Bailusishan, Kangleshan and Mingjushan Hiking Trails (Wuzhi Mountains)

It twists left and right as it winds uphill, so it is also called the Fifty Bends Trail; by halfway most walkers have lost their sense of direction, so a compass is useful. The valley has many kinds of ancient ferns, such as 筆筒樹 and 觀音座蓮, and trees such as 相思樹 and 江某樹 grow strongly and give off phytoncides. The Kangleshan Trail starts beside Huangshigong Temple on Section 5 of Chenggong Road, Neihu. It is shaded by trees and cool, the path most used by early-morning walkers, and its highest point is the best spot for viewing Dahu Park. An olive tree and a large banyan are the trail's main landmarks; the banyan is an old tree with a girth of 4 metres and dense foliage, which locals call the 'Uncle Banyan sacred tree'. The Mingjushan Hiking Trail keeps more of its original forest. Along the way are three 大葉雀榕 trees with girths similar to Kangleshan's sacred banyan, known as the 'Big Three'. It is a narrow path with a rural feel. Hikers usually combine the Mingjushan trail with the Bailusishan and Kangleshan trails. The Mingjushan trail ends at the Neigou Ecological Exhibition Hall, which you can visit on the way. The trailhead on Bailusishan is a small path. Perhaps because it is so close to the city, it passes a spoil area and vegetable plots, and the air still carries mixed smells. The Bailusishan trail, the 'Fifty Bends Trail', winds up gentle steps, but by halfway walkers usually lose their bearings. Along the trail stand dead trees in all kinds of shapes, most of them 山黃麻, a tree often found in this forest; so many 山黃麻 trees are not common in the remaining natural woodland around Taipei. The ancient ferns in the valley, such as 筆筒樹 and 觀音座蓮, grow one or two storeys high, a type of forest not often seen in Neihu. On the south slope there are sturdy 相思樹 and 江某樹 trees about one person's embrace in girth. Kangleshan and Mingjushan also have old trees, many of them large. On the Kangleshan trail is Taipei's largest olive tree. This century-old tree, with a girth of nearly 300 cm, stands on the uphill concrete road beside the remains of Shanhai Temple, which is said to have been demolished because it was an illegal structure. The olive tree has stood through a hundred years of weather and is still healthy. Beyond it the concrete ends and the path becomes tree roots and earth. Midway through the quiet forest is a large banyan with dense foliage, the landmark of the Kangleshan trail, which locals call the 'sacred tree'. This banyan, about 4 metres in girth, is also very old. In the later part of the Mingjushan trail there is a 大葉雀榕 with a girth about the same as the Kangleshan sacred tree. On this narrow rural path, two more large banyans stand not far from the entrance and midway. Their age is unknown, but on this section with limited views the 'Big Three' are the main sights. The Wuzhi Mountains lie north-east of the Taipei Basin, in a transitional position in both terrain and climate: the monsoon enters the plain here along the Keelung River valley, and the wide ranges around meet the flatland. Because the area combines two kinds of ecosystem, it is especially rich in species. This is why the three hills, though low, have a quiet setting and dense forest. Kangleshan is only half the height of Bailusishan, and although Dahu Park lies at the foot of Bailusishan, the highest point of the Kangleshan trail is the best place to view the park. The platform on the summit of Bailusishan looks over nearby Dahu Park and the Wuzhi Mountains, and further to Xizhi and Keelung. Nearby is a simple shed with a pebble path beside it and unpaved earth underfoot, quite different from the neat stone steps before and after it. The Bailusishan trail has its first rest pavilion at the first of the fifty bends, while Kangleshan's only pavilion, Shanshui Pavilion, is at the end of the trail. As the two sections are of similar length and both summits have places to rest, there are enough rest stops. The narrower Mingjushan trail ends on the bank of Neigou Creek, beside the flowing stream.

Translated and shortened by DealTaipei from Taiwan's national tourism database. Sources are on the terms page.