Taiwan Trails and Tales
@Taiwan_trails
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Two women 🇹🇼🇬🇧🏳️🌈 who hike in the forests and mountains of Taiwan. ⛰
Taiwan
Joined October 2019
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Yesterday’s attempt to collect every single Taipei MRT station stamp in one day was a success! Here are all 122 stamps in the order I collected them condensed into 32 seconds.
#Taiwan
#Taipei
#PublicTransport
I am going for a second (and final) attempt at collecting all station stamps in a single day. Do not ask why. I have no good reason beside the fact that I feel compelled to achieve such meaningless goals. Currently 4 hours and 21 minutes in and 32/122 stops down.
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I am going for a second (and final) attempt at collecting all station stamps in a single day. Do not ask why. I have no good reason beside the fact that I feel compelled to achieve such meaningless goals. Currently 4 hours and 21 minutes in and 32/122 stops down.
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Tamsui-Kavalan Trails (Thread)
This has been a year in the making. A year of walking, exploring, writing, learning about and falling further in love with this beautiful land that I am lucky to call home. I hope my writing helps others to enjoy these trails as much as I have.
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This is the cumulative efforts of yesterday’s attempt to collect as many MRT station stamps as possible. I got 106 unique stamps out of a total of 122. I was unable to collect the final 3 on the yellow line, and 13 on the orange line. I also skipped the light rail stations.
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Today we were the only people walking in this genuine enchanted forest.
🌱🍃🌿🌲🌳🌱💚
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Last night we got married in the comfort of our own apartment via an online ceremony (British citizens living in Taiwan have found creative loopholes during the pandemic). This cutie on the left is now officially my wife.
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The Taipei Skyline Trail (台北天際線) - a thread
The Taipei Skyline Trail is an almost 200km-long trail encircling all of Taipei and lots of New Taipei. Stitched together from existing trails, it takes you from Bitan to Keelung via Shiding then over Yangmingshan to Yingge.
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Mushroom thread:
(There were too many pretty ones to fit into a single tweet.)
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Today I took a post-work, pre-dinner stroll. I would highly recommend a wander around Zhishanyan to anyone wanting a very gentle walk in Taipei. Go at dusk, and you get to enjoy all of the quiet drama of the lantern glow gradually outshining the sky.
#Taiwan
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Those who say Taipei is ugly (as I used to myself until I saw the light) are not looking at it in the right way. Viewed after darkness falls on a warm evening in the rain, (and preferably from the backseat of a scooter driven by someone you love), Taipei is a beautiful city.
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I have never seen so many bikinis in one temple. This artist certainly has their own *ahem* distinctive style.
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This has to be one of the coolest spots I’ve come across recently. On the outskirts of Keelung, close to Hongdan Shan there is a hiking trail which passes straight through a cave. The interior resounds with the constant trickle of a waterfall, and glows with altar lights.
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The most recent post on the Taiwan Trails and Tales site was a significant one. It is the 200th hike listed there. (There are a couple of non hiking posts which I didn’t count.) To celebrate, I’ve decided to share some of the things this blog has taught me.
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There are a great many fun walks to be done along the Pingxi Line. One of which is Lingjiao to Wanggu. This takes you past 2 pretty waterfalls, along some gently pleasant trails, and past the crumbling remains of a grand family mansion. (Link below.)
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The recent NatGeo coverage of the Taipei Grand Hike has sent a whole lot of traffic my way. It seems people are interested in finding out how to walk it. I think it’s a great grounding in the hills sounding this city, and a good starter multi-day hike.
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Pretty scenes this afternoon along Banling Canal Trail in Taipei’s Beitou District.
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NEW TRAIL GUIDE: Tianmu Water Pipe Trail + Mount Shamao + Banling Canal
This meandering route straddles both Shilin and Beitou District, and takes in several different trails, each of which has its own points of interest.
#Taiwan
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The Shiguanyin Temple on one of the routes connecting to Taoyuan Valley Trail has many features that I enjoy, not least this unbearably cute Huye. (Just look at his anxious expression!)
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If there were a bingo card for different romanisations, I think I would have just scored maximum points. I’ve seen “中” represented with “zhong”, “jhong”, “jong”, “chung”, and “chong”, but never before have I seen “diong”. My partner says it’s the Taiwanese pronunciation.
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Jiancing Historic Trail has to be one of the most well known trails in Taiwan. Even if you’ve never been, it’s highly likely that you will have seen photos of it before. After visiting, I can totally understand the appeal - the forest scenery is spectacular, and the walk is easy.
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Charmingly mysterious scenery along the Shuishang Sacred Tree Trail earlier this week. This giant is over 16m in circumference.
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I think I’m going to start a little bird call video thread. This one was the first call I learnt to identify here. It’s a Taiwan barbet, an almost permanent soundtrack to lower elevation walks here, but especially so in spring.
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We’ve escaped Taipei again. This time to visit a Tainan-based friend. Just from the geology alone, it’s clear that we’ve left the north.
#TaiwanTravel
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Teapot Mountain currently looks magnificent amongst a sea of silvergrass.
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NEW POST: Jancing Historc Trail (見晴壞古道)
Taipingshan’s Jancing Historic Trail is probably one of the most instantly recognisable trails that Taiwan has to offer. It has featured in international lists of best trails and is a favourite with locals instagrammers.
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I think I’m going to start a thread to collect all instances of Formosan black bear depictions that I see. Why? No reason except that they’re cute. Feel free to contribute any that you come across.
#Taiwan
#FormosanBlackBear
#台灣
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New post: Yun-chia Five Peak Trail (雲嘉五連峰)
(It’s Monday, so what better time to start thinking about escaping to the hills?)
We walked this superb trail over the Lunar New Year holidays and it was a true treat for the eyes.
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Good morning Taipei. I never understand the people who leave as soon as the sun comes up. They miss the best bit.
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I dislike Taiwan’s summers as much as the next person. The oppressive humidity, the unrelenting, energy-sapping heat - its miserable. But you can’t deny that it makes for spectacular clouds.
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I do not spend enough time this high up. Every bend in the road has another beautiful view.
#Taiwan
#台灣
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Good morning
#Taipei
. The weather was not as clear as I’d hoped, but no complaining.
I’ve got a full day of work tomorrow but the weather looks divine. Do I try to sneak in a sunrise walk?
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Today has been spent taking in some of Yilan’s short and scenic trails.
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NEW POST: Taipei Skyline Trail Section 4 (台北天際線4段)
There are two ways to walk section four. So far I’ve only done this one (which is shorter and easier). It cuts across from Sijiaoting to Keelung and takes in some historic forts and interesting views along the way.
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I’m not saying that I entirely planned today’s activities around visiting a cave temple... but I kind of did.
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Yesterday I returned to this short trail between Juifen and Jinguashi because I thought I wanted some better photos to go in the post I have scheduled to go out later this week. The highlight of the trail is this rough cut through rock where an old waterway once ran.
#hiking
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NEW TRAIL GUIDE: Zuomi Trail & Nanshan Sacred Trees (佐米縱走/南山神木)
Located in Yilan’s Datong District, this walk takes you through Cilan Major Wildlife Habitat. The forest was overwhelmingly beautiful. So beautiful that this it qualifies as my favourite hike of 2023.
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The world is full of curious things. Last night I came across one of these for the first time. It’s some type of hammerhead flatworm (in the Bipaliinae subfamily), and is a predatory worm which hunts other invertebrate bug life.
#BugsAreCool
#NaturePhotography
#Taiwan
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A blue magpie trying out all the angles. I love the way that they manage to look perpetually disdainful.
#JudgementalBirds
#TaiwanWildlife
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NEW POST: Mount Kaiyanlun and Tea Terrace Trail (開眼崙山/茶園步道)
We visited this short trail in Pinglin District one drizzly summer afternoon last year. The region is known for its tea growing, so it’s fitting that the trail takes you along winding lanes among tea terraces.
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The old Sandiaoling Tunnel in New Taipei’s Ruifang District has been turned into a very lovely cycling experience. It has been beautifully done, and you feel like you’re gliding through another world.
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Shalu Leisure Landscape Trail (沙鹿休閒景觀步道) has become an unlikely draw to an otherwise unremarkable corner of Taichung. The trail runs for 2km beneath the towering mass of the No.3 freeway, and whilst it’s not the most natural of beauty spots, it is still dramatic.
#Taiwan
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Yesterday I did a very long walk which spanned more or less the whole breadth of Yangmingshan National Park, and whilst I am a huge fan of mist up in these hills, I was blown away by yesterday’s sunny views. Starting from Fengguizui in the east... 1/10
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Yesterday’s walk saw us leaving Taoyuan and passing the border into Hsinchu. I’ll try to pick out some highlights to share in this thread.
#hiking
#TaiwanIsOpen
#backpacking
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My mum and my partner enjoying a shady stroll. It makes me very happy for them to be able to spend so much time together.
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Today was spent ticking an item off my dad’s bucket list. We rode the century-old Shay 31 Alishan logging train. It took an immense amount of luck and effort to get the tickets and coordinate, but judging by his unbridled excitement, it was more than worth it.
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One style of vegetarian eatery in Taiwan is the pay-by-weight buffet. You go in, choose what you want, the staff weigh it and you pay accordingly. If you take your own box, make sure to weigh it first so they know how much to deduct. Each box cost under $100.
#素食
#vegetarian
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NEW POST: Nangang Tea Mountain (南港茶山)
If you picture Nangang District in your mind what do you see? I bet you didn’t envision quiet hillsides cloaked with neat rows of tea. This trail offers an insight into a side of Nangang that not so many people know about.
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This seems like it’s ripe for a thread. Who else has photos of beautiful bridges in Taiwan? Here’s my offering, a relatively new addition to Zhongkeng Historic Trail.
The most beautiful pedestrian bridge in Taiwan, crossing over provincial highway 3 to Daxi Old Street. #大溪老街 #桃園 #天橋
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Goodbye to the goodest of good little dogs. My silly clown, my diva, my gentle companion. Who knew that a dachshund sized hole in one’s life would feel so impossibly large.
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#35mm
photos taken with a 1980s camera found in a second hand shop last month. I love the way it handles at night.
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On the northeast coast, just a short way from Yehliu Geopark you can find this odd structure on an exposed knob of rock named Camel Peak (searching for 駱駝峰 on Google maps will get you there). I plan to return at some point to walk the hill a little inland too.
#TravelInTaiwan
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Once upon a time there was a temple here. Now there is this.
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After seeing Guishan Island (龜山島) so many times, I finally took a boat over to climb it. Thanks
@AnushaHiking
@cjuroz
and
@kajualintaipei
for the company.
#Taiwan
#hiking
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I don’t normally say a trail is a “must hike” because everyone has different preferences. But in the case of Fire Mountain (火炎山) I am willing to make an exception. The landscape is truly unique for Taiwan and is somewhere you should visit if you get the chance.
Link👇
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We saw some lovely ferns today before the heavens opened. I’m not sure what the one in the first photo is, but it looks like a huge bunch of green ribbons draped over a branch.
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I have encountered quite a few temples in Taiwan that first took shape in dreams. Chuanghua Shell Temple is one of them. The proprietor, a Mr Huang, built it after having received repeated celestial visitations in his sleep.
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It is my honest belief that it is impossible to watch a hopping blue magpie and remain unhappy.
#FormosanBlueMagpie
#TaiwnBirding
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The maple trees beside Qingtiangang Visitor Centre are putting on a show and the foggy gloom is only making it more spectacular.
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2022 snake thread. The first* one is the cutest little big eyed rat snake that I’ve ever seen.
#Herpetology
*Actually the first one was a bit too dead, so I’ll let this one take the title.
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The Taipei Skyline Trail route guide is now up on the site in its entirety.
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So my partner thought she would sneakily take my birding book out of our suitcase, but I found it and stashed it in my backpack. Good job I did, because she is now requesting that I tell her what birds we have seen.
Kinmen birding 🧵
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I rarely post pictures of myself since I’m usually the photographer. So for a change, here are four of me enjoying yesterday’s walk.
#台灣
#hiking
#GetOutside
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How am I meant to get anywhere when the views are this distractingly pretty?
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We’re spending a night in Taipingshan National Park tonight. There was time for one walk this afternoon, and I cannot get enough of these mosses.
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I was expecting to see Kinmen’s beautiful Fujian architecture, but I hadn’t realised that the island also has lots of exquisite old western style buildings. This one is Chen Qing Ji Mansion. It’s in a sorry state, but the little details are so pretty.
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We had a lovely little walk close to Puli this afternoon. LOTS of water, a waterfall, and copious amounts of ferns.
#TaiwanNature
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