Ten years and counting, but I’m getting there. Mount Shou became my 68th Xiao Bai Yue, and as it happens, the specific path I picked through the maze of trails leading up to the summit is also one of the trails voted to be Taiwan’s top 100 hikes by users of the Hiking Notes app. Why? I’m not entirely sure. I personally found the boardwalk trail on northern side of the mountain range to be a prettier route, but still, there is plenty to enjoy on this walk, and for what it’s worth, Taiwanese hikers think it’s worth a visit. Besides, if you’re so inclined, it would be very easy to start off on the boardwalk trail and then jump to this trail just before you start going downhill. It would add a few extra kilometres, but you’d see both sides of the hill.
DISTANCE: About 7 kilometres, give or take.
TIME: 2½-3½ hours depending on your speed and how long you spend admiring the scenery.
TOTAL ASCENT: Around 300 metres.
DIFFICULTY (REGULAR TAIWAN HIKER): 1-2/10 — For a frequent Taiwan hiker, this is a very easy walk. The main challenges are ascent in hot conditions, loose rocks underfoot, and a whole load of interlinked trails to navigate.
DIFFICULTY (NEW TAIWAN HIKER): 3/10 — Even for a new Taiwan hiker, this shouldn’t be a particularly challenging trail. Just make sure you’ve got an offload map downloaded.
SIGNAGE: There is a fair amount of signage here, but they’re the kind that require you to know the names of pavilions or landmarks rather than being signs for this specific trail.
RISKS AND DANGERS: Getting lost or turned around in the maze of trails is probably the biggest risk — that and the monkeys.
FOOD AND WATER: I took 0.8L and drank most of it on a warm May morning.
SHADE: There’s patchy shade for the majority of this trail. Plenty of people (myself included) had umbrellas to deal with the sun.
MOBILE NETWORK: Clear signal throughout.
ENJOYMENT: Hmm… If you’re hiking for the love of hiking, I much preferred the boardwalk trail on the northern side of the trail network. However, if you want to avoid steps (if not inclined), this one is a better bet. Besides, this one has a minor 100 peak.
OTHER: You can link this up with the boardwalk route to make a long and more varied walk.
BATHROOM FACILITIES: There are toilets at the trailhead.
ROUTE TYPE: Misformed lollipop loop.
PERMIT: None needed
Jump to the bottom of this post for a trail map and GPX file.
This version of walking the Shoushan trails starts from the big carpark adjacent to Kaohsiung Beigushan Qianguang Temple. I was attempting to beat the heat by climbing before midday, so I didn’t stick my nose into the temple, instead choosing to set off up the steps without delay. (If you’re a step-hater, you could take the longer route up a more gradually sloping track, but honestly, I’d suggest the steps.)
Before too long, the steps let out onto the aforementioned track. Here, I turned left and followed the road on its gradually uphill trajectory.
The track, sits in the unpleasant boundary between being smooth enough to be deceptive whilst actually being riddled with treacherous potholes and ankle-terrorising rocks, so don’t take your eyes off it for too long.
After the first protracted climb, the ground begins to level out near the remains of one of the old concrete production facilities — the Cement Materials Inlet, to be precise. Though inarguably a dull-sounding historic site, this (and the other cement-related ruins that can be found secreted away among Shoushan’s forests) is an important part of the landscape’s history. From the Japanese era until long after the Japanese had left, this area was an important source of limestone (the main component of cement), and the material’s mining left indelible marks on the hills. In fact, look at the trail network on a map and you’ll spot a whole load of parallel paths that closely mirror the quarrying patterns.
Just beyond the inlet structure, the track splits in two. Here, you’ll need to head right and commence the second (and more protracted) portion of the ascent.
Though the incline is never particularly steep, the heat and the roughness of the road made for hard going and I found this lookout area with shade and a worried-looking dog to be rather welcome.
This fork on the left is the first of many side trails fanning off from the main route. Later, I would pop out from this one and retrace my steps down to the trailhead, but for now, I powered onwards and upwards.
It doesn’t look like much, but this is the point at which the climbing finally stops and you get to start enjoying the fruits of your efforts. Take the left-hand fork here and start to follow the flat path.
Note: If you’ve been directed here by my post about Shoushan Boardwalk Trail, this is where the two paths connect.
The trail tracks south, and every now and then, there are little windows that open up to allow you a glimpse of the city beyond — the first such gap conferred a view of the Lotus Pond beside which sits the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas. The hedgerow was also full of monkeys, but they were all too busy snacking to cause trouble.
There’s a squashed five-way junction by a pavilion that sits in a spot named Changshou Garden (長壽園) on the map. Two trails join from the right and one leaves from the left. Ignore all of these and instead take the one that best matches the description of going straight ahead.
Shortly after passing Changchun Pavilion (長春亭) on your left, the trail forks again. Here, I took the trail on the left.
Within five minutes of the last junction, I found myself at the pavilion that marks the official unofficial summit of Mount Shou. I say “official unofficial” because this is the spot the Hiking Notes app has designated as being the summit for the purposes of collecting the Xiao Bai Yue stamps/digital gem stones.
You can get a little closer by taking the trail on the right side of this shot, but since the true summit lies on land that is under army supervision, it’s off bounds for hikers.
Once you’re ready to move on, take the steep path leading down beside the warning notice.
Just as you’re about to begin the descent, the scenery opens up to give you a clear view over Kaohsiung Harbour, but make sure you complete your ogling before you start walking, because the path demands your full attention. It’s by far the steepest section of the whole walk and you do not want to fall here because the coral limestone is vicious.
After descending for a couple of hundred metres, the path reconnects with a more substantial route. Turn right and head towards this next rest area. There were several young monkeys messing around on the bins when I passed through.
I stayed with the broad main track for a short while.
But after only a few minutes, I took a sharp left to follow a path that ran north parallel to the southbound one I’d followed earlier.
There was a gaggle of grannies occupying the a large seating area with views of the city. They were debating whether to press on or head home for lunch.
Somehow, despite the rather different tree mix (and temperatures), this bit of trail reminded me quite a bit of an old walk along a stretch of long-closed railway that was a big part of my childhood map.
At the next two junctions, I took the lefthand options and stuck with the flatter trail.
Then, at the next two, I did the opposite, bearing right and beginning the descent. A rather feisty group of monkeys guarded the second of these, but after watching some locals pass through without incident, I picked up my courage to pass them and soon found myself back on the track that would return me to the Cement Materials Inlet and from there, the trailhead.
How to get to Monkey Mountain
Google Maps address: This walk starts and finishes beside Kaohsiung Beigushan Qianguang Temple. There is a large car park here, but since it was busy on a Monday, I imagine it’s full to bursting on holidays and weekends.
GPS location: N22 39.085 E120 16.390
Public transport: To get to the trailhead, take a train to the Museum of Fine Arts station. From there, you can either walk or ride a YouBike west along Qinghai Road, then Mingde Road until you arrive at the trailhead.
Nearby trails:
- Shoushan Boardwalk Trail
Kaohsiung Monkey Mountain Trail Map
GPX file available here on Outdoor Active. (Account needed, but the free one works just fine.)
Taiwan Trails and Tales 