are good views on all sides. There is a huge antenna on one corner.

There were two ladies at the summit who were taking pictures with the summit plaque. Most hikers just come to Keelungshan and then go back down to Jiufen. After taking pictures the ladies headed down and a couple with two very well-behaved chocolate Labradors joined me.

After a few minutes, I took the trail to the east peak which is just beyond a warning sign on the coastal side of the summit.

From here there is only one way to go: along the ridge. The path was clear but muddy and slippery and sometimes steep. Ahead, I could see two humps on the ridge. The second one is Keelungshan East Peak.

I went through a saddle where there was tree cover and the path was gentler and over the first hump.

I met a man hiking by himself coming from the east peak. He was the first of three people I met who would all warn me about the steep descent which I have to admit stirred in me a little trepidation about what was coming. He told me I was younger than him and that it probably shouldn't be a problem for me but just to be careful.

I went through a similar saddle on the other side. Just before heading up, there was a trail descending on the right but I kept on straight.

A trail led down on the right in the saddle but I went straight up to the east peak

Just as I was climbing up from the second saddle, I met a couple coming down. I asked them about the trail ahead and they again told me to be careful going down.

I arrived at the small, flat summit of Keelungshan East Peak (467 m) with it's 360 degree view about an hour after leaving Keelungshan.

Keelungshan East Peak

From here it would take an hour and a half to descend to Shuinandong. At first the path was high on the hills and relatively flat. I met a young solo hiker, wearing a helmet who had just come up.

Once the descent properly began it required all of my attention and all four limbs. There were muddy, slippery parts and some rocky parts where I had to squeeze between rocks or slide down rock faces using ropes and footholds. There were lots of ropes. It was challenging and fun but I had to be careful. Stupidly, I had not told anyone exactly where I was going.

There was one point where the trail seemed to go both left and right. I took a look at the right fork but it followed a narrow ledge of rock that went along a wall of more bare rock with only a thin rope to hold onto. I think it must have led to a viewpoint. I went back and took the left fork which was much safer. After the fork, there was one more rocky descent and then it finally leveled off for about the last 200 meters.

I came to a place where I could see farm houses on either side. For a moment I was confused about which way to go. I started toward the farmhouse on the left because there were some trail flags in that direction.

I stepped on something squishy and looked down to see I had stepped in dog shit. Ahead, I saw a black dog looking at me, motionless and almost invisible behind a stone dog house. It was chained to an overhead runner chain. I think this smart dog was just waiting for me to get close enough that he could lunge at me. So I went back and realized that the route went along the top of a low stone wall, after which it went between the houses and down to the road.

Next I walked to the Golden Waterfall. I turned left on the road and then took a sharp right.

There were several turns here but the waterfall can be seen in the distance, so it's not too hard to find the way.

I went down steps a short distance.

Then turned right passing houses and the abandoned shell of a building full of weeds.

At the next left after the abandoned building I turned left down steps and came to a road.

I turned right on the road and walked with a stream on my left. At the next big intersection I turned left and crossed a bridge over the stream.

From here it was a short walk along a scenic road to the Golden Waterfall. There were quite a few day trippers taking pictures in front of it.

I walked back the way I had come. I could see the triangular massif of Keelungshan East Peak at the end of the road.

I crossed the bridge, went back to the intersection and turned left. It was nice to stretch my legs and walk on the road and even here the scenery was wild and rugged.

In 460 meters I came to a fork. I turned left which was marked with a fingerpost that said "The Slow Lane."

After just 200 more meters I turned right over a bridge. A sign pointed to a hotel called Adagio.

On the other side of the bridge I went up steps. This was the lower part of the Shanjian Road Trail.

The trail came out to a street and a little triangle park with a table and stools, but I just followed the finger posts and was soon back on the trail.

When the trail came to a road the second time, I turned left on Shanjian Road and walked for a short way until I came to a stream. I stopped to wash my soiled shoe thoroughly in the stream and then went up the steps next to the stream.