If you’re in Taipei and you’re thinking about going for a Hike, then what’s better than Qixing mountain, the highest mountain in Taipei. In a sunny day, you’ll have an amazing view of the city from the top of the mountain.
There are different ways to get to Qixing mountain and do the mt. qixing hike from the center of Taipei city, I’ll talk a little bit about each one and I’ll focus on the way how I did it, which I recommend.
I first made a one hour long walk through Yangminghshan Park before getting to the entrance of the Qixing Mountain trail, from there it took me another hour to get to the top of the mountain.
This is perfect for a half day trip, if you get up early enough you can be done with all of it before noon. If you still have the energy you could go to the hot springs.
First let me show you a gallery of photos of Yangmingshan and then one of Qixing Mountain, just to completely convince you that you have to go.
Photos of Yangmingshan
Swipe left or right
Photos of Qixing Mountain, Taipei, Taiwan
How to Go to Go to Qixing Mountain?
There are a couple of ways, I’ll give you 3 options
From Jiantan Station to Qixing Mountain
- You can make your way to Jiantan station and take bus S15.
- In Jiantan station take exit 1 and walk to the bus stop on the left side
- Take the bus S15 all the way to Lengshuikeng (冷水坑)
- The ride from Jiantan Station to Lengshuikeng takes around 1 hour and 15 minutes
- From Lengshuikeng you’ll walk and climb for around 50 minutes and you’ll make it to the top.
From Jiantan Station to Qixing Mountain Option 2
- Go to Jiantan Station and take exit 1
- Take bus 117 and get off at Xiaoyoukeng Service Center
- From Jiantan to Xiaoyoukeng it’ll take you 1 hour and 20 minutes.
- When you’re in Xiaoyoukeng you’ll walk for around 30 minutes to get to the highest peak of Taipei
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From Mingchuan Bus Stop to Qixing Mountain
This is how I did it.
- Go to Jiantan station and take exit 1 ( You can get here from Taipei Main Station)
- Get on the right side and walk straight, cross the street and keep on walking straight on the right side until you find a zebra line to get to the other side, the one on your right.
- Cross, you’ll be in front of Ming Chuan Univerity
- The bus stops will be on your right-hand side, walk to the furthest one
- Take bus Express 223
- Get off at Yangmingshan Bus Terminal
- The ride from Mingchuan University to Yangmingshan bus terminal will take 30 minutes
- From Yangmingshan bus terminal to the main peak of mount Qixing it’ll take you 2 hours.
Which is the Best Way to Go?
If you take the short bus ride then you’ll have to walk for almost 2 hours or a little bit less depending on how fast you move. To me, this option was perfect as I like to walk among woods and really anywhere with a lot of green and flowers around.
If you go to Qixing mountain following the same route I did then you’ll have a good time walking for an hour in Yangmingshan park, take a look at the Yangmingshan clock and rejoice on mountain views.
You’ll eventually hit the entrance of the Qixing mountain trail.
If you’re worried about getting lost don’t worry, just follow Google maps, that’s what I did, the minute I got off the bus I followed Google map’s instructions all the way to the top of Qixing main peak, the cellphone reception is great.
There’s also a visitor center
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Conclusion
Going to Yangmingshan and Qixing mountain are great half-day activities for anyone who loves outdoor activities. There are different ways to get here, some of them require long bus rides and short walks and others the opposite.
There’s no entry fee for Yangmingshan nor Qixing mountain. Don’t forget to take some water with you and some fruits.
Thanks for reading.