One of Taipei’s best features is its abundance of parks, trails, and other green spaces. Elephant Mountain is one of the most easily accessible… and offers one of the best views in the city!
HOW TO GET THERE
- From any MRT station that connects to the Red Line, take the Red Line all the way to its end at Xiangshan Station.
- Exit the station from Door 2, where you’ll find a path with park on one side and apartment buildings on the other. Continue on this path until you reach the end of the park and take the fork in the road to the left left, up the hill.
- You’ll walk by a shop selling water, coffee, and other snacks. You’re on the right track! Walk past the shop until you see a large, golden sign (picture below on the right) next to a set of white stone steps. This is the trailhead, no fee required!
It’s all uphill from here! The entire hike is a massive stone staircase which varies in steepness depending on the section. If you’re like us, you’ll quickly find yourself out of breath within the first ten minutes or so of climbing… but fear not! There are many view points where you can stop, catch your breath, and enjoy the scenery.
One very attractive aspect of this hike is the length:view ratio. While this hike will get you sweating within moments of starting, it is less than a mile long and we reached the top in under thirty minutes. The sprint was well worth it, as we got an amazing sunset view of the entire city, including a spectacular closeup of Taipei 101. We decided to hang out at the top long enough to see the city light up for the night, which was equally beautiful. We highly recommend going around 4:00pm – 6:00pm to catch both the day and nighttime views!
One downfall of this hike… it’s pretty packed. I don’t think there’s any real way to get around this one, so be prepared to share the trail with many other fitness enthusiasts, aspiring influencers, and selfie-taking tourists. Fortunately, the staircase is wide enough where you won’t get stuck behind slow groups, so this really wasn’t an issue. You’ll probably just have to wait your turn to get your iconic “top of Elephant Mountain” picture, like we did. However, I’m sure you’ll also find that it’s not the worst place to wait.
