Guanyin Mountain

 

An awesome mountain peak overlooking the north of Taiwan.

WUGU DISTRICT —​​​​​​​The peak of this mountain can be seen from pretty much anywhere in Taipei, and it's peak lends views of pretty much the entire northern corner of Taiwan. It's named after the Taoist god it's shape resembles.

Once you're onto the main road heading up the mountain you'll see many steep peaks and the view in all directions will start to improve.

You'll know you've reached the hiking area once you start to see parking lots and vendors all over the place. This is a popular area to picnic and many who don't feel like making the hike are satisfied to just enjoy views from the tree walk here.

There's multiple trails that'll take you up, but I always go for the trail that starts here. You'll pass even more vendors and old folks doing KTV. There's a nice little café where you can get anything from eggs to beer before or after going up.

The trail starts out pretty steep and intense. Even when I was in great shape I generally got winded here. The first leg of the trail takes about 20 minutes and the you'll come to a T. Go left.

You'll hike a bit more, maybe 10-15 minutes before reaching the top.

This is a great trail to do anytime of year. I kind of wish I had a telephoto lens to make the most of the view, but recently I've kinda stopped putting effort into photography in general.

I've realized that stories and subjects seem to be a lot more important than photos. But I hope you've enjoyed these ones.

This hike can be finished in the morning with plenty of time to explore other places such as Bali or Water Buffalo Valley.