Mt. Qixing or the Seven Stars Mountain is the highest mountain in Taipei. It has an elevation of 1120 meters and considered as Taipei's rooftop. Hiking this mountain is like taking an exam. It is difficult but we made it to the top!
I was joined by two Travel Buddies and they were Lovely and Rakesh. We took Bus 260 from Taipei Main Station and then transferred to Bus 108 at Yangmingshan Bus Stop. Bus 108 is a mini-bus and it will take you to the different recreational areas of Yangmingshan National Park.
We started our journey at the Xiaoyoukeng. This is the start of the Mt. Qixing Main Peak-East Peak Trail. The trail started as an easy walk until we were welcomed by stone stairs which were hard to climb. It was very steep! Unfortunately, Lovely decided to go back due to health reasons. She forgot her medicines and she might have an asthma attack.
Rakesh and I continued the hike. Silver grasses were abundant in the slopes of the dormant volcano. As we slowly ascend the mountain, we smelled the pungent order of gasses coming out of a fumarole. A fumarole is an opening in the earth's crust where gasses escape from the interior of the Earth and they are associated with volcanic activity.
As we climbed higher, we saw more fumaroles and Rakesh described it as a “burning road”. It was a one of a kind hiking trail. The fumaroles are just beside you and we hold our breath while taking photos with the fuming fumaroles. The gas smelled like rotten eggs.
The whole length of the trail going up is 1.8 kilometers. We reached the Main Peak and I was surprised that there were many people. A marker was placed in the Main Peak where we took pictures. I was expecting to see the view of Taipei City at the Main Peak but a curtain of clouds was blocking the view.
We continued the journey to the East Peak with an easy walk of around 10 minutes. There was nothing special in the East Peak but it was the start of the trail going down. We chose the Qixing Park trail and we reached the park which has an elevation of 880 meters. We went up in a pavilion and I used my 8x40 binoculars. I was surprised with what I saw! Qingtiangang was just in front of us. I was there in Taiwan Day 267 (Greener Pastures) during my month-long birthday celebration.
We continued the hike going down until we reached Lengshuikeng. The place means 'Cold Water Pit'. A hot spring bath is in the pavilions of Lengshuikeng but the temperature of the water is around 40 degrees Celsius. The hot spring here is colder compared to other hot spring areas and that is why the water here is regarded as “cold”.
We wandered Lengshuikeng until we find ourselves in the Jingshan Suspension Bridge. It was a shaky bridge and it connects the Qingtiangang trail to the Lengshuikeng trail. The Niunai Pond was a surprise to us. It was funny to see a 'milky' lake. It is composed of precipitated sulphur with some bacteria.
To finish this travelogue, I will answer the title question of this Taiwan Day Adventure. “Did you summit?”
“Yes! I even got seven stars!”
Sakura Series - Taiwan

2025 Forecast

Taipei 101 first flowers

Tianyuan Palace backyard

Taipei Flower Test Center

Pingjing St. Lane 42

Broadwood Park

Sunshine Sports Park kawazu sakura

Wuling Farm (武陵農場)

SYS kawazu sakura

Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village

CKS Memorial Hall

Shibafen Yoshino Sakura

Hope River

Dongfang Temple

Tianyuan Palace

Neicou Stream Trail

Orange Garden Cafe

Yangming Park Visitor Information Center

Yangming Park Service Center Bus Stop

Huashan Road

Qianshan Park

Zhongshan Hall Entrance

Tenglong Sakura Farm

Flower Test Center Shōwa Sakura

Neihu Creek Trail

Shulin Land Office

Xióng Kōng Cherry Blossom Forest

Lung Yen Sakura Forest

Yangming Park cherry stream

Yangming Park fountain

CKS Memorial Hall Tairyō sakura

Wugu District Tianyi Road

CKS Memorial Hall yaesakura

Loving Farm

Yong Long Farm

Zhongbaling Sakura Road

Sun Link Sea

Tai'an Police Station

Cherry Hill Slope

Hsinchu Park

Taipei 101

Kāng Gào Kēng Creek

New Garden City

Broadwood Park

Tianyuan Palace backyard

Pingjing St. Lane 42

Alishan Ranger Station

Alishan House

Alishan Police Station

Alishan Forest Railway

Alishan Station

Alishan Entrance

Alishan Gou Hotel

Alishan Magnolia Garden

Wulai tour

Wun Chang Elementary School

Bishanyan

Sanzhi Sansheng Trail
Sakura Series - Taiwan

Nei Cuo Stream

Orange Garden Cafe

Sansheng Trail

Tenglong Sakura Farm

Yangming Park Cherry Stream

Yangming Park Fountain

Flower Test Center

Broadwood Park

New Garden City

Yinghua Park

Pingjing St. Lane 42

Yangmingshan Visitor Center

Taipei 101

Tianyuan Palace backyard
Sakura Series - Japan

Kamonyama Park

Near the Nippon Maru Memorial Park

Shinko Park

Minato-mirai 21 area

Tokyo Tech Suzukakedai Campus

Onda River

Tenryuji

Byodoin

Kiyomizudera

Himuro shrine and Yakushi-ji Temple

Hōryū-ji Temple

Nara Park attractions

Tokyo Tech Ookayama Campus

Sumida River

Tsuruma Park

Gion
Maple Series

Taipei Aowanda

Shimen Dam

Alishan

Aowanda

Shanlinxi

Taoyuan Valley Garden

Fushoushan Farm
 |
Yehliu to Jiufen? Yehliu to Shifen? Cheaper than yellow taxis |
The "Taipei kong mahal" (My beloved Taipei)

Always in my heart

MRT birdman

Valentine's Day

Tulips Festival

2018 Taipei Lantern Festival

City of Azaleas

Linji Huguo Temple

Nanjichang Night Market

Gudetama Chef restaurant

Dalongdong Bao'an Temple

Shilin hollyhocks

Ningxia Night Market

Ximending graffiti

Discovery Center of Taipei

Chunghwa Postal Museum

Double-Decker Bus

Shilin Cold Balls

Jingimoo

GomanMango

mud volcanic ice

Fire and Ice Dumpling

Opium Fen-Yuan

Ichiran Ramen

Liu Shandong Beef Noodles

hydrangea flowers

National Palace Museum
Other attractions in Taipei

Taipei on a budget

Japanese buildings

Dāoxiāomiàn beef noodles

Presidential Office Building

Yongkang St. and Elephant Mountain

CKS and SYS Hall

City tour

Beitou ramen

MRT Monopoly Game

Winter city tour

Zhicheng Park

Shilin Plum Blossom

Art museums

Shopping in Taipei

Summer desserts

Qingtiangang

Qixingshan hiking

2015 Calla lily

2016 Calla lily

Beitou tour

Beitou-Zhuzihu tour

NTU

Confucius Temple

2015 Dadaocheng Festival

Puppet Museum

Fantasy Ice World

2016 Bread Show

Strawberry picking

2015 Rose Garden

Modern Toilet

Shilin Night Market

NASA Exhibit

Raohe Night Market

Longshan Temple

2013 Taipei Zoo

Maokong Gondola

Lupin flowers

Taipei 101 day visit

Taipei 101 night visit

Tiger Mountain

Din Tai Fung

Taipei Story House

2014 Flower Show

Chrysanthemum Show

Miramar Ferris wheel

Miniatures Museum

Archery

1600 Pandas

Wulaoguo hot pot

Upside Down House

2016 101 Fireworks
New Taipei

Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival

Elephant Rock SUP/kayaking

Meteor Garden school

Tamsui Pumpkin Tunnel

Shifen Waterfall

2017 Sand Sculpture

Dragon Caves

New Taipei tour

2016 Kite Festival

Pingxi Crags

Bitou Cape

2016 Sand Sculpture

2015 Christmasland

Juming - Jinshan

Houtong - Pingxi

Sandiaoling Waterfall

Jiufen foodtrip

Guanyinshan hike

Yehliu Ocean World

2014 Kite Festival

Pingxi Rail tour

Jinguashi tour

Vigor Kobo Pineapple

British Consulate

Yehliu Geopark

2014 Sand Sculpture

Paragliding

2014 Christmasland

2014 Pingxi Lantern

firefly watching

Yingge Ceramics Street

Jiufen tour
0 comments:
Post a Comment