Spectacular Views of Taipei on Liyu Mountain Hiking Trail

Safety tips for COVID-19: This trail can be crowded on weekends and sunny days, especially at Bishan Temple. For this reason, we recommend visiting during the week where possible. We also strongly recommend wearing a facemask once you get to the temple. The bus that takes you from Bishan Temple to Neihu MRT Station is also very small, so you may want to arrange alternative transportation beforehand.

Sometimes we forget how blessed we are to live in Taipei, with its abundant hiking trails and lush greenery right within the city limits. We’re regular hikers, and mostly favour trails in the Four Beasts Mountains Trail System like Muzhi Mountain, Jiuwufeng or Tiger Mountain because of their great views and ease of access. However, we recently re-discovered a hike that we love up in Neihu, that has views that are arguably just as good. This trail takes you through a beautiful water-side park, a shady forest, and either past a small waterfall or up a mountain with interesting dioramas, eventually leading you to a stunning temple with an equally stunning view of Taipei.

The trail starts at Dagouxi Riverside Park in Neihu. This location is a little inconvenient to get to from downtown unless you live on the brown line, but we promise it’s worth it. Head to Dahu Park MRT Station, take exit 1, then follow directions to the park. Once you are there, walk up the stairs and then down to the river. There is a beautiful path that you can follow next to the water that is popular with families, especially during warmer weather. You’ll have to hop across the river at one point — watch your step, as this can be a little slippery when it’s wet underfoot.

Follow the path until you see this bridge. After you cross it, you can take any of the paths to start the trail. If you keep straight, you will cross a concrete bridge that will lead you to a beautiful private temple. Turn immediately right at the temple, following signs for Liyu Mountain/Yuanjue Waterfalls. If you chose to take the path on your right-hand side, you will also eventually cross a pretty bridge that you lead you to the start of the hike. There’s a small platform near the river where you can view some rocks in the water, too. We’ve taken both paths, and they’re equally as nice and will lead you to the start of the hike in roughly the same amount of time.

The beginning of the hike is very pleasant and gentle, and well-suited for families. It’s a beautiful shaded path that follows a stream through a forest, with plenty of places to take pretty photos.

If you stay on this path, you will eventually reach Yuanjue Waterfall. The waterfall itself isn’t particularly impressive, but there’s a nice recreational area that’s perfect for picnics. If you take the stairs at the back of the recreational area, the path will lead you to Fengbishan Yuanjue Temple, which has a very pretty view of Taipei. From there, you can follow the road to Bishan Temple, though you may need to track your route on Google Maps.

There is an alternative route to Bishan Temple if you would prefer a slightly shorter, more challenging hike. Before you get to the waterfall, keep your eyes peeled for a path that leads off to the left — there will be a signpost for Liyu Mountain and Shilin, and a set of stairs.

There are a lot of stairs on this path, so it’s a pretty good workout, and if you’re anything like us you’ll be groaning each time you turn a corner and see the path continue endlessly upwards. Despite the stairs, we vastly preferred this route — it actually took less time in total and was easier to follow than going through the recreation area at the waterfall.

Another reason we preferred this route was that there were some fun little dioramas when the trail started to level out. Some of our favourites were Taoyuan Airport, the Presidential Office Building, and the Great Wall of China. The latter was particularly impressive, stretching out along the path for far longer than we expected.

The most useful diorama showed the hike we were doing, all the way from the Dagouxi Park to Yuanjue Waterfalls and Bishan Temple. This was very helpful to us, as it gave us a much better perspective of how much shorter the Liyu Mountain Trail was than the path that looped behind the waterfall (although much steeper and harder).

On the path near the dioramas, there’s also an opening where you can see a magnificent view of Taipei.  The air quality wasn’t great on the day we went, so it was a little hazy.

The path will eventually lead to the main road. Cross it, and head up the stairs to the temple.

This is another long staircase, but the temple and an incredible viewpoint await you at the top. Don’t turn at any point on the staircase — keep going straight, and the stairs will lead to a rather scenic car park. From there, turn left up the road and you will find yourself at Bishan Temple.

The view of Taipei from the viewing platform at Bishan Temple is almost unparalleled and rivals that of Muzhi Mountain or Jiuwufeng hiking trail on the Four Beasts Mountains. The only difference is that the view from the Four Beasts Mountains has Taipei 101 in the foreground, whereas this view has it in the background. This makes for some gorgeous layered scenery that is extremely photogenic on a clear, sunny day. We recommend checking both the weather and the air quality index if photo-taking is a priority for you.

Once you’re done at the viewing platform, head for either set of stairs next to the main temple building. Not only are the stairs themselves ridiculously beautiful, but they lead up behind the temple so that you can get a closer look at its ornate roof. If you want to learn more about the temple there is a great article that goes into detail about its history and the gods that it is dedicated to.

After this, you can choose to continue your hike, check out a nearby suspension bridge, visit a cafe, or take the bus home. We were pretty beat by the time we got up to the temple, so we decided to sit down for a drink, see the suspension bridge, and head home. If you want to continue your hike, follow the instructions on this detailed blog post over on 4corners7seas.

To leave the temple, follow the main path and head down the staircase. If you continue past the gate, there will be a bus stop with a small bus that will take you very close to Neihu MRT Station on the brown line. If you want to go to the cafe or suspension bridge, take the path that starts halfway down the staircase on your left-hand side. It winds through a pretty forest for a few minutes before hitting a recreation area with a small, outdoor gym and a picnic area.

Stay on the path, and within a minute you will find yourself at a pretty cafe called 山境咖啡 (Mountain Cafe) with a large terrace. There are also several restaurants nearby if you’re in the mood for food, but we didn’t get a chance to try them.

We really enjoyed kicking back here after our hike to rest. There was a limited menu of teas and coffees, but both drinks we got were delicious — the Korean pomelo iced tea ($150, pictured left) was fresh, citrusy and not too sweet, while the cold brew coffee ($150, pictured in the middle) was extremely light and refreshing. We usually prefer our coffee to be on the strong side, but this packed a lovely mellow flavour that we really liked.

A staircase next to the cafe took us to the main road, from which we easily walked to the suspension bridge, which was less than a minute away and very obvious. This was a fun spot for photo-taking, and we were glad to have arrived as the sun was setting and most people had gone home. Early in the day if the weather is nice, this bridge is packed.

At the end of the bridge, there was the option to keep walking to some farms where you can go strawberry-picking (when the season is right), but we were ready to call it a day. We turned back and headed for the temple gate.

Immediately to the right of the gate is a small bus stop. We were waiting for the S2 or S2 Shuttle, which comes every ten minutes and only takes about ten minutes to get to Neihu MRT Station. This bus can get full very quickly, so you might want to consider arranging alternative transportation if you don’t like the idea of being packed onto a small bus bursting with people. On the weekday evening that we went, there were just enough seats. On the weekend, there’s a good chance you would have to stand.

This really was an excellent hike from start to finish, and one we strongly recommend checking out during your time in Taipei. The beginning of the trail near the water was shady and green, and the dioramas were a unique feature that we have yet to see on a trail in Taipei. Ending up at Bishan Temple is the cherry on the cake, as it’s absolutely stunning, and the view of Taipei that you’re rewarded with is truly majestic.

What’s the vibe?

Leafy hike in Neihu that starts at a beautiful park, winding through a forest and up a mountain, ending at a spectacular temple with a great view of the city.

Worth it?

Absolutely. This is a great hike for all ages and a beautiful spot for taking photos. It is slightly less convenient to get to than the Four Beasts Hiking Trails since it’s pretty far away from central Taipei, but we think it’s more than worth making the trip.

Would you go back?

Definitely! We can’t wait to try extending it so that we end up at Shilin.

Last updated April 2020