Guanyin Cave 觀音洞 Trail, Sanmin Bat Cave 觀音洞 and Tuba Tribe Stone Church

 

Sanmin Bat Cave

 

Two caves connected by a trail that passes through a valley of dense, green forest next to a crystal clear stream.  Route highlights include: the Tuba Tribe Stone Church, a temple built into a cave, a stunningly beautiful and tranquil waterfall and the spacious Sanmin Bat Cave. The trail itself is notable for its natural beauty but the combination of caves, a waterfall and sites of cultural interest make this a unique spot well worth a visit.

  Distance/Time:  12.8 km/ 4 hours 21 minutes. I took public transportation and walked to and from the trailhead but driving would take off 6 km of road walking.  More details and a map can be found here: http://rblr.co/0dDoi

The Trail: This beautiful trail passes through a deep valley filled with amazingly lush growth. Its hard to describe how nice it is walking this trail with the sound of the stream on one side and birds calling from the trees. 

It was renovated in 2021 and is in very good shape. Parts of it are surfaced in a sort of rubberized gravel (like a running track surface but much harder) and has excellent traction. However there are very slippery, mossy brick and stone sections and one long, muddy section. 

It is not too hard. It climbs but never too steeply. I consider this a moderate hike because of the slipperiness of some parts and because I walked on the road there and back a total of 6 kilometers.

What to bring: Footwear with good tread is important because some parts of the trail were very slippery. On the day I was there, there was light rain on and off all day. I packed a rain coat but only used it once. 

There is are small shops in Sanmin village selling drinks and snacks.

Transportation:  Definitely it would be easier and quicker to get to the trail with your own transportation but with a little planning ahead and patience, getting there by public transport is not hard.  I took a book and headphones and enjoyed the ride.

Update (11/13/22): When I took his trip I took bus 9103 from Yongning MRT station and got off at the Daxi Bus Terminal. But when I checked the BusTrackerTaiwan app recently it seems that the 9103 doesn't stop at Yongning anymore. It looks like the 9103 begins at Dingpu station at 8:00. 

A better option is bus 710 at Exit 4 of Yongning Station. This bus also takes about an hour but 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 710 does not stop at the Daxi bus terminal but its last stop (called Daxi Station) is two blocks away from the terminal. To get to the terminal walk back two blocks after getting off the bus. 

At the Daxi bus terminal there is a convenience store , seating, toilets and many nearby restaurants and shops. 

In Daxi I took bus 5104 from the Daxi bus terminal to the village of Sanmin which takes about 25 minutes. 

But since the 5104 did not depart until 10:50 I had a late breakfast/early lunch at a Laya Burger with outdoor seating and then walked to the Daxi Wood Art Ecomuseum https://wem.tycg.gov.tw/en/ which is about a 5 minute walk from the bus terminal. It is a complex of Japanese style wooden buildings with nice gardens, lounging cats and a great view of a river and green rice fields. 

On the return trip I took bus 5093 from the bus stop in Sanmin. This bus only runs two times each day It leaves its point of origin at 15:00 and is scheduled to get to Sanmin at 16:18.

Actually this bus caused me a little anxiety. After the hike I got back to the bus stop by 4:00 just to be sure I did not miss it but 4:18 came and went and it had not arrived. About 4:25 I checked the BusTracker Taiwan app and it said "service over." So I was a little concerned and starting thinking of a plan B. 

There was a lot of traffic on the road including occasional taxis but they all seemed full. Normally if I were by myself I would hitchhike. (Its probably not for everyone but I feel safe hitchhiking in Taiwan and its usually easy to get a ride) But I thought with the COVID-19 outbreak, people would be less likely to give a ride to a stranger. 

I checked the app again and it had updated and said the bus was on the way.  It finally came at 4:45. I can only guess that it must have been delayed by traffic. 

Once I got on the bus, things couldn't have been smoother. I arrived at the Daxi bus terminal and within 5 minutes boarded the 17:10 9103 back to Taipei which left right on time. Then got off the at Dingpu MRT Station literally a few steps from the MRT entrance, boarded the MRT and headed home. 

The hike:  I had been aware of the Sanmin Bat Cave but not really known much about it. Then not long ago I watched Tony Huang's video about it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lOvDTk9LtQ and decided I wanted to go. 

I set out on an unseasonably cool day for May. It was about 20 degrees with occasional very light misting rain. Perfect weather for hiking. 

Getting off the bus in Sanmin, there was a big brown sign on the other side of a bridge that said Sanmin Bat Cave in Chinese with a big 3 under it. The cave is 3 km up the road from here.

I crossed the bridge and turned left onto route 114 which goes all the way to the trailhead. 

I saw a shelter house and a sign with statues depicting an aboriginal man and woman on top of it and soon passed a Christian church. 

 The road passed houses and often bamboo groves creaking and clacking in the wind. There were quite a few dogs. Some of them barked at me but none of them bothered me.

I came to a junction where a sign pointing left said Tuba Tribe Church 220 meters and I took a brief detour.  There were three Taiwanese day trippers near the sign and I thought it was funny to hear them loudly debating whether they should walk or drive 200 meters to the church.  The church is down the road, through a gate and at the end of a short lane. A newer church is on the hill above it. 

The door was open and I took a look into the sanctuary but did not walk around inside. There were pews, a pulpit with a guitar next to it, ceiling fans. It was built in 1963 from stones collected by local residents. It is designated as one of the top 100 historical spots in Taiwan. 

I went back to the road and continued on route 114. The next junction was clearly marked with a sign pointing toward the bat cave and Guanyin Cave straight ahead. I came to a parking lot and on the other side was the trail entrance with wooden cut outs of bats above it. There are toilets next to the parking lot. It took me only one hour to reach the trail even with the side trip to the church.

 I entered the green tunnel of the trail walking on mossy left-strewn bricks. 

In about 450 meters I came to a fork with a blue corkscrew like observation tower. The left fork goes to the Sanmin Bat Cave and the right to Guanyin Cave. I decided to see Guanyin Cave first since I thought I would want to linger at the bat cave on the way back and on the return I would have a better idea of how much time I could spend there before I needed to get back to the bus stop. 

First I climbed to the top of the corkscrew tower but in truth there is not much to see except the path below. 

Left to the Sanmin Bat Cave, right to Guanyin Cave

View of the path from atop the tower

I took the right fork following the trail to Guanyin Cave. From this point the trail was narrower, very beautiful and with good traction. The stream was on the left and the trail was usually high above it. 

I came to a picturesque metal bridge. This bridge is notable and fun to cross because it shakes quite a bit--not up and down but in sort of a buckling seesaw motion.  

 

The next landmark that I came to was Tai Wo Road. Here the trail runs next to what looks like an abandoned road and is very close to the stream. I took a short detour onto the road to check out the amazingly clear, clean water of the stream.

After this the trail was slippery stone again and there was one long muddy, dirt section. Often the path was now just next to the stream.  Just before arriving at Guanyin Cave I came to a wooden viewing platform looking down into the tranquil, blue-green pool of Guanyin Cave Waterfall. 

 

Just after the waterfall, I climbed up wooden steps and went through a gate and came to Guanyin Cave Temple (the temple is in the cave) with a huge statue of the goddess Guanyin on top.

There is a parking lot and toilets. There is a water machine in the temple so if you are running low on drinking water you can refill here. It took me just over an hour to get to the temple from the trailhead. 

I went in to see the colorful temple. There were a few people praying. Then before heading back I went up stairs behind the temple to a large flat pavilion and then up more stairs all the way to the base of the golden statue. I was hoping for a nice view into the valley I had just come from but the view was mostly obscured by trees. 

I walked back to the blue corkscrew tower.  The way back was downhill and it only took about 50 minutes. I took the trail (now on the right) to the bat cave.

The Sanmin Bat Cave is less than 5 minutes along this path. It is a huge rock shelter --a type of cave that is formed when a lower level of soft sediment is eroded but a hard rocky layer above remains. There is a small waterfall with a deep pool at the far end. Plants and long vines hang from the top. There is a wooden platform and benches and the deeper recesses of the cave are beyond a wooden railing.  

 

I had read conflicting accounts about bats in the cave. One said that the bats had all left because of too many human visitors. A news article from 2020 said that some bats had started to return. I did not see any but I did not cross the railing. I assumed it would be frowned upon and also thought if there were bats, the less people disturbed them the better. 

It is a really nice spot. I looked around and rested and cooked some food. It started raining more heavily but it was dry inside. 

I wanted to get back to the bus stop no later than four so I gave myself about an hour to walk back. The way back is downhill and I got there in a little less than an hour. 

Map and GPS Coordinates:

Sanmin bus stop: 24.83157, 121.33112

Tuba Tribe Church: 24.840067, 121.347615

Sanmin Bat Cave/Guanyin Cave Trailhead: 24.838398, 121.349281

Guanyin Cave Temple: 24.830282, 121.367734

Sanmin Bat Cave: 24.836121, 121.354299

http://rblr.co/0dDoi

 

Hemei Hill 和美山步道

 

 

An easy walk with great views, abundant birds and butterflies and verdant trails. A family friendly trip and a nice escape from the city that is also very easy to get to. The route starts at Xindian MRT Station, crosses the Bitan Suspension Bridge with its view of the river and green clad cliffs, climbs to the summit of Hemei Hill, continues to another view point over the city and then drops down to a road via a fun, steep (but short) dirt path. At the end we took the Xindian Ferry which is a human-powered ferry that has been in operation since 1881. 

 Distance/Time: 4.4 km/ 2 hours 45 minutes

The Trail:  This is a leisurely but very enjoyable walk.  The trail is framed by dense, green plant life and is replete with bird, butterfly and other insect life.  At the summit there are great views for relatively little effort. Almost the entire path is paved, stone or wooden steps or packed earth. At the end we took a steep but short trail along a wilder dirt path. There are steps almost all the way to the top but even these are not too hard. Only the final push just before the top got my heart rate up a little bit.  

 This is a wonderful hike for families and a great escape from the city for anyone. My oldest teenage son who usually complains about hiking even said that it was a fun day. 

The area is crisscrossed with trails and there are lots of paths to explore other than the one that we took.

What to bring: We packed a lunch and enjoyed a picnic on the flat summit. Any type of foot wear with good tread is fine for this walk. I just wore sandals. On hot days sun protection would be a good idea because at the top there is little shade.  Bring some cash for the ferry at the end. 

There is a 7-11 at the MRT station and lots of shops and restaurants in the area. 

Transportation: We took the MRT to Xindian station and started walking from there.  

At the end of the walk we took the quaint Xindian Ferry 新店渡口文學步道 back across the river. The fare is $30/person. 

The hike:  This walk is featured in Richard Saunders' Taipei Escapes 2 which is where I first read about it. This was my second time walking this trail. My wife and I were thinking of a place for a family friendly hike and had enjoyed this one so much the first time that we decided to try it again.  We had 7 people in our group and we met outside of the MRT station.  The forecast predicted a 50 % chance of light rain. In the end it was a cloudy day but did not rain.

We turned left outside the MRT station and crossed the road, climbing steps next to a big, red "Bitan" sign. At the top of the stairs past the sign we turned left onto a path that goes along the river. 

We could see the Bitan Suspension Bridge ahead. We walked to the bridge and crossed it.

The trail begins on the other side of the bridge climbing up steps on the left--at first between a stone wall and a fence but soon opening up. 

The trailhead is just past the bridge on the left.

We passed the ruins of an old house and a temple shrine. 

In about 100 meters we came to a junction. We took the "Green Path" on the right instead of the "Blue Path" on the left but either path can be taken to the summit.

 We kept walking up the steps and in less than 200 meters came to where the blue and green paths rejoined. 

We took the path up the stairs. A sign pointing the way read Hemei Summit 450 meters. 

We came to a large stone plaza and crossed over to the far right corner and continued up. 

Near here we got our first view of the Xindian River from the hill and came to an interesting concrete tunnel painted with graffiti. We took a short side trip to check it out.

Next came a long section with wood steps and then a short, steep push to the summit. There was a great view of the city and the river from a wooden viewing platform.

Just past the viewing platform there was an open flat area of grass and packed dirt with benches and stones. We were lucky that another group of people were just leaving and we snagged a great picnic spot. We took off our shoes (some of us) sat in the grass and had lunch. We stayed here for about 50 minutes and the sun even came out for a while.

After lunch we continued straight along a level path and soon turned to the right past a small pool of green water connected to a water channel that was full of peeping and croaking frogs. 

A short walk across concrete slabs brought us to a clearing that ended in a sort of cliff with a great view of the city. In the valley below we could see the white Tung blossoms in bloom. (This would be another good place for a picnic and some people were resting and eating here).

 After this we walked back the way we had come until we came to a narrow, steep mud path now on the right side of the trail. This path is a short-cut to the ferry and for me is one of the best parts of the walk. Its a little slippery and steep in places but still not that hard even for casual hikers. My friend who was hiking with us called it a "bonus" because it's a mildly adventurous way to finish the walk. 

 It went steeply up for a short way then passed under an electricity pylon and started heading down hill. At junctions we stayed to the right always heading downhill. 

We soon came to a spectacular view of the river and a water treatment plant. 

We passed under another electricity pylon and then came to a final steep section with ropes just before arriving at a road. 

 We went left along the road, almost immediately taking a left fork and then followed the road around a bend, past some houses to come to a junction with a clear sign pointing left toward the Xindian Ferry. 

We followed this smaller road for just a little over 200 meters and came out to the river and the ferry terminal next to a temple.

We paid our fares, put on life jackets and took a short smooth ride across the river enjoying the view. On the far side a sign said that the ferry has been in operation since 1881. 

 We turned left and followed the path along the river back to the MRT station. The lower path is closer to the river and the upper path passes by cafes and restaurants with outdoor seating. We took a combination of both paths. 

Map and GPS coordinates:

Hemei Hill trailhead: 24.956322, 121.53504

http://rblr.co/0d9vo