Taipei's Xiangshan Elephant Mountain Hike: The Metro Ride and the Climb to the Best Skyline View
10 hours ago
6 min read
When I arrive in a new city, I sometimes have a plan and sometimes have none at all. One habit survives either way: I try to get to the highest point and look back at the whole place from above. In Taipei, that means Xiangshan, the Elephant Mountain, a wooded hill on the eastern edge of the city that sits right up against the skyline.
The pleasure of it is how easy it is to reach. You do not need a car or a tour. You ride the metro to the end of the line, walk for ten minutes, and start climbing. Half an hour later, Taipei 101 is sitting in the frame as if it had been put there for the photograph.
At the top of Elephant Mountain, with Taipei 101 over my shoulder.
The ride out on the MRT
The journey begins on Taipei's metro, which everyone calls the MRT. It is worth looking at the station properly before you board, not as a sightseer ticking boxes, but as someone who rides the Tube at home. Everything is spotlessly clean and shining, the trains run on time, and the screens tell you exactly when the next one is due.
The manners are as striking as the cleanliness. There are lines painted on the platform and people stand on them. When the doors open, they step aside to let passengers off before they board. There is no eating or drinking on the MRT, nobody plays music out of a phone speaker, and the seats set aside for the elderly and for pregnant women are left for them.
A Taipei MRT platform: bright, spotless and easy to navigate.
Then there is the price. When I filmed, a single journey cost between 20 and 65 New Taiwan dollars, roughly 50 pence to £1.50, and a day pass for unlimited travel was about £3.50. For comparison, a single peak journey inside zone one on the London Underground is £3.10, and a cash single is £7. In other words, you can ride Taipei's entire network all day for about half the price of one cash ticket on the Tube.
One small detail I loved: many stations have umbrella rental stands. If it is raining when you arrive, you rent one for an hour, two hours or a day, and an hour cost NT$19 when I was there. Compare that with the sudden £20 umbrella outside a London station when the heavens open.
Getting to the trailhead
Take the Red Line to its end at Xiangshan station. From the exit, it is about ten minutes on foot to the bottom of the stairs, through the eastern side of the city, where the glass towers of Xinyi put me in mind of Singapore. Google Maps has the trail and the main viewpoints marked, which is useful once you are under the trees and the path starts to split.
I took a small detour on the way to a Taoist temple on the hillside, built by an elderly lady back in the 1950s. It has seen plenty of change since, but it is still there, with fine views of its own. In the spirit of the place, I went with the flow, which meant walking back down and starting the climb all over again.
The climb
At the bottom it looks simple enough: a flight of stone steps disappearing up into the trees. What I discovered over the course of the morning is that it gets steeper the further you go. The path is not one continuous climb, though. It rises and falls, with short descents and flatter stretches between the steeper flights, so you are not grinding uphill the whole way.
The first flights of stone steps at the foot of Elephant Mountain.
The hills on this side of the city were in use long before the modern trail. During the Japanese colonial period, industrial tracks brought charcoal and tea down into Taipei, and earlier still the range was used by indigenous groups. The proper stone steps and viewing platforms you climb today were laid by the Taipei government in the mid-1990s. As the Xinyi District grew, and especially once Taipei 101 went up, this became the obvious place to come and look at it.
For locals it is more than a viewpoint. It is a free outdoor gym on their doorstep. People of all ages are on the steps: older residents keeping a steady pace, some jogging sections, younger people taking the stairs two at a time. It is a proper workout for the calves and thighs, and because the steps are uneven in places, you are constantly adjusting your footing. Taiwan's life expectancy is often quoted at around 84, a couple of years above the UK's, and watching the regulars here, I can see why.
The view of Taipei 101
And then, there it is: Taipei from the mountain that sits against it. A dense, serious, working capital, with Taipei 101 rising straight out of the middle of it and the hills folding away behind.
Taipei 101 from the Elephant Mountain viewpoint.
From up here you also get a sense of why so many people in Taipei wear masks. The haze over the city is not fog but pollution from traffic, mopeds and lorries. I was there in January with a decent breeze blowing it out to sea, which helped, and it tends to build as the weather warms up.
Tips for hiking Elephant Mountain
Ride the Red Line to Xiangshan station. The trailhead is about ten minutes' walk from the exit.
Allow 20 to 30 minutes of climbing from the bottom of the steps to the main viewpoints, more if you stop often.
Go in the cooler months if you can. January was brisk and pleasant, and the climb is harder work in the heat.
Do not wear black. I did, and the sun found me as soon as it came out.
Bring water and decent shoes. The steps are uneven in places and get steeper as you go.
Use Google Maps. The trail and its viewpoints are marked, which helps where the paths split.
Keep it free. There is no ticket or guide needed; you tap in, tap out and walk.
Staying connected
I had data the whole time I was in Taiwan, which made moving around much simpler. I used Roamless, a global eSIM that you install once and that works in more than 200 countries. Here it connected to Chunghwa and stayed solid, so maps, checking times and uploading clips all just worked. Use code WONDERING with Roamless for a discount on your first order.
Tours and more of Taipei
Elephant Mountain is easy to do on your own, but if you would like company, there is a Taipei night bike tour that finishes with the Elephant Mountain hike, or you can browse Elephant Mountain tours and experiences and walking and biking tours in Taipei. For a weekend morning in the city, my piece on Taipei's Flower and Jade Market is a good companion to this walk.
Browse more Taipei tours and activities on Viator:
Sort your cash before you go
Taiwan uses the New Taiwan dollar, and smaller stalls and shops often prefer cash. Money Maps compares bureau de change and online exchange rates near you, free on the App Store.
Where to stay
Anywhere near the Red Line puts Elephant Mountain within easy reach, and Da'an is only a few stops from Xiangshan. Compare hotels on Booking.com or Airbnb, or use the map below to see what is available.
Flights
Flying to Taipei? Compare fares below.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get to Elephant Mountain by MRT?
Take the Red Line to its last stop, Xiangshan. The trailhead is about a ten-minute walk from the station exit.
How long does the Elephant Mountain hike take?
Allow 20 to 30 minutes of climbing from the foot of the steps to the main viewpoints, plus time for photographs.
Is Elephant Mountain free?
Yes. There is no ticket and you do not need a guide.
How much is the Taipei MRT?
When I filmed, a single journey was NT$20 to 65, roughly 50 pence to £1.50, and a day pass was about £3.50.
The Wondering Englishman has visited over 90 countries so far, and the view from Elephant Mountain is one of the best free city views I know.
Sources: fares, history and details as given in my film Pondering Why London is Failing While Out for a Hike in Taipei, filmed in January. Prices were those at the time of filming and may have changed.
Photo credit: all photos by The Wondering Englishman.
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links, so I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
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Safe travels, The Wondering Englishman
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