I do not get paid for writing this site. In fact, it’s the reverse—I need to pay annual fees to ensure it stays online. Money aside, I pour a silly amount of my free time into creating and updating the information here. So, if you also enjoy what I write and would like to help pay for the cost of running this site or train tickets to the next trailhead, then feel free to throw a few dollars my way. You can find me on PayPal, Buy Me a Coffee or Ko-fi.
If you’d like to show your appreciation without throwing money my way, I always love it when people leave comments letting me know they’ve done a walk from the site. And if you share your photos on social media, linking back to the blog post you followed really helps send new eyes this way (which is seemingly increasingly useful with all of the changes that have been happening to Google search results).
And if you just want to keep enjoying the site for free then that’s totally fine too.
So far I have used donors’ contributions to upgrade the site so that I can remove adverts and give it its own domain name for two years, and letting the site pay for itself this way feels great. A little also went towards getting my boots resoled – one year of walking wore them out!
As to why there are separate options, different people seem to prefer different platforms. PayPal is direct, so there’s no cut taken by the service providers, Buy Me A Coffee seems to be a format that most people are comfortable using, and Ko-fi offers a monthly option.
Happy hiking!
Thank you to the kind folk who have donated to the site:
Adam B.
23/9/2025
“Helps me find great hikes wherever I happen to be in Taiwan. Thanks! ☕
John S.
19/9/2025
“This is John, I’m so sorry for the delay in sending you these coffees. I know you said not to feel obligated to do so, but I’m really very grateful to you both. I had an excellent, healing, peaceful birthday … That’s all thanks to you helping me out so much. Please let me know if you’d like any pics for your website or anything. It was a beautiful hike!“
Vaila H.
12/9/2025
“Hey, I’m an exchange student from the US (studying at NTU) and have been really really appreciating all your intel on various hikes in the area. Thank you so much for all your hard work putting this website together!! “
Vaila, if you’re reading this, thank you very much! I wish PayPal made it possible to contact you directly so I can let you know that your contribution to the site is much appreciated.
Fabrice D.
31/8/2025
“Hello,
I just got back from Taiwan and your website did help a lot to figure out the access to the trails. It was hot as hell but i did not have a choice for the vacation schedule :(Thanks for the job and good luck for the future.”
Fabrice also left a lot of useful info about trail closures resulting from the summer’s heavy rains.
Helen C.
25/8/2025
“I very much enjoyed the Jiantan night hike. I am visiting the city and had just enough energy to do a hike on my last night there. Thanks for making it so easy to know where to go from my Main Station Hotel.“
Stephen H.
8/8/2025
“We consulted your website for section 2B of the Skyline Trail and found it very helpful. You have a wonderfully detailed website that I will continue to consult in the future. Thank you so much.“
Edward B.
30/7/2025
“I am a British / Colombian looking to visit Taiwan to herp and bird. It’s been a bit challenging to find resources on this to be honest but anyway grateful for this.“
Evan D.
27/7/2025
“Thank you for making my two or three dozen hikes around Taipei over the past year so easy. This is such a wonderful site, it’s the only one I use.“
Fabrice D.
26/7/2025
“Hello, such a great site. Can not wait to check out Taipei this summer. Thanks for the work.“
Larry L.
22/7/2025
“Many many thanks for sharing the material about YMS Grass mountain in English with the American military family who were stationed in Taiwan, you helped a lot.“
Angela T.
3/7/2025
“So impressed by all your detailed guides! Thank you!“
Jessica
16/6/2025
“Your guide has been incredibly helpful during my trip to Taiwan! Taipingshan was absolutely stunning (I did the Hemlock Trail) and in 2 days I’ll climb Yushan. Thank you for the non-glamourous help in providing info about Paiyun Lodge, hiking permits, etc.”
J. Gamble
30/5/2025
“Thank you for all the effort you put into the site. Because of your detailed reports and maps, I was able to do the entire Tamsui-Kavalan trail solo this week, and it was amazing!“
W
15/5/2025
“Wanted to see some nature while in Taipei, your guide was a good get away, and the skill level recommendation gave me a good estimate if I could manage. Thank you.“
Benedikt K
2/5/2025
“Thank you for helping to organise our trip through Taiwan! We really appreciated the detailed descriptions and would recommend you publish a book about it!“
Benedikt very kindly left a donation via Paypal, which sadly doesn’t give the option to send a message. Benedikt, if you read this, thank you very much, and I hope this means you found the site helpful.
Owen
1/5/2025
“Thank you so much for your blog posts! Last week I spent a week and a half in Taiwan and followed the Sanyuan Ridge, Stegosaurus Ridge, Nanshan Zuomi and Wuliaojian hikes. All super enjoyable especially Stegosaurus and Zuomi and your blog helped a lot with the planning.“
Rosie and Jenni
18/4/2025
“My girlfriend and I have been travelling around Taiwan for 5 weeks now. We love it here and have been using your website for our hiking guide. It’s so thorough and has helped us access and enjoy so many beautiful places! Thank you!“
Abigail P.
16/4/2025
“Thank you for creating (and maintaining) such an invaluable source of English information on Taipei area trails! Heading out today to try solo hiking a section of the Taipei Grand Trail for the first time (I usually tag along with others who know the way). I feel confident and prepared thanks to your site.“
Anonymous
6/4/2025
“I just got back from my fourth trip to Taiwan, and made a point to get in the mountains! Your site was indispensable in my search for great strenuous public-transit day hikes.“
Jarad G.
23/2/2025
“Thanks so much for sharing such thorough information!“
Nystroem
20/2/2025
“Thanks for trails & tales.”
This one came in via PayPal, so I wasn’t able to reply, but if you’re reading this, thank you very much!
Jeff B.
11/2/2025
“Such a great site! really appreciate the effort and attention to detail with the google maps.“
Anonymous
21/1/2025
“Thank you!“
Manjana
19/1/2025
“Had not enough time in Taiwan to do many of your logged trips, but the website is awesome and just reading about walks was months full of anticipation 🙂 many thanks“
Anonymous
24/12/2024
“Greatly enjoy seeing the photos and reading the descriptions of places you two explore! Especially love the pup posts! Always a bright spot in the day when one of your posts pop up!“
Thank you for the lovely and unexpected Christmas gift!
Nguyen Truong Son
23/12/2024
“Thank you so much for your dedication, your blog has comforted me a lot, now that I am away from Taiwan.“
J. Lopez
18/12/2024
“Thank you for your suggestions by email.
I am learning all the new terms on the internet. It took me a while to understand what ‘Buy Me a Coffee” means. Enjoy the coffee.😄 Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!“
We had quite a few emailed back-and-forths as Ms. Lopez was planning what sounds like an exciting Taiwan trip.
Anonymous
6/12/2024
“Thank you for the guide, the maps save me every time!“
Joe A.
3/12/2024
“Your site is really useful, thanks for taking the time to put it all together.“
Adam
3/12/2024
“Fantastic resource, thank you for the efforts you put into creating/maintaining this. Valuable resource for foreign travelers looking to explore.“
As well as chucking a few coffees my way, Adam was kind enough to draw my attention to an error on one of my pages.
John S.
1/12/2024
“Thank you so much for your easy-to-follow, friendly, engaging website! It really helped me yesterday, I had a great hike around the mountains of New Taipei, all thanks to you!“
John is another reader who reached out for some advice for a future walking holiday. Hopefully, he and his brother will soon be exploring some of Taiwan’s most beautiful corners.
Lukas W.
25/11/2024
“Great blog – need some additional suggestions too :)”
Lukas reached out for some help planning a family trip. I hope they all had a great time exploring Taiwan’s northeast coastal region.
Mikołaj
18/11/2024
“Thanks for your guides! They are amazing, very well done:) hope to see you on the trails one day!:)”
Jay M.
12/11/2024
“Really appreciated the Sun moon trail report.”
Karen W.
10/11/2024
“Thank you so much for all your help! Happy trails to you and happy hiking.”
Michele
5/11/2024
“Hi girls! thank you so much for all the detailed information and your dedication, this website is a true gem.”
Noa
24/10/2024
“Thank you for your amazing website! My partner and I were in Taiwan for a month and constantly consulted your articles. We went to Wuliaojian, Huoyan Shan and Stegosaurus Ridge with your help!”
Haily
14/10/2024
“Amazing photos, maps and descriptions.“
Jess
10/10/2024
“Thank you for always helping me find beautiful walks around Taiwan!”
Trevor
9/10/2024
“I’ve just moved to Taiwan to be with my partner, and this site is GOLD to help me get outside. Thank you for spending your time building this!”
Amy W.
7/10/2024
“Your site is so great – this time I came to find an easy trail around Beitou and had a lovely afternoon wandering along the irrigation canals 😊 – thank you!”
Tom
1/10/2024
“Thank you so much for creating this site. I’ve been in Taipei for a week on my own, visiting from London. Your site has given me three wonderful days that I wouldn’t have been able to have without it. Thank you.”
Chris S.
11/9/2024
“Thank you so much for everything!!! Please keep working on this amazing website.”
John F.
17/7/2024
“Thank you so much for what you do. I read your site over and over in preparation for my Taiwan trip and yesterday hiked Pingxitou to Waiao and it was truly one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done. That one hike made my trip. I was so lucky it was a clear day and I could see turtle island from each vantage point and from the top of the mountain near the temple. When I got to Waiao I was able to wash off in the surf finishing one of my favourite days I’ve ever had. Thanks again!”
Nami
12/7/2024
“I’m in Taiwan for 2 months for a summer course and heading out for a half-day hike from your website every weekend has really made the experience even better (even though it’s summer)! Keep up the good work!”
Varad
16/6/2024
“Once again thanks a lot for the super-specific directions! One side note, to add to the poisonous snakes and lizards that you mentioned, you’d better be wary of the monkey gangs that hang out around there! 😂”
Anonymous
26/6/2024
Another mystery donation. I hope the anonymous supporter is enjoying Taiwan’s trails somewhere.
Varad
20/5/2024
“Thanks for painstakingly logging every step of the way! It really helps with motivation when you see a familiar (thanks to you) landmark!”
Teo KH
19/5/2024
“Thank you for your perseverance in keeping your Taiwan Trails and Tales regularly updated.”
Robert F.
5/5/2024
Robert left a very generous donation via Paypal, which sadly doesn’t give the option to send a message. Robert, if you read this, thank you very much, and I hope this means you found the site helpful.
Betsy S.
17/4/2024
“Thank you for guiding me around the island!”
JTNY
17/4/2024
“Thank you for writing what is surely the most comprehensive English guide to hiking in Taiwan.”
John F.
16/3/2024
“Thanks for the excellent guides. I am loving the details.”
Lasse
11/2/2024
Lasse left a lovely private message that I egregiously did not reply to for a whole five months.
Christine T.
29/1/2024
“Thank you for the detailed information.”
Christine is a long-distance walker and author from Germany who tackled a couple of Taiwan’s multi-day hikes in early 2024. If you’re looking for an inspirational Facebook account to follow, go find hers.
Ricardo P.
27/1/2024
Ricardo didn’t leave a message.
Kristel / Rewild Taiwan
12/10/2023
“I just find your site to be very useful in finding new trails to hike.“Your posts are extremely helpful to me right now as I try to find some good places for forest/nature therapy. You’ve saved me a lot of time and given so much valuable information! Thanks for your wonderful posts!“
Kristel hasn’t asked me to mention this, but she has recently started up her own company that seeks to facilitate experiences for people who feel they want to reconnect with nature. It is called Rewild Taiwan and you can find her on both Facebook and Instagram.
Thomas S.
26/1/2023
“Amazing site!”
Melinda J
3/1/2024
“Great description! My husband’s parents live in Taipei. You helped me discover a trail that I wouldn’t have tried without your information! Thank you both!”
L.K.S.
12/10/2023
“I just find your site to be very useful in finding new trails to hike.”
Ivan W.
12/12/2023
“I just find your site to be very useful in finding new trails to hike.”My partner (American) and I (Taiwanese) really love your site – such a helpful resource and the photos are gorgeous! Hope this donation can help defray some of the hosting costs.”
Anonymous
9/11/2023
“Thank you! Great work..”
L.K.S.
12/10/2023
“I just find your site to be very useful in finding new trails to hike.”
Simon L.
14th September 2023
“I’ve hiked in Taiwan a few times and always enjoyed the trails and views, finding and planning the hikes however was never easy. Your site has saved me countless hours planning my next trip’s hikes, thank you! Seriously, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau should be paying you a salary! P. S: I’ve noticed that a few of the GPX links are dead in your older posts.”
Simon, thank you very much for the tip, and apologies that I can’t reply to you directly. It’s the one downside of using PayPal. I’m very happy to hear that you find the site useful, and thanks for the heads up about the GPX links. I’m in the process of going back through and fixing them one at a time but it’s slow going! (Update: I think I’ve fixed them all.)
The Rosenburg Family
11th September 2023
“Hi! We’re traveling with our 3 daughters in Taiwan and your blog and trail recommendations have quite literally made our trip 🙂 There’s so little information in English about trails and hikes in Taiwan your blog and Google Map has been incredibly useful. Thanks a ton!“
Joseph P.
29th August 2023
“Thank you so much for all your hints.”
Jos & Marjan V.
31st July 2023
“We just booked tickets to visit Taiwan in October! We have visited Taiwan several times for work, but now we will be visiting the country to just have fun! We love nature, hiking and biking so when I found your site, I was so excited! It gives me a lot of pre-trip fun and it allows me to prepare in a lot of detail.”
J & M, Paypal doesn’t allow me to reply to you directly, so I will have to do it here. Thank you for the contribution, and I really hope your trip to Taiwan is as fun as all the planning you’ll be doing before you arrive!
L.K.S.
22nd June 2023
This mystery person left no comment, so thank you, and I hope you’re having fun in the hills.
Sharlene
26th May 2023
“Been reading your blog and I love how informative and easy to read everything is. Please keep on writing.”
I intend to!
Oleg D.
8th May 2023
“Thank you so much for your writing.”
John S.
13th April 2023
“Thank you for the helpful & thoughtful trail information.“
Amy
5th April 2023
“Thanks for keeping up such a great site – super informative and useful!“
Vincent
4th March 2023
“I have been in Taiwan for 4 years, and discovering your blog has certainly been a great contribution to making this time so special. I love the way you write, that it is so accurate and useful; and at the same time the nice storytelling. Merci!”
Kin
16th February 2023
“Thank you for great trail details, giving me confidence to plan my Taiwan hikes from Singapore.“
Ms. Zhang
10th February 2023
Ms. Zhang didn’t leave any message. Thank you, mysterious person.
Joseph C.
6th February 2023
“Really appreciate the content.”
@foreigndevil666
20th January 2023
“Nice to run into you today!“
I bumped into this “Foreign Devil” in the hills near home and had a brief chat.
Marcela V.
19th December 2022
“Finding your routes in Wikiloc and then finding your website has made such a difference to my life in this country.”
Marcela made her donation through Paypal and left the sweetest longer message. Marcela, if you read this, Paypal doesn’t give me the option to reply, but I was really moved by your words. I wish you have many happy future adventures.
@deepseasee
12th January 2023
“It’s so nice that you’ve carefully archived the information. It’s cool to walk and climb the mountains and roads all over Taiwan!”
Michelle K.
19th December 2022
“Thanks dearly for documenting your adventures, sharing your knowledge, and taking these gorgeous photographs. I’m such a fan of your site!”
This is the first repeat donation received, thank you Michelle! And everyone else, I strongly advise you to subscribe to her and her partner’s Substack newsletter.
Damir
15th November 2022
“What a well-made website, wow! Very much appreciate the options of filtering by difficulty and by area. Will definitely donate again once I actually try one of these hikes!“
Max A.
2nd November 2022
Max didn’t leave a message, just a much-appreciated donation. Thank you, and happy hiking!
Samu
26th October 2022
“Thank you for covering every trail with such precision, I have been on a few hikes following your tips and it was great!”
Sonny H.
17th April 2022
Sonny left nothing except for a generous donation, thank you Sonny!
Vandana
20th March 2021
Vandana left no message, but from the name left along with the donation, I think she is the creative soul behind Anahata Artisan.
Steph
9th March 2022
“We’ve enjoyed so many spectacular hikes using your website and excellent routes. You’ve helped us to explore so many parts of the island that we wouldn’t have been able to access otherwise. Thank you.”
Catherine L.
6th February 2022
“Your account of the Taipei Grand Hike has been invaluable this last week, thank you!”
Catherine has also written about her epic, one-week mud-bonanza challenge. You can find her account of that here.
Jaya
22nd January 2022
Jaya left no message, but we’ve chatted a bit, and she’s a fascinating, prolific creator and lovely human with blogs (multiple!) and a podcast of her own. Check out the Healthy Taiwan podcast if you’re interested in the intersection of Taiwan and wholistic (not a typo) health.
加油
19th November 2021
“Every blog sharing the beauty of Taiwan’s hiking trails is worth supporting. Thank you for lots of great inspiration for my own adventures!”
Michelle K.
7th November 2021
“Thanks for your beautiful site!”
Michelle and her partner, Albert, have an insightful, beautifully written, and often very moving Substack newsletter that I highly recommend you subscribe to. Each week there are two new posts – one English, one Chinese – which dive into a whole host of Taiwan and Taiwan-adjacent subjects.
Blair C.
23rd October 2021
“Something nice.”
Edgar
23rd October 2021
“Love your hiking blog. Even more after I have left Taiwan early this year after 4 years with many trails – some of them inspired by you and some walked earlier than you. Now your blog is like returning to some of the lovely places I have been or discover the ones I had not yet been. Thanks”
Reed
17th August 2021
“I have a hard time defining just how much I love the outdoors of Taiwan and having your site just gives me access to areas that I may never have found. Thank you!”
Taiwan Trails and Tales 