Exploring Dong'ao: Snake Hill, Dong'ao Beach and Fen'niaolin Fishing Village

 

Green hills, sea, sand and stone. A moderate walk that explores points of interest around Dong'ao: it starts with a short trip up Snake Hill which has a fine view, then descends to Dong'ao Bay and goes along the beach and coastal road to the fishing village of Fen'niaolin. Just on the other side of the sea wall is a little crescent shaped cobble beach with bright, blue water and rugged rock formations. The village is a good place to have a rest and a cool drink while watching the fishing boats coming and going. On the way back you can cool off at the Dongyue Cold Spring.

Distance/duration:   9.1 km/ 3 hours 24 minutes

More details as well as a map can be found here on my ramblr account.

What to bring: Sun protection is important since most of the walk is exposed and it can be fiercely hot on the beach in the warmer months. There is a convenience store in Dong'ao and a small shop selling drinks, snacks and souvenirs in Fen'niaolin. 

The Trail: The unkempt trail to Snake Hill is concrete and later gravel. It's not too steep. There is a nice view and it is worth the short walk if you are nearby. On it's own its not long enough to make a satisfying walk and probably too messy to appeal to casual walkers interested in an easy stroll.

Dongyue Cold Spring is nearby and you can even see it from the top of the hill. It's a long rectangle of cool, clear water fed by a spring. There are vendors and toilets where you can change. It's a popular spot for families. I have been there several times so I did not go there on this trip. 

Dong'ao itself is a sleepy little town with just one main street which for me is what makes it so charming. 

I walked on a country road to Dong'ao Bay and then along the beach most of the way to Fen'niaolin. The cobble beach at Fen'niaolin with it's jagged rock formations and sea stacks is truly beautiful and a real treat. On the way back I took the road which is easier to walk on. There was not much traffic. 

I camped overnight on the beach at Dong'ao Bay and several other people were also camping. I am not sure if it is strictly legal but no one seems to care. There are toilets near where I camped but they were locked at night.  If you prefer more amenities, there are several campgrounds. You can find them on Google Maps. I stayed at this campground before with my kids and had a good experience. 

Route landmarks: Dong'ao Station -- Snake Hill -- Dong'ao beach -- Fen'niaolin Fishing Village -- Fen'niaolin Beach -- Dong'ao Bay -- Dong'ao Station

Transportation: I took a Kamalan bus from Taipei Bus Station (in the Q-Square Mall behind Taipei Main Station) to Luodong.  The buses also stop at Technology Building before going to Yilan. With normal traffic it takes about 80 mins. 

In Luodong I took a local train to Dong'ao which takes about 20 minutes. The local trains that stop in Dong'ao are infrequent so its a good idea to check the schedule ahead of time. https://tip.railway.gov.tw/tra-tip-web/tip?lang=EN_US

On the bus and train I was reading Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country by Patricia Evangelista

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The walk: I went to Dong'ao on a weekend when the forecast was for overcast skies but zero percent chance of rain. Just two days before a typhoon had hit Taiwan and everyone in the country had been off work and school for two days--more in the south. The south had born the brunt of it but in the north there were some places with heavy rain and flooding. However, in the wake of the typhoon the weather had turned mild. 

I got to Dong'ao Station around 12:30 pm. I was topping up my water bottles at the water machine when I heard shouting. A large group of teenagers wearing matching shirts came through the ticket gate and started to gather in the station lobby with a local guide. Time to go.  

I exited the station and turned left. 

I took the first left which is a road that looks a bit like a highway on-ramp and which runs parallel to the railroad tracks.

Right away I started to climb and was able to look out over the town and glimpse the ocean beyond it.

 

I followed a concrete track to the water purification plant. After the water purification plant the trail turned to gravel, sometimes with long grass growing in patches.  From there it was ten minutes or less to the summit where there was a view from between the two towers of an electricity pylon.

I could see the Dongyue Cold Spring below. 

Dongyue Cold Spring seen from the summit of Snake Hill

 

 At the summit the path makes a sharp left and continues a little further. It seemed like not many people go past the viewpoint because it was overgrown with high weeds. It didn't seem like there was much more to see, so I turned back, too. 

It didn't take long to get back down to Dong'ao station. I cut through a small park, went out to the main road and turned left. Even on a Saturday it was quiet and I was able to stand in the middle of the main road and take a picture. 

I turned right at the Hi-Life onto Dong'ao Road.  

As I was trudging along with my big backpack a huge truck carrying the group of teenagers from the train station in the back drove by. They hooted and screamed and shouted at me to Jia you! This literally means "add oil/gas" but figuratively means "Go, go, go!" or something like that.  They were annoying but I graciously waved at them which incited them to an even louder crescendo of hooting and screaming.  

Around Dong'ao there are companies that cater to large groups of (mostly) Taiwanese tourists that offer sea kayaking and rental of ATVs to drive on the beach but they mostly seem to be located closer to the bay and not in the main part of town. 

I walked till I came to a bridge with a white stone guardrail. On the other side of the bridge is the entrance to Dong'ao Bay. On the road there was a sign in Chinese with an arrow indicating the direction to Fen'niaolin. There were toilets, an area for washing off sand and a small parking lot. 

Dong'ao Bay

After looking around the beach and taking in the views, I headed south toward Fen'niaolin. As I got closer the beach became a narrow strip. The road to the village ran parallel to the beach and there were giant tetrapods piled between the beach and the road. Some of them partially or almost fully submerged by sand--evidence of occasional violent weather on this coast. I could see the fishing village in the hazy distance. The green mountains above the village were topped by white clouds.

As I got close to the village the beach became too rough to walk on comfortably. It was piled with big rocks and there was a stream to cross so I went up onto the road and soon came into the village. It took about 40 minutes to walk there from Dong'ao beach. 

There were a few boats going out and a handful of fisherman working on boats and on the dock. A group of people were gathered around a basket of fish sorting them and divvying them up.  On the land side there were toilets, a temple, an open air restaurant and a shop.

At the end of the harbor was a flight of stairs going over the sea wall and a short trail that led to Fen'niaolin Beach. 

 

There were more tetrapods jumbled against the back of the breakwater, a beach of smooth grey and black stones, and jagged and ragged rock formations including sea stacks. As the waves withdrew I could hear the stones dragging and rolling in the tide. 

I was worried it might be crowded but it was not bad. There was a family of three, a young couple and a young man whom I took for a student (he had been walking ahead of me on the road on the way to the village) who was examining rocks with a magnifying lens and collecting them. There were also two men whom I spoke to. They were sort-of locals--from Su'ao. 

It looked like it was possible to climb over rocks and go further down the coast. I climbed to a high point but then decided to turn back. I could have gone further but the rocks were sharp and jumbled and it didn't seem there was much more to see. The couple climbed up behind me. I told the guy I didn't think it was worth it to go further. Wo juede bu zhide qu. He replied that it was too "dangerous." Dui. Ah. Tai weixian.Then he asked me in English,"Can you speak Chinese?" which threw me off since I had just spoken to him in Chinese and he had replied. I know my Chinese is not that great but I must be doing worse than I thought!

After maybe thirty minutes I went back to the village. I stopped at the shop. The proprietress was very welcoming. She salvaged my ego somewhat by telling me my Chinese was very accurate. I bought two beers and sat drinking them at a picnic table outside. 

It was mostly relaxing except that whenever tourists passed by the woman from the shop would bustle out the front door and call out to them about the delicious things in the shop with a megaphone. Eventually, she came and sat outside. I asked her what the typhoon had been like there and she told me it rained a lot but nothing happened. Mei zhemeyang. 

After finishing my beers I walked back to Dong'ao but I took the road. 

I walked back to the Hi-Life in the town and had a snack and bought some more beers. Then I walked back to the beach and found a camping spot for the night. Some people were aimlessly driving ATVs around the beach but they were gone by dusk.

There was a group with three tents camping not far from me, two other groups camping with children further down and an older couple in a camper van in the parking lot. 

It was a pretty relaxing and uneventful night.  I cooked some noodles and protein for dinner and drank the beers. The group closest to me was playing music but the sound of it was mostly drowned out by the the waves. Otherwise, the only sounds were occasional traffic on the road or the rattle of a train passing through the town. 

Occasionally people would walk down the beach with flashlights but after about 8:30 there was almost no one walking around. There was no rain forecast so I didn't even bother with the tent fly. The sky was completely clear and I could see stars through the top of the tent. 

I went to sleep early and woke a little after five. I was awakened by the lightening sky but also by the thump of sea kayaks in the parking lot above. I got up and made coffee.

sunrise on Dong'ao Beach

Some guides brought a big group down to the beach for sea kayaking a little after five. They directed them to line up to take a photo with their paddles silhouetted against the rising sun. I'm sure every group takes the exact same photo.

It gets hot on the beach as soon as the sun comes up so I packed up and walked back into town by 7. I found out at the train station that I had about two hours to wait for the next train so I went to a park and cooked breakfast and then later read a book in the lobby of the train station. Then I took the train back to Luodong and a bus back to Taipei. 

Nearby Trips: 

Nanfang'ao and Nanfang'ao Lookout 南方澳觀景臺 Trail 

Camping at Mystery Beach 神秘沙灘: Mystery Beach Sea Cave and Waterfall  

Xinjiuliao Mountain Trail: Jiuliao Waterfall 舊寮瀑布 to Xinliao Falls 新寮瀑布  

Su Hua Historical Trail: Great Nan-Ao Mountain Crossing 蘇花古道 大南澳越嶺段

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 Map and coordinates:

Snake Hill: 24.52237. 121.828629 

Dongyue Cold Spring:  24.524669, 121.830512  Google Maps link

Dong'ao Bay/Beach: 24.513517, 121.838756  Google Maps link

Fen'niaolin Fishing Village: 24.497357, 121.842775  Google Maps link

 http://rblr.co/osYEN