Japanese hikers have known about the mountains of Taiwan since the years of Japan's 1895-1945 colonial occupation of the island. In 1900, Japanese anthropologists Torii Ryuzo and Mori Ushinosuke made the first confirmed ascent of Taiwan's tallest peak now known as Jade Mountain. With a height of 3,952 meters, the massif exceeds Japan's highest and most famous peak, the 3,776-meter Mount Fuji.
North American and British travelers have been publishing accounts of climbing and hiking in Taiwan since the 1930s, but even so the island's alpine treasures are not well known in the West. However, efforts to draw international visitors to Taiwan's mountains have received a boost from National Geographic Adventure, a monthly zine published in nine languages by the U.S.-based National Geographic Society.
In its November 2008 issue, the magazine included Taiwan on a list of 25 Best New Adventure Travel Trips 2009. Describing the island as "standing shoulder to shoulder with the world's great trekking destinations," National Geographic Adventure also included Indonesia, Nepal and eastern Russia in its Asia section.
According to Pete Royall, a manager with U.K.-based firm KE Adventure Travel that set up the 15-day itinerary in Taiwan, the company is always on the lookout for new routes and destinations to offer its clients. "To many people in the West, Taiwan may not immediately present itself as a destination for adventure travel, but the scenery is superb with lots of hiking above the tree line," he said. "Taiwan's ranges are crisscrossed by established trails which give relatively easy access to wild and remote areas."
The Taiwan itinerary includes 12 days of what the company's brochure describes as "demanding trekking," and 11 nights spent under canvas or in mountain refuges. On most days, the trekkers will be walking for five to seven hours, but there will be some longer days of 11 hours or more.
For the main part, the trek follows a route that is well established but seldom used. This trail, which local hikers call "South Section Two," stretches from the Southern Cross-Island Highway--a mountain road that links the city of Tainan with the island's southeast--to Dongpu, a hot springs resort in central Taiwan's Nantou County. For its entire length it is within Yushan National Park, the nature reserve named for and centered around Northeast Asia's highest mountain.
One of the highlights of the hike comes on Day 4 of the trip, the first day of real trekking. Jiaming Lake, an elliptical body of water around 100 meters in diameter, is not only sublimely beautiful, but almost unique in terms of geology. It is one of just a hundred or so lakes around the world to have been created by a meteor strike, and possibly the youngest.
The following day, trekkers will ascend Sancha Mountain (3,496 meters) before crossing the Lakuyin River, a narrow stream where large, dark brown deer known as sambars can often be seen.
Yushan National Park is exceptionally rich in wildlife. In addition to sambars, some 130-bird species, 27 different mammals, 17 reptile species, 12 kinds of amphibians and 186 butterfly species have been recorded in the park. At many points along South Section Two, hikers have reported hearing sound of Reeves's muntjacs foraging during the night. The muntjac, an endemic mammal species that looks like a small deer, makes a sound so much like a dog's that it is often called a "barking deer."
In National Geographic Adventure, the tour's local representative Richard Foster explained that by walking along the spine, a trekker would experience different ecological zones and have a great view of other mountain ranges. "There, far from the crowds of Taipei, the chances of seeing bears, marmots, ferrets, and butterflies are better than seeing humans," he said.
"South Section Two is just one of many excellent long hikes in Taiwan," Foster said. "Hopefully, some of the people who join the 2009 treks will return to Taiwan in the future and tackle the Holy Ridge or South Section One."
The Holy Ridge is a six-day circle hike in Shei-pa National Park in northern Taiwan. South Section One trail links the 3,668-meter Guan Mountain (one of Taiwan's 10 tallest peaks), Little Guan Mountain (3,248 meters) and Beinan Main Mountain (3,295 meters). Hiking its entire 37-kilometer length takes at least five days.
According to Foster, one of the attractions of South Section Two is that there are several refuges along the way where trekkers can sleep. "Thus there's no need to carry a tent. Another advantage is that we can rely on the local water sources," he said. Foster, who will lead the first trek in April this year, will be accompanied by a team of aboriginal porters.
Day 8 will be a tough one, but if all goes to plan, the party will cover 14 kilometers and gain 1,300 meters in altitude. By the end of the day they will be able to see the Batongguan Historical Trail, which was built by the Ching dynasty (1644-1912) authorities in 1875 to expand their control over eastern Taiwan, and to facilitate migration from west to east. A first-grade national landmark, the trail originally stretched 152 kilometers from Zhushan in Nantou County to Yuli in Hualian County. Various sections of the path have been restored and can be explored by trekkers.
On Day 9, the hikers will scale Xiuguluan Mountain (3,860 meters), Taiwan's third-highest peak. Making their way down from the summit, they will come to the remains of an old gold mine. The following night will be spent at Batongguan, the high-altitude meadow that gives its name to the historical trail. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Japanese colonial authorities maintained a police station here to monitor the area's aboriginal population.
South Section Two can be tackled in either direction. However, trekkers taking the trip will hike from south to north. "This way the trek builds to a climax," Foster said. "On Day 11 we will, conditions permitting, reach the main peak of Yushan. Days 12 and 13 will be devoted to bagging some of Yushan's lesser peaks."
Climbing Yushan from Batongguan is extremely arduous, but avoids the bottleneck around the most popular approach, which is from Tataka to Paiyun Lodge. Tataka is on the road between Alishan and Dongpu, and at Paiyun Lodge, there are dormitories and space where hikers can pitch tents. Applications for permits to hike Yushan via the lodge often outnumber places available by a ratio of 20 to one.
Yushan National Park covers 1,055 square kilometers, almost 3 percent of the Republic of China's total land area. A network of 17 refuges, plus 30 places where camping is permitted, allows adventurous hikers to escape the crowds of lowland Taiwan for several days at a time.
Visitors who want to enjoy the park but do not feel up to a long hike can try the family-friendly Zhongzhiguan Old Trail, a 3.5-kilometer-long path beside the Southern Cross-Island Highway.
Among those convinced that Yushan National Park boasts world-class mountain scenery is Lyndon Punt, a Taipei-based expatriate who used to be a hiking columnist for one of Taiwan's English-language newspapers.
"I remember waking up at dawn and seeing deer grazing, and in the evenings they'd come near the tent and emit shrill cries of enquiry," recalled Punt, who hiked the entire South Section Two or parts of it several times in the 1990s.
"Standing on the spine of the island above the haze of the urban lowlands, on a clear day it's possible to see peaks over 40 kilometers away," Punt said. "It's an exhilarating feeling to be above the clouds and see wave after wave of forested ridges and rocky peaks receding into the distance. The opportunity to experience expansive views in an alpine setting requires a lot of effort and some luck with the weather, but it's well worth it."
Copyright © 2009 by Steven Crook
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