Tukuyue 土庫岳

Tukuyue (388m) is an easy to very easy\moderate walk. I walked at a leisurely pace with a long lunch stop and it only took four hours but it could be done in three. The trail is in good shape and there aren't many steep climbs. For such a small mountain it has surprisingly good views in almost every direction. I really enjoyed this relaxing walk. There are some points of interest along the trail and the flat summit with benches and a pavilion is a great place to eat lunch and rest. Tukuyue is number 14 on the list of xiao bai yue--the 100 small mountains of Taiwan.  It is located between Nangang (on the northwest side) and Shenkeng and Shiding (to the south). I started on the Nangang side and then walked down the other side. 

 

Distance/Time:  6 km/ 4 hours. More details as well as a map can be found here on my Ramblr account.

What to bring: I packed some food and my backpacking stove. I took about 2 liters of water but didn't finish it all even after cooking. I also took a raincoat and a hiking pole.

The Trail:  This an easy to easy/moderate hike.The trail is not too steep. The trail surface varies a lot--sometimes stone steps, sometimes gravel or wooden steps...at the end there is a concrete track. The traction is good with perhaps the exception of the concrete track. 

Attractions include: an old monorail station, a tea farm, nice views along the way, and the very nice summit with a wide, flat top and benches and a shelter with a table. There were lots of insects, lizards, squirrels and birds. 

I found this walk to be really enjoyable. Maybe it was because I was in the right frame of mind--not having anything to do or anywhere that I needed to be--or maybe it was because it was a Wednesday afternoon and I had the place to myself. There are other trails in the area that I did not walk and a pond I did not visit, with the intriguing name of Shanzhu Leihu (Mountain Pig Tears Pond), so as usual I would like to go back and explore more. So many trails...so little free time.

Transportation: I took the blue line of to Nangang Exhibition Hall MRT Station and took exit 5.  From there buses 306, 212, 276 and 645 all take you to within walking distance of the trail. 

I took bus 306 shuttle and got off at Jiuzhuang Elementary School but I could have stayed on one more stop until Jiuzhuang Bus Terminal, the last stop. There are two 306. One is just called 306 and the other is 306 shuttle which stops closer to the trail head. 

You can also take bus 212 from Kunyang MRT Station to Jiuzhuang 2nd Stop.

On the way back I took bus 666 from the Tuku bus stop to Muzha MRT Station. You can also take bus 795.

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The hike: I did this walk on a warm Wednesday. It was clear in the morning but rain was forecast for the afternoon. 

Usually I am working on Wednesday but what happened was that I took some days off to go on a three day backpacking trip. Unfortunately after lots of planning, the weather turned out to be terrible with three days of rain predicted. I went to the mountains and stayed alone near the trail the night before. My hiking companion had already decided not to go but I guess I am more stubborn. However, when I got up on the first day at four am (the day the weather was meant to be the best) it was pouring and cold. I decided to admit defeat. 

I went back to Taipei and for one day felt sorry for myself while watching backpacking gear review videos on YouTube. By the next day, I decided to console myself with a hike. 

I got off bus 306 and started walking at 9:35. I walked east along Jiuzhuang Street and passed Jiuzhuang Bus Terminal which is under a highway, next to a police station. 

In less than ten minutes I came to a fork and bore left. 

bear left here

As I continued, green hills rose up ahead and on the right and there was a stream in a concrete channel on the left. Soon I started seeing signs for the Old Genliao Hiking Trail. 

I passed some derelict looking houses and some equally derelict, tilting public buses in a parking lot. After about 20 minutes (from the bus stop) I came to a map board next to stairs, right next to house number 116.
 

I thought this was the trail and started up the stairs. But this is NOT the trail. It led to a house and a barking dog. The real trail is just a few meters further on and there is a sign that reads "Tukuyue Mt." I didn't see it at first because a big truck was parked right in front of it.

There was a local resident clearing weeds from a stone wall and I asked him if this was the trail to Tukuyue--really just by way of making conversation-- and he confirmed it was. 

I walked up stone steps passing farms, came out to a road, turned right and shortly turned back onto the trail. 

 The path climbed but not very steeply. Later the surface changed to gravel. 

I came to a sharp turn marked by a strange landmark: an old portable toilet and two shipping containers stacked on top of one another. 

The trail made a hairpin turn here, going up a wide stone walkway and around a bend until it came to a Y junction. 

 The right fork looked more interesting so I went that way. Both lead to the summit but I will never know what is along the left fork unless I go back and walk the trail again. 

The right fork seemed to be a good choice. I soon came to an old monorail station. A sign explained that farmers used to use it to transport tea down the mountain. It only took me an hour to get to this point from the bus stop.

The trail went up and over a small hill and came to Chunxuan Farm but no one was around so I carried on. The climb just after the farm was probably the most difficult of the hike but it was not long. 

At the top was a fork with a shelter house on the right. I turned left. 

 The trail was a little narrow and weedy here but soon opened up again. Here the trees forming a canopy over the trail were in bloom and there was lots of insect life: beetles and butterflies and I could hear a constant hum of bees. 

 

I came to another junction and went left. 

Then at the next intersection I ignored the left turn (which leads back to the Y-intersection below). I turned right and in less than 100 meters came to the summit. 

bear right toward the summit

The views were not entirely clear because of trees and brush growing around the summit but they were not bad. I could see mountains in the distance on one side and the city and Taipei 101 on the other side. I sat still for a while and noticed that there were an incredible number of butterflies flitting around. It was quiet except for the sound of birds and cicadas. 

I set up my stove on the table in the pavilion and cooked some of the food I had bought for my backpacking trip. 

I ended up staying at the summit for over an hour. After an unhurried lunch I was about to leave when the wind picked up and it started to rain. 

I thought it might pass over so I waited. I lie down on one of the benches in the pavilion and almost fell asleep. After a while, I decided the rain was there to stay, put on my rain coat and set off. I went back to the second fork from the summit and this time turned left. This is a nice trail which leads straight down almost all the way to the community of Tuku. 

When I came to a road I turned left. After that I took a short trail on the left that leads to a temple. This cuts out a good portion of road walking.

Then I followed the road past the temple until I came to a trail on the right with a sign post that read "Tuku Citizens Activity Center."

This is a concrete track running straight downhill. It passes another pavilion with a nice view. 

There was one point where there was a temple complex on the right below the path and stairs leading to it but I stayed on the track, coming to a very picturesque Tudigong (Earth God temple) next to a pretty stream. Unfortunately, the picture I took does not do it justice. 

From here it is not far to the Tuku bus stop. I passed a farm and went down steps to an alley. 

I turned right and at the next corner took a very short stone path between houses out to the road. The bus stop is just down the road to the right. 

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Map and GPS coordinates:

Trailhead on the Nangang side: 25.034818, 121.630189

Tukuyue: 25.023146, 121.635625

Trail entrance on the Tuku side: 25.010719, 121.634398

 http://rblr.co/oqTmI