All the Views with None of the Crowds at Tiger Mountain

One of the most highly recommended things to do in Taipei is to hike Elephant Mountain. It offers spectacular views of Taipei, especially at sunset, when you can watch the city light up. It’s free, highly photogenic, and doesn’t take up too much time, which is no doubt why it appeals to so many. However, the downside to the Elephant Mountain Hike is that everyone and their mother has heard of it, which means that massive crowds of tourists and locals alike flock up there at all times of the day, making it absolutely unbearable if you like to have your own space. Luckily for everyone, there is a very simple way around this: skip it, and go to Tiger Mountain, instead.

The Tiger Mountain Trail has a few different starting points, but our very favourite starts right behind Fengtian Temple, which is beautiful to visit even by itself. We recommend taking at least ten minutes to walk around and admire the beautiful architecture!

Fengtian Temple is dedicated to the Jade Emperor, also known as the Heavenly Emperor, and draws huge crowds of worshippers on his birthday (the 9th day of the 1st Lunar Month). It was founded in 1862 by a monk who hung silk banners honouring the Jade Emperor in the entrance of the cave he lived in, lighting incense there too. When the cave was damaged during the Japanese Colonial Period, a bamboo temple was built in its place. The temple was gradually expanded during the 1960s and 1970s, and is well worth visiting for its beautiful carvings of phoenixes, dragons, and countless scenes from Chinese folk tales.

The trail head is around the back of the temple — just keep walking until you see a long staircase ascending up the mountain.

The path is very simple to follow once you find the stairs. You will pass by the temple garden and some buildings where elderly residents gather to do karaoke, and even when the path is not clearly marked it’s just a matter of common sense which direction you should take. The walk is very pleasant despite being mostly uphill.

Within 5-10 minutes you will arrive at the first viewpoint, which is called the Four Beasts Scenic Area. There is a large boulder that you can take photos from, and if you are pushed for time or would prefer not to continue, you can actually stop and turn around here. You will have a decent view of Taipei with 101 in the foreground, but we strongly recommend you keep going.

The path continues to be quite gentle and pleasant after this point, and it offers some very nice views.

After about another 15 minutes, you will arrive at the Tiger Mountain Peak, which has a reasonably large observation deck.

As you can see, the view is excellent, easily rivaling the one from Elephant Mountain. We have visited several times, and have never felt that it was very crowded, even on the weekend. It is a very simple, easy trail that you should have no problems with, even if you dislike hiking.

If at this point you would like to extend your walk, you can easily continue onto the Leopard Mountain, which is only another 5-10 minute walk. The way is not marked, but it isn’t hard to follow on Google Maps. Just check out our pins down below! There are many signs leading you back to Taipei if you would like to turn back.

The view from the Leopard Mountain Peak is similar, but equally pretty.

From here, you can decide whether or not you want to double back and end up at (or close to) where you started, or if you want to keep going and descend down the stairs at Elephant Mountain. We weren’t tired at all, so we decided to go through Elephant Mountain, but ended up slightly regretting our decision because it quickly got dark and the path was hard to find, even with the help of our phones. Our phone reception was patchy and there were a few moments where we worried we might end up stumbling around in the darkness for hours. However, we finally arrived at the Elephant Mountain peak around 30 minutes later, though we probably could have made it up there a little faster if we’d known where we were going.

The view from Elephant Mountain was just as good as usual, but this time around we couldn’t help but feel like we had spoiled it for ourselves by experiencing the easy, peaceful trails of Tiger and Leopard Mountain. The steps leading up to Elephant Mountain are pretty steep, and having to jostle through huge crowds of tourists every night of the week detracts from the great views. We do feel that the view from Elephant Mountain was superior, though, certainly not enough to justify the massive difference in popularity. All in all, we strongly prefer the Tiger Mountain Trail to Elephant Mountain, and not just because of the crowds: the view and trail itself are more pleasant due to the gentler elevation and more greenery.

FYI, there is another way to start the trail that is also very nice. It starts near Songshan Tsihuei Temple, which is nowhere near as nice as Fentian Temple, and worth skipping altogether. However, the start of the trail is gorgeous, and there are a few beautiful spots to take photos.

Here is the start of the trail. Be sure not to go up the stairs on your left, as they will take you to Jiuwufeng Peak, another excellent hike that we will be writing about soon. Walk straight and keep an eye on the right-hand side, as there is a pretty bridge that’s worth stopping at.

You will see this bridge from the path within the first five minutes. Walk down the stone steps to get as close as we did!

Keep walking for a minute or so, and you will come across this pretty area where you can stop for a picnic. The path after this is relatively boring, but you can keep following to get to the Tiger Mountain Peak — just be prepared for a longer walk!

Whichever path you choose, we are pretty confident you’re going to enjoy this hike, as it’s unbelievably easy and completely accessible by bus and MRT. Let us know which starting point you prefer!

What’s the vibe?

An easy hike with great views. You can keep it short and still get great views, or extend it and walk to Leopard or Elephant Mountain. Both Fengtian Temple and Songshan Tsihuei Temple are great places to start.

Worth it?

Absolutely! We can’t believe we didn’t go sooner.

Would you go back?

Yes! We’ve already been back multiple time to take friends.