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Table of Contents
4D3N DIY TRAVEL GUIDE TO TAIWAN
Taiwan Travel Guide
Day 1: Taipei City Touris Spots
Day 2: Taipei Expo Park, Yangmingshan, Beitou & More!
– Yangmingshan Travel Guide
– Beitou Travel Guide
Day 3: Keelung City, Yehliu Geopark, Shifen Old Street, Jiufen, Jinguashi and more!
Day 4: Taichung City, Taiwan
Yangmingshan National Park was established in 1985 and is next to Mt. Yangming, one of the most famous mountains in Taiwan. It is massively popular and features volcanic formations with fragrant flowers during all four seasons. It is also known locally as the ‘Backyard of Taipei’ owing to the abundance of flora which thrives in its tropical climate, also loved by some of the unusual animals there.
Being the only national park in Taipei City, Yangmingshan National Park has always been popular with locals and foreigners alike. The park not only has lots of popular scenic sites such as Qingtiangang and the Zhuzihu but unusually the opportunity to see some of the wild animals and then eat them in the cafes! Perhaps not such a politically correct idea these days!
Pre-booked Tours
It’s better to plan your travel so you don’t have to waste hours in thinking if a place to go when you are there. Instead, write it down on a paper/notebook or type it down on your phone. Plus book your activities online beforehand as its way cheaper than buying it when you get there.
Where to get cheaper tours?Based on our personal experiences, Klook Are a great company for discounted tours for your trip to Taiwan and we took the following from KLOOK.
Yangmingshan National Park & Hot Springs Tour
How to get there?
You can get to the Park’s bus terminal (Yangmingshan Bus Terminal) in less than an hour and all the buses to other destinations within Yang Ming Shan National Park can be found there as well. The reason you will need to consider ongoing buses is that different features of the whole national park (see below) are pretty widely spaced, so unless you have your own transport, a bus is a logical option.
| By Bus | From MRT 2 Jiantan station (劍潭), leave Exit 1 (Shilin Night Market), and walk to the left-side bus station, buses heading north. Take either city bus R5 or small bus (PREFERRED) S15 or S17 to Yangmingshan station (陽明山). The fare is NT$15, payable by cash or Easycard. This station serves as a base to explore the mountain, and the area has a few shops like 7/11 and a Starbucks. Bus 260 also leaves from Taipei Main Station, although Jiantan is recommended. Bus S15 from Jiantan is best, as it travels past the main transfer station to other destinations such as Xiaoyoukeng (小油坑), Lengshuikeng (冷水坑), and Qingtiangang Grassland Trails (擎天崗). |
To get to these destinations, you can take Bus S8 (小8).
*It operates from 7:00am to 5:30pm daily, with 5 to 8 minutes interval time.
Yang Ming Park is reachable by walking from the main bus terminal, probably taking about 30 minutes for this 2km walk. It seems like a long way for but trusts me, it is totally worth the effort as the scenery along the way is just totally awesome. You can pass by beautifully-landscaped garden compounds which are filled with purple lavender in the right season as well as roads lined with white cherry blossom. Even if your not a flower lover is an amazing spectacle!
Walking this route gives you access to massive Yang Ming Park.
It is most famous for it’s Flower Clock (花鐘), which compared to its pictures, I found a little disappointing – tribute to good photography I guess!!, even so, this is a great hiking place / budget-friendly tourist area which Is not that far to travel to from the city.
travel.taipei
travel.taipei
Suggested Months: 03、04、10、05、11
| By Bus | If you prefer not to walk, From Yangmingshan Bus Station, take Bus 125 to Yangmingshan Park. |
Zhuzihu (竹子湖)
The dinky little village of Zhuzihu is tucked between volcanic mountains in Yangmingshan and is another must visit place and is known for its calla lily fields. There are numerous paths into the fields and over waterways, and for a few hundred of the local currency you will be allowed to pick some of your own to take home – if you’re not into that you buy them in nearby stalls.
Suggested Months: 02, 03、04、
|
By Bus |
From Yangmingshan Bus Station take Bus 131, S8, or S9 to Zhuzihu (竹子湖). |
| Take the S8 [ 小8 ] bus that leaves from Shipai MRT all the way to Zhuzihu [ 竹子湖 ] Once there you can take any bus that goes to the main visitors center in Yangmingshan and transfer to the S8 or S9 [ 小8 or 小9 ] |
Taipei’s very own dormant volcano. Xiaoyoukeng is considered by most to be the most beautiful scenic spot in Yangmingshan National Park. You can understand why as you walk the scenic trail of Xiaoyoukeng. It is famed for the fumaroles, sulfur crystals, hot springs and spectacular ‘landslide terrain’ formed by post-volcanic activity.
Xiaoyoukeng (小油坑) (literal translation ‘Little Oil Pit’)is around 20 minutes away from Zhuzi Hu by bus and although it may look close on the map, don’t be tempted to walk, it’s further than it looks.
The shuttle bus Take you to the bus stop for Xiaoyoukeng. It takes another 3 minutes walk to the observatory platform some 50 meters away from the pit. You can see the steam gushing out from the rocks with sulfur, and if the wind is blowing at you, you will get the heat and smell of sulfur as well.
Suggested Months: All Year Round
| By Bus | From Yangmingshan Bus Station take Bus 108 or 124 to Xiaoyoukeng (小油坑). |
Mount Qixing
Mount Qixing (Seven Stars Mountain) is the highest peak in Yangmingshan National Park is a popular hiking trail and you can access it directly from the park headquarters (Miaopu entrance) and is known as the Mt. Qixing Hiking Trail (2.5 Kms.). About 1.6km into the trail, you’ll reach Qixing Park, which is a scenic rest area that also provides great views of the peak, as well as over the city of Taipei. Carry on up the trail and you’ll reach the summit of Mt. Qixing. There is an alternative 1.7km side route down to Lengshuikeng where you can grab a relaxing free dip at the public hot spring.
Suggested Months: All Year Round
| By Bus | Board the 108 shuttle bus at the Yangmingshan bus station or Headquarters Visitor Center and alight at the Xiaoyoukeng. |
Lengshuikeng (冷水坑)
Lengshuikeng is popular rest spot for visitors hiking or touring Yangmingshan National Park, has a visitor center with a small restaurant/café, a formal hot spring building (not for the bashful as you are separated into genders and must enter naked), as well as an outdoor foot-soaking. All hot springs are free to the public.
Oddly translated into English as cold water pit, they are very much hot springs at Lengshuikeng but a little cooler than others in the area that can be 40c, so ideal for those not quite ready to be cooked! If you not ready for the full immersion experience, just try the easy foot soaking pool!
Suggested Months: 01、02、10、11、12
Opening Hours: 09:00～16:30
| By Bus | From Yangmingshan Bus Station take Bus 108 or S15 to either Lengshuikeng or Lengshuikeng Visitor Centre. |
Menghuan Pond
Menghuan Pond is an ecological conservation zone and if famous for the extremely rare Taiwanese Isoetes (a perennial aquatic fern) as well as other aquatic animals and plants. A chorus fit for a choir is a constant from the frogs, insects, and birds that live around the pond, and is quite something to hear. Qixing Park has a pavilion, corridor, and bathrooms, and if the weather is kind you can see great views of the green hills of Mt. Qixing, Taipei City, Mt. Shamao or the Syue mountain range.
Menghuan Pond is located next to Lengshuikeng (冷水坑), a cooler-temperature hot spring with public facilities.
Suggested Months: 01、02、10、11、12
Opening Hours: 09:00～16:30
Qingtiangang Grassland Trails (擎天崗)
Qingtiangang is another location worth a visit in Yangmingshan National Park. It is a beautiful grassland area, 20 minutes by bus from Xiaoyoukeng. Originally it was a tea plantation and farmland which in the 1930s, was changed into cattle farms which all closed some years ago apparently due to low demand for traditionally reared cattle. Some cattle remain to roam free around the area, not to end up on your plate but because they are a tourist attraction! It’s a vegan-friendly place to visit!
You can access Qingtiangang easily by car or bus and a drop into the visitor center is very worthwhile as there is a free guided tours start (twice a day: 9:30 and 13:30). Once you are there follow the 2.4-kilometer-long circular trail to meet those grazing cattle on the grassland as well as a number of historic ruins on the way. Weather permitting, which is normally Spring, the Jinshan plain, and the Taipei basin crowd the uninhibited views to the horizon.
Suggested Months: All Year Round
| By Bus | From Yangmingshan Bus Station take Bus 108 or S15 to Qingtiangang (擎天崗). |
Transportation
Round trip ticket is 60 NTD per person per day. Service Tel:+886-2-28616206
| Routes: | Yangjin Road (Highway 2A) , Bailaka Highway, Zhonghu Road of Armaments , Jingshan Road, Xingyuan Street. |
| Bus Stops: | Yangmingshan Bus Station, Headquarters Visitor Center, Yangmingshuwu, Zhuzihu, Mt. Qixing, Erziping, Xiaoyoukeng, Zhonghu, Menghuan Pond, Qingtiangang, Lengshuikeng (to Bus Station), Songyuan, Juansi Waterfall, Yangmingshan Bus Station. |
| Bus schedule: | 7:00～17:30 daily; Average interval of 10-20 minutes during weekends and holidays, on weekdays an average interval of 30-40 minutes. |
2. Minibus S15 (Capital Bus)
| Jiantan MRT Station ←→ Qingtiangang (or Jingshan Recreation Area) | ||||
| Weekdays | Weekends and Public Holidays | |||
| 5:40 | 10:20 | 15:00 | 5:40 | 12:00 |
| 6:20 | 10:40 | 15:20 | 6:20 | 12:30 |
| 6:40 | 11:00 | 15:40 | 6:50 | 13:10 |
| 7:00 | 11:20 | 16:00 | 7:20 | 14:00 |
| 7:20 | 11:40 | 16:20 | 8:00 | 14:30 |
| 7:40 | 12:00 | 16:40 | 8:30 | 15:00 |
| 8:00 | 12:20 | 17:00 | 9:00 | 15:30 |
| 8:20 | 12:40 | 17:30 | 9:30 | 16:00 |
| 8:40 | 13:00 | 18:10 | 10:00 | 17:30 |
| 9:00 | 13:20 | 19:30 | 10:30 | 19:30 |
| 9:20 | 13:40 | 20:50 | 11:00 | 20:50 |
| 9:40 | 14:00 | 22:30 | 11:30 | 22:30 |
| 10:00 | 14:20 | |||
| 14:40 | ||||
| Service Tel: 0800-000-866 |
3. #681:
Donghu ←→ Yangmingshan Second Parking Lot (06:00～18:30)
|
Weekdays: |
Departure times at Donghu: |
| 05:30, 06:00, 06:15, 06:30, 06:45, 07:00, 07:30, 08:00, 08:30, 09:00, 09:30, 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 13:00, 13:40, 14:20, 15:00, 15:20, 15:40, 16:00, 16:20, 16:40, 17:00, 17:20, 17:40, 18:00 | |
| Departure times at Yangmingshan Second Parking Lot: | |
| 06:30, 07:10, 07:30, 07:50, 08:10, 08:30, 09:00, 09:30, 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 13:30, 13:30, 14:00, 14:40, 15:20, 16:00, 16:20, 16:40, 17:00, 17:20, 17:40, 18:00, 18:30, 19:40 | |
|
Weekends and Public Holidays: |
Departure times at Donghu: |
| 06:00, 07:00, 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:30 | |
| Departure times at Yangmingshan Second Parking Lot: | |
| 07:30, 09:00, 11:00, 12:30, 14:30, 15:30, 17:30, 20:00 |
4. Minibus S9 (Danan Bus)
| Beitou ←→ Zhuzihu | ||||
| 5:20 | 7:45 | 11:00 | 15:00 | 18:20 |
| 5:45 | 8:20 | 11:40 | 15:40 | 19:00 |
| 6:10 | 9:00 | 12:20 | 16:20 | 19:40 |
| 6:30 | 9:40 | 13:00 | 17:00 | 20:20 |
| 7:10 | 10:20 | 13:40 | 17:40 | 21:00 |
| 14:20 | 22:50 | |||
| MRT Beitou Station ←→ Headquarters Visitor Center ←→ Zhuzihu Service Tel: 0800-089-456 |
5. 1717 Royal Bus
| Taipei ←→ Jinshan | |||||||
| Taipei→Jinshan | Jinshan→Taipei | ||||||
| Weekdays | Weekends and Public Holidays | Weekdays | Weekends and Public Holidays | ||||
| 6:30 | 14:30 | 7:00 | 13:30 | 6:00 | 15:20 | 7:00 | 14:00 |
| 6:40 | 15:30 | 8:00 | 14:30 | 7:00 | 16:00 | 8:00 | 14:30 |
| 7:00 | 16:30 | 8:30 | 15:30 | 8:00 | 16:40 | 9:00 | 15:30 |
| 8:00 | 17:30 | 9:00 | 16:30 | 9:00 | 17:00 | 10:00 | 16:30 |
| 9:00 | 18:30 | 9:30 | 17:30 | 10:00 | 18:00 | 10:40 | 17:30 |
| 10:00 | 19:00 | 10:00 | 18:30 | 11:30 | 19:00 | 11:30 | 18:30 |
| 11:00 | 10:40 | 12:30 | 12:30 | ||||
| 12:00 | 11:40 | 13:30 | 13:00 | ||||
| 13:30 | 12:40 | 14:30 | 13:30 | ||||
| Taipei(Bureau of National Health Insurance) → Headquarters Visitor Center → Mt.Qixing Bus Stop → Zhonghu → Jinshan Service Tel: 0800-551-687 |
6. #260:
Taipei Railway Station←→ Yangmingshan Bus Station (6:00～22:30)
Peak Hour: Every 7～10 minutes
Off-Peak Hour: Ever 10～15 minutes
Service Tel: +886-2-28616206
7. #230:
MRT Beitou Station ←→ Yangmingshan Bus Station (5:30～22:45) Every 30～45 minutes
Service Tel: 0800-089-456
8. Red#5
(Connects to MRT at Jiantan MRT Station):
Jiantan MRT station ←→ Yangmingshan Bus Station (5:30～24:40)
Peak Hour: Every 5～8 minutes
Off-Peak Hour: Every 12～15mintues
Service Tel: +886-2-28616206
Tips and Reminders
1.High-temperature areas such as fumaroles and geothermal springs are unstable. Always stay on the trail. 2.To avoid slipping and getting lost, please stay on the trial. 3.Trails may be slippery, walk slowly. 4.Use headlights at all times when driving on mountainous roads, in fog use fog lights and drive slowly. 5.Be prepared for changeable weather before climbing mountains and hiking. 6.If poisonous snakes or wasps appear on the trail, leave quickly and quietly.
7.Do not wear colorful clothes or use perfumes, so as to avoid attack by wasps.
Overall, Yangmingshan National Park is one of the perfect places to get close to the nature in Taipei City!
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With over 8 years of global travel experience and a Master’s degree in Travel Journalism, our author brings a blend of academic expertise and real-world exploration to ByAJayRo.com. Passionate about discovering unique destinations and sharing insider tips, they provide practical advice and authentic insights to enhance your travel experiences.
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