The Walami Trail is a 27.2 km round trip, over-night hike near Yuli, Hualien. It is a justifiably popular trail that is a relatively easy hike for experienced hikers and suitable for fit beginners. The elevation gain (from around 560 meters to just over 1000 meters) is gradual and the trail is well maintained. There are some cliffs to be cautious of and some landslides to negotiate but it is not too challenging. Along the way there are 5 spectacular suspension bridges, a towering waterfall, historical sites and views of mountains and the river valley far, far below. If they are lucky visitors may spot wildlife. Hikers spend the night at Walami Cabin which has space for 24 inside and more space for camping outside. There is a rain water harvesting system and solar panels for night time lights. A park permit and a police permit are required. Walami Trail is the southernmost section of the Batonguan Traversing Trail.
Distance/duration: Day 1: 5 hours 25 mins / 15 km; Day 2: About 4 hours, 14 km. Officially the trail from trailhead to cabin is 13.6 km.
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More details as well as a map and GPX file can be found on ramblr. Day 1 Day 2
Trail Overview: The Walami trail, located in Yushan National Park, is in my opinion a must see for anyone who enjoys hiking in Taiwan. It is a popular trail and you might have to share the trail and the cabin with a number of other hikers but it still worth it. And who knows, you might get lucky-- on the night that we visited there were only four of us staying in the hut and 2 people camping outside.
The trail is not that hard and there are rest stops along the way. Take care next to steep drops, watch your head on overhanging rocks and come prepared for a night in the mountains. There is no internet access or phone reception on the trail or at the cabin.
The trail clings to the side of a river valley and follows the Lakulaku River and later a tributary stream, the Huangma River, which can both be seen and sometimes heard far below. The views are great and the trail is beautiful. There are a few old landslides to cross and one slide that at the time of this writing was relatively fresh but they are all stable. Its absolutely easy to follow and clearly marked. There are only two side trails: One short one to Shanfeng Waterfall and another at Jiaxin.
Route landmarks: Walami Trail head -- Shanfeng Suspension Bridge No. 1 -- Shanfeng Waterfall ---Shanfeng Suspension Bridge No. 2 --Jiaxin Campground -- Kesipanan Monument -- Huangma Suspension Bridge No. 1 --- Huangma Suspension Bridge No. 2 -- Walami Suspension Bridge -- Walami Cabin
You can hike as far as Jiaxin without a permit. It is also possible to camp at Jiaxin but a reservation/permit is required. At Jiaxin there is a traditional slate house but I did not realize it at the time and did not go see it.
The Walami Trail is the southernmost part of the Batonguan Traversing Trail, an 8 day, 96 km trail that begins in Dongpu, Nantou. It was built between 1915 and 1921 by the Japanese to exert control over the aboriginal population after what was known as the Kesipanan Incident in which several Japanese police officers were killed. By all accounts the Walami section is one of the best maintained parts of the trail. Some other sections are rough, subject to frequent landslides, extremely remote and only suitable for experienced backpackers.
This is the traditional home of the Bunun people and there are signs along the trail that explain how the Bunun used native plants and give the Bunun names for them.
Walami Cabin is a superbly designed A-frame cabin with a rain water harvesting system, and solar panels for night time lights. It sits at 1070 meters above sea level. There are outdoor sinks, two simple toilets and picnic tables in front of and behind the cabin. There are benches and space for cooking under the eaves of the cabin even if it is raining. Bring your own sleeping pad and sleeping bag. The cabin sleeps 24 and there is space to camp outside. Signs around the cabin give information about the wildlife in the area including the Formosan black bear, the Reeves Muntjac deer, the Taiwan serow and the Formosan wild boar.
Permits and Transportation:
Permits are required beyond Jiaxin and entry is strictly controlled.
- You can apply for permits from 2 months to 5 days before the date of your hike.
- Both a police permit and a park entry permit are required
- You can apply for both simultaneously here: https://hike.taiwan.gov.tw/ The system automatically applies for the police permit at the same time as the park permit.
- The website has an English version and is easy to use. Be sure to make a note of or take a screenshot of your application number
- There is a lottery system for the Walami Cabin. After you apply you will receive an email acknowledging your application and you will either be approved after the lottery drawing (one month before the date) or put on a waiting list. Emails are in both Chinese and English.
- Once approved you will be sent a police permit by email. It is a pdf document that you can download and print.
- The park entry permit becomes available 5 days before the date of your trip. Log in with your application number and ID number, download it and print it.
- I recommend printing two copies of each permit. One to turn in and one to carry and taking photos of them or keeping a copy on your phone.
- You can see how many people have applied and been approved for the date of your trip by navigating to the Yushan Cabin and Campground Availability page, https://hike.taiwan.gov.tw/en/bed_6.aspx and choosing Walami Cabin and the date.
- When you leave the park you need to check out online. You will be sent an email on the day your permit expires. Just click on the link and log in with your application number and ID number.
It sounds complicated but once you get used to the system it is easy. You cannot add or change team members --only remove them. To go alone you need to submit a "solo declaration." For this reason my friend and I both applied for solo permits separately in case one of us had to cancel. It is not so much of an issue of you have a bigger group but with only two people, if one of us had cancelled my understanding is that the other could not have gone alone.
On the way into the park you need to stop and check in at the Nanan Visitors Center. (Google Maps link)
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| Nanan Visitor's Center |
My friend who is Taiwanese was able to scan the bar code on his ID but I had to check in at the service counter. The service hours are 8 am to 5 pm.
Just down the road a few hundred meters you also need to stop at the police station (Google maps link) and hand in a copy of the police permit. Our taxi driver knew all about it and where to stop.
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| the police station |
Transportation was very easy. We took the first express train from Taipei at 6:05 am. which took about 3 hours. Then took a taxi to the trailhead. It was very easy to find a driver to take us there. The ride takes about 30 minutes including the stops at the visitors center and police station and we paid NT$500. We starting hiking a little after 10 am which gave us plenty of time.
On the way back we called the same driver. We had arranged ahead of time for him to pick us up at 1:00 but we arrived early and called him. (There was phone service at the trailhead). We had tickets for an afternoon train back to Taipei at 14:48.
To be sure you are able to get train tickets, I recommend buying them as soon as they become available which is four weeks or 28-30 days before the date of travel. (28 in most cases but on Fridays 30 days, to include the weekend four weeks from the purchase date).
What to bring: I won't list everything but essential gear includes a sleeping pad, sleeping bag, a change of clothes in a dry bag in case of rain, rain gear, warm clothes, a head lamp and cook system. For food I packed snacks and bread for lunch and cooked dinner and breakfast.
Notes on some of the specific gear I took:
- Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60L backpack. I recently bought this backpack and this was the first test of it. It was comfortable and I find it very easy to pack and the pockets make organizing gear easy. So far so good.
- Sawyer Squeeze water filter. This was my second trip using the tiny Sawyer Squeeze. I love it. It's so easy to use and so far the flow rate has remained steady. Previously I had a Katadyn BeFree water filter that clogged and became useless in the field the second time I used it. You would be fine just boiling the water at the cabin before drinking it but since I have the filter I wanted to use it and it saves fuel.
- Dr. Bronner's soap. It's biodegradable and you can brush your teeth with it! One drop is enough but the taste is... well.... it tastes like soap.
- Nitecore Power Bank. It's a 10,000 mAh power bank but lighter and smaller than most power banks.
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The Walk
My friend L. and I got out of the taxi at the trailhead. There was an older couple in the parking lot who asked us a few questions about the trail. I had been worried about rain but the weather was good --even if it was hotter than I expected. We stopped to pose for pictures at the trail map.
L. and I had been friends then and though he didn't go, he had put in touch with the group. He is my oldest and best Taiwanese friend and it was nice to be doing this trail so many years later with him.
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| 18 years before. That is a much younger version of me in the back row. Second from the left. |
I didn't remember much about the hike from my first trip here. I mostly remembered that we had feast and drank too much at the cabin. It was Chinese New Year and we made hot pot by pushing our camp stoves together and placing a huge pot on top of them. It was a fun night. It poured rain all night but our guides tied a tarp over the outdoor tables and we sat out there eating, and drinking. I worked at an English kindergarten then and I recall drunkenly performing children's Chinese New Year songs for the group.
At one point I realized I had drank way too much and decided I had better go to bed. Later I awoke to the sound of moaning. One of our guides had indulged too much and was sick in the night. He ended up spending the night outside the cabin. I have to give him credit, he got up in the morning and hiked out even though he must have been hung over.
I was older now and hopefully wiser and there would be none of that though I did have a small bottle of whiskey in my pack.
The trail was wide and easy. L. told me that he had heard, tragically, that a 70 year old female hiker had gone missing on the trail about a week before. We passed a car on the side of the trail and L. told me that the Chinese characters written in the dust on the window said they were searching for the owner.
It wasn't long until we reached the first suspension bridge and the first views.
After the bridge we came to a short side trail that descended to a viewing platform for Shanfeng Waterfall.
The trail climbed to the top of the waterfall and we crossed Shanfeng Suspension bridge number 2. It is the most spectacular bridge on the route. There are stone entrances at both ends inscribed with the name in Chinese characters. The waterfall plunges next to it and below it and there are great views of the river valley.
We met a couple of people on the trail who clearly did not know what they were talking about. One woman we met at a stream crossing told us we had started too late to get to the cabin. (We got there with hours of daylight left). A man told us that the cabin was full because of the search and rescue people looking for the missing hiker. Later we did see a lot of search and rescue team members but they were camping at a water source on the trail where you are usually not allowed to camp.
At Jiaxin there were lots of day hikers and some search and rescue personnel resting by the trail. Stairs on the left lead to a campground and toilets.
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| Jiaxin Campground |
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| Beyond this point permits are required |
There isn't much else to say about the trail. It's just a really nice walk.
We stopped and sat on some benches at about the half way point and had lunch. After lunch we went over Huangma Suspension Bridges 1 and 2. It was really hot day and we were both soaked with sweat.
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| pointing to a bird's nest fern. Note my sweat soaked t-shirt. |
We saw quite a few more search and rescue personnel. Some of them had climbing gear and were descending into the gorge.
Eventually we crossed to the other side of the river. On the other side, as the trail nears the cabin, it is narrower and closer to the edge. We passed over the fresh slide. The old bridge had fallen down into the ravine.
We crossed Walami Suspension Bridge.
From there it was not much further to the cabin. We arrived at about 3:30 pm and there was no sign of anyone else.
When we arrived a troop of monkeys was scolding us from the trees. The monkeys moved on. The weather got cloudier and a white wall of cloud obscured the ridge behind the cabin. We had a snack and rested. At home I would have felt like I should be doing something but there I just sat and took everything in. Eventually we went inside and set up our beds for the night.
We thought we might have the cabin to ourselves but around 5:30 two young women arrived, one from Italy and one from Germany and later a Taiwanese couple that we had passed on the trail arrived. The couple set up a tent outside.
It was a relaxing night. We sat outside and L. and I cooked dinner and shared our food. Later we chatted and I drank whiskey and read a little. It was a much more quiet night than I had had 18 years before but at this age I preferred it this way. Surprisingly it was warm enough all evening to wear just a t-shirt. The cabin was great. The only thing that we were not crazy about were the toilets. They were definitely not 5 star toilets. They attracted all kinds of bugs and in one of them there was a huge spider at night. L and I had gotten up around 4 am so we turned in at about 8:30.
Breakfast was boiled eggs, instant mashed potatoes and coffee. The young women also got up and we chatted. One of the them had left some food on the floor in a plastic bag and in the morning a hole had been chewed through it--most likely by a mouse. So I recommend storing your food overnight in your backpack.
We set out about 8 am and the return trip only took 4 hours. The girls had set off before us but we caught up with them at the trailhead and we all shared a taxi back into town.
We said good bye near the train station and L. and I had a some post-hike carbo loading at a noodle shop recommended by the taxi driver.
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Map and GPS coordinates:
More details as well as a map and GPX file can be found on ramblr. Day 1 Day 2
Walami Trail Trailhead and parking lot: 23.329281, 121.236172
Walami Cabin: 23.353725, 121.186397