Category: urban

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Mt. Qixing Mountain, Taiwan

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Qixing Mountain (also Cising) stands as the highest and most central peak in Yangmingshan National Park.

All trails are well-maintained with stone steps and converge at the windswept main peak.

The summit is the ultimate reward, offering a magnificent 360-degree panorama of the entire national park, the Taipei cityscape, and the northern coast on clear days.

The national park is known for its cherry blossoms, hot springs, sulfur deposits, fumaroles, venomous snakes, and hiking trails, including Taiwan’s tallest dormant volcano, Qixing (Seven Star) Mountain rising to 1,120 m (3,675 ft). 

There are several Visitors Centres, each very helpful in helping you decide on hikes ➙ starting and finishing. Public transportation is super crowded here.

As you can see, clouds covered the peak when I was there. Not unusual.

Stone steps keep you out of the mud in most cases. But they are irregular shapes and sizes.

The summit is often crowded. I didn’t linger long.

Actually, I enjoyed the clouds blowing in and out, sometimes revealing the vista below.

It can get windy up here, of course

Volcanic sediments in this pond give it a milky appearance.

I finished near Lengshuikeng Hot Springs and would love to have finished with a soak. But these Springs have unusual opening hours. Locked when I was there. AND I was worried about getting back to Taipei on the busy tourist buses.

So I simply soaked my feet in the outdoor pothole.

All-in-all, it’s well worth getting out to Yangmingshan National Park if you are ever in Taipei.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.


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Elephant Mountain, Taipei

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Many tourists visiting Taipei, Taiwan climb short, steep Elephant Mountain to get a great view of the city, including landmark Taipei 101 — a building 101 stories high.

  • 1.1 km
  • 141m elevation gain on well maintained stone steps
  • normally very crowded at all hours of the day and evening

Best is to climb up one trail, descend on another. There are many options. So many, in fact, that the signage gets confusing. Use a phone app like AllTrails.

I climbed Elephant mountain twice while in Taipei. It’s easy access from a subway station.

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Jiantanshan Trail, Taipei

My favourite hostel in Taiwan — Meander 1948 — offers a weekly free special event. Often a hike.

My week we signed up for the Jiantanshan Trail, easily accessible by bus or subway.

This trail is famous for its unique vistas from its various lookout points.

The “Old Place Lookout” is the most sought-after spot, which provides a thrilling, unobstructed view of airplanes taking off and landing at the nearby Songshan Airport.

Screenshot

The hike also features classic, postcard-worthy views of the iconic, red-pillared Grand Hotel and the Keelung River.

First 5 star hotel in Taipei

The trail system consists of a well-maintained network of paved paths, wooden boardwalks, and stone staircases that wind along the ridge.

PJ, our guide, prefers this hike to the more popular, nearby Elephant Mountain as the vistas are more varied.

This section in the city is just one part of the much longer Taipei Grand Hike which PJ completed in 2022;

The most amazing sight for me was the giant orb weaver spider. Adult females are very large, with a body length of 25 to 50 mm (1 to 2 inches).  Happily, it’s rare to have cases where humans are bitten.

I’ve seen hardly any spiders nor biting insects after months in tropical S.E. Asia. (But huge spiders are common on Hong Kong hiking trails.)

After the hike, PJ took us to a couple of spots for local specialities.

Shaved Ice

This is a variation of red bean cake. Most of us opted for whipped cream filling, rather than the more savoury alternatives.

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MacRitchie Reservoir & TreeTop Walk Loop, Singapore

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

MacRitchie Reservoir is Singapore‘s oldest. One of the island nation’s most popular parks.

Highlight for me was seeing 2 of the world’s smallest hoofed animals, the lesser mouse deer.

Not expecting these little guys — about 45 cm (18 inches) and 2 kg (4.4 lb) — my first thought seeing them in the foliage is that they were GIANT RATS. 😀

You can hike a multitude of trails at MacRitchie ➙ or go kayak / canoeing.

I tried the MacRitchie Reservoir and TreeTop Walk Loop.

  • 12.2km
  • 3–3.5hr
  • 281m elevation gain
  • Zig Zag bridge
  • Performing Arts Pavilion

Unfortunately, I arrived at the TreeTop Walk about 15 minutes after it closed — and, no, you cannot sneak across when locked up. 😀

I had to backtrack a bit. Then continue to the next landmark, Jelutong Tower.

I’m finding the flat jungle walks in Singapore mostly offer views of … jungle.

The tower finally gave me a chance to get up high and see the surrounding vista.

A big surprise is to see so few insects and spiders in October. Nice.

After a couple of months in S.E. Asia, I’m well used to macaques. You see them many times on this hike. But most on the Singapore Island Country Club.

Somewhat marshy in places, this park has a lot of high quality boardwalk.

I was on boardwalk as darkness fell. Lovely over the water.

I shortened the loop somewhat because it got very dark on narrow boardwalks.

Because I was still in the city, I caught a nearby bus and was quickly back to my hostel.

MacRitchie is a terrific urban hike.

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Singapore Botanic Gardens

by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Singapore Botanic Gardens is a huge tropical green space located at the fringe of the Orchard Road shopping district.

I walked the Singapore Botanic Gardens Loop. Plus some side trips.

This 3.9km trail offers a delightful walk through the a lush tropical oasis and the country’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

IF you wanted to walk every trail, it would take perhaps 3 hours. The park is huge.

Singapore Botanic Gardens Map (https://www.nparks.gov.sg/sbg/visit-us)

More than 10,000 species of flora are spread over its 82 hectares (200 acres) area, which is stretched vertically; the longest distance between the northern and southern ends is 2.5 km (1.6 mi).

The Botanic Gardens receives about 4.5 million visitors annually. …

The National Orchid Garden is the main attraction within the Botanic Gardens. Located on the mid-western side of the Garden, the hilly three-hectare site has a collection of more than 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids of orchids. …

Vanda Miss Joaquim, the national flower of Singapore

The park is free. But there is an extra admission cost for the Orchard Garden.

It’s Singapore, so everything is done with quality.

Desert Landscape

You’ll see many different birds. Chickens. But the most interesting for me are the many Monitor Lizards. Mostly carnivorous. Growing to  a length of 1 – 1.5m.

Read a detailed review with photos – A Visitor Guide to Singapore Botanic Gardens

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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Campuhan Ridge Trail, Ubud, Bali

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

The Bukit Campuhan Ridge Trail is super popular with Ubud tourists as you can walk there from almost any accommodation in the city.

I went early and saw very few, other than morning trail runners.

You can continue to the end — but I turned back after about 2km when the paved-block track ended — at buildings and roadway.

The trail starts at the evocative Gunung Lebah Temple as you’ll see in the video.

The word “Campuhan” itself means “where two rivers meet”. You’ll be on a ridge between those rivers. Vistas are mostly overgrown so you don’t actually get to see much water. 😀

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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Knox Mountain via Apex Trail, Kelowna, Canada

Visiting friends in Kelowna, I saw the Apex Trail listed #1 for the city on AllTrails.

  • 4.2km return
  • 267m elevation gain

It is super popular with walkers, runners, and mountain bike cyclists.

My friends there walk trails on Knox Mountain every day of the year.

Steep trails lead to great views of both Kelowna and Okanagan lake.

Check the official website.

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177-Mile ‘Denver Orbital Trail’ 

Michael Tormey mapped out a route that circumnavigates Denver using existing trails — he’s calling it the ‘Denver Orbital Trail’ …

Tormey divided it into 28 sections, each designed to be approachable and accessible sections that almost anyone could complete as a day hike. …

Tormey has the route and all the sections mapped with AllTrails on the Denver Orbital Trail website. …

GearJunkie



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Top of Innsbruck, Austria

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Directly from Innsbruck city centre, you can ride the Nordkette Cable Car to Hafelekar station (2,269m).

I did the surprisingly rugged hike from the Top of Innsbruck to Pfeishütte — for a delicious pasta lunch.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

It’s called Goetheweg: Karstube to Pfeishütte on AllTrails.

  • 6.8km one way (13.6 return plus side trips)
  • 330 m elevation gain one way
  • see Zugspitze: the highest mountain in Germany

You might guess the challenge is ridge walking — but there’s nothing with exposure.

I was wearing trail running shoes in late June. And they were NOT sufficient for the snow, ice, and loose scree. At minimum wear approach shoes. Most Europeans were wearing light hiking boots.

Poles would help for sure. If I did it again I’d carry YakTrax, just in case.

The weather kept changing. My jacket went on and off a dozen times.

Your lift ticket includes entry to the Alpenzoo which we did on the way back to Innsbruck.

It’s small, but well worth the stop. The focus is on animals indigenous to the Alps, though there are over 150 animal species. It’s built on the vertical slope of the mountain.

I was most enthusiastic to see the European Brown Bear and Lynx.

If you get to Innsbruck, this hike is highly recommended. A terrific hiking day.

Note ➙ it’s Europe, so there are easily a dozen variations to this route. You do not need to backtrack, for example. 10Adventures suggests hiking late in the day — sleeping at Pfeishütte — and walking out day two.