KEELUNG MOUNTAIN NIGHT HIKE (基隆山夜爬)

/ taiwantrailsandtales

Keelung Mountain (or Mount Keelung, if you prefer), is one of those peaks that I’ve visited several times over the years. It’s also one that I’ve been meaning to get around to as a sunrise/sunset/night hike for the longest time. Its location means that it should offer great views at either end of the day, and who doesn’t want to see the sight of Jiufen snuggled into the hills as it beds down for the day? With the July hear sapping all of the joy out of daytime lower-elevation trails, it seemed like the perfect time to embark on a night foray.

Distance: About 1.8 kilometres.

Time: 1-2 hours. The walk isn’t very long, but you’ll likely want to hang around and enjoy the view for a bit.

Total ascent: About 250 metres to a high point of 588 metres.

Difficulty (regular Taiwan hiker): 1-2/10 – For someone familiar with Taiwan’s trails, this is a very straightforward step climb.

Difficulty (new Taiwan hiker): 2-3/10 – The trail is all steps, which can be a little tiring for anyone unfamiliar with walking in Taiwan, but it’s pretty easy.

Risks and dangers: This is a very safe walk. The trail is clear and easy to follow and there are no places where you could fall off.

Water: I took 0.5L and didn’t finish it on a pleasant summer evening. There is a convenience store in Jiufen where you stock up is necessary.

Mobile network: Clear throughout.

Enjoyment: If you’re staying the night in Jiufen, I’d absolutely recommend making this part of your trip. It’s quite magical to watch darkness fall over the hillside town.

Other: There’s no lighting up here, so if you’re visiting at night, you’ll want to bring some sort of illumination. On the day we visited, there was almost enough light pollution to see by, but we still used our head torches for some spots. The other people we passed were all using their mobile phones though, so you definitely don’t need to bring a proper torch if you don’t have one to hand.

Bathroom facilities: There are toilets in one of the car parks close to the trailhead.

Route type: There and back.

Permit: None needed.

Jump to the bottom of this post for a trail map and GPX file.

The trailhead is easily found close to Jiufen’s main carparks.

Our walk was accompanied by masses and masses of these moths. There were so many of them around some flowering trees that it was like an all-you-can-eat buffet for the bats.

The trail starts with a gentle incline, but the high contrast beam of my headlight made it hard to walk on the uneven stones.

If you look carefully at the earth beside the trail, you might notice a few of these funeral urns (and even more empty holes where the urns have been taken out so the bones can be interred in a columbarium).

There are only two junctions on the way up to the top. They are two ends of a slightly less steep and more circuitous route to the summit.

There are also two pavilions where you can pause and rest. For most of the ascent, we turned off our head torches and walked slowly, navigating by the light spilling out from all the villages scattered across the hills.

At the second of the two junctions, there’s a spot where you can pause and see the lights of Taipei in the distance. Taipei 101 is unmissable even from so far away.

The summit is marked by a third pavilion and several different signs indicating its height (and at least one that notes its one of the Xiao Bai Yue).

From the top, the view is great. You can see all the way up to the port city of Keelung. From up here, the coast seems to be a series of curved bays punctuated by hilly promontories.

Looking out to sea, we were stunned by volume of fishing vessels gathered on the horizon. There were so many that it looked almost like a floating city out there. Given that the posts and harbours along the coast are all full of boats strung with huge lamps, I guess it makes sense that they’d go out at night. I just never realised there would be quite so many of them in the one place.

After faffing about with my camera for a while, we retraced our steps. The moths were still out in force, plenty of them engaging in a spot of mothy romancing.

We also saw a couple of kipping dragonflies (they’re apparently very light sleepers), and this katydid.

Heading down also grants you what is perhaps the most stunning view of the whole walk—the sight of Jiufen’s lanes lit up on the slopes below you and giving the impression you’re starring in your very own cinematic adventure.

How to get to Keelung Mountain

Google Maps address: The walk starts a short distance from Jiufen Old Street. There are paid scooter and car parking spaces, but if you go later and do this as a night hike, you can probably find free roadside parking a little further away.

GPS location: N25 06.710 E121 50.850

Public transport:

  • Getting to Jiufen – The most straightforward way to get here is to take the 1062 bus directly from Zhongxiao Fuxing to Geding bus stop. As long as there’s no traffic, the journey should take about an hour and cost about $110ish dollars. There is roughly one bus per hour until around 7ish.
  • Getting back from Jiufen to Taipei – The last 1062 back to Taipei leaves at 6:30ish, so far too early for anyone doing this as a night hike. However, it’s still relatively easy to get back to Taipei. You just need to take the 788 or 965 from Geding bus stop to Ruifang Train Station and then catch a train from there.

Nearby trails:

Mount Keelung Trail Map

GPX file available here on Outdoor Active. (Account needed, but the free one works just fine.)

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