🥾 Jinmianshan mountain loop trail, Taipei

When I visited Taiwan earlier this year, I took the baller move of doing a hike on the same day I was due to fly back home. I stayed in Taipei for a total of five nights, and this hike had been on my list for my visit, but other plans, general tiredness from travel, and poor weather meant that my best opportunity happened to be on my last day.

My flight was not due to leave until around 4:00pm local time, and I knew that I should head out first thing in the morning and very early in order to make it to the trailhead on time, complete the hike, and then return back to my hotel with enough time to freshen up before going to the airport. Conveniently, my hotel had a late checkout of 12:00 noon, which meant that I would have the opportunity to take a shower post-hike at no extra charge.

A panorama showing the city of Taipei, with tall buildings and hazy hills under an overcast sky. The view is framed by green trees and a rocky slope in the foreground. — Panorama of the city, taken from the viewing platform

Getting up early for the hike was no issue, as I had been waking at around 6:00am for most of the days on my trip. It was an impeccable combination of being a morning person and travelling in a timezone just a few hours behind my home time.

I had researched the Jinmianshan trail extensively before my trip, and had a healthy amount of concern for the prospect of facing a challenging hike on my own. I planned to do the part of the trail that was a loop, even though it is a part of a few longer trails that start and end in different locations. I have been using the AllTrails app for a lot of my hikes, which has been helpful to avoid getting lost, and to also collect and read some reviews to see if a trail is worth doing. I usually avoid using apps for everyday things because they feel a bit gamified and I don’t care too much for the community.

From where I was staying in Taiwan, near Zhongshan station, it took me a bit under 30 minutes to get to Xihu station, the closest station to the trail head. The start of the trail head was about a 15 minute walk from the station, and there were signs clearly marking the Jinmianshan trail from the exit of the station. I also found this 4corners7seas blog post helpful as a visual overview for the whole hike. You know that I love to just write about my travels storytelling-style, and I don’t intend for my posts to be a guide or instructions, but am appreciative of other blogs and writers that make their efforts in this space. 😌

Street view in Taipei with parked cars lining both sides of a narrow road, low-rise apartment and shop buildings on the left, a tall concrete building on the right, and green, tree-covered hills rising in the distance under an overcast sky. — The road leading to the trailhead

Narrow forest hiking path on the Jinmianshan trail, with irregular stone steps leading uphill through dense green foliage and leaf litter, moss-covered rocks along the left side, and dark tree trunks framing the trail. — Stone steps at the start of the trail, well covered

I was feeling very grateful for the weather as I walked through the streets to reach the trailhead. The trail was very well covered, which also gave me an appreciation for the vegetation of countries in a more tropical climate—from my experience, they have dense, almost rainforest-like areas that provide some relief from the humid temperatures. However, due to the cover on the trail, I could see that some of the dirt was still damp from the rain and had not fully dried up, and some rock surfaces could be slippery. I still had to watch my step even though the first portion of the hike was an ascent on some rocky stairs.

Panoramic overlook from the hillside looking down over Taipei’s city blocks and high-rise buildings, with a backdrop of distant skyline towers under a cloudy grey sky. — Great view of Taipei after a bit of elevation

Shaded section of the trail through dense forest, with a small wooden shelter on the left, and a rocky, uneven path of stone steps leading upward between tree trunks and dry leaves. — Small shelter part way up the trail

Narrow uphill trail with irregular stone steps through thick greenery, showing large boulders and roots on the right edge and a line of trees forming a tunnel-like corridor of foliage. — A slightly less stable rocky incline

I started to get just a little bit worried when the terrain turned into large slabs of flat, tilted rock with a few posts and ropes on the side. This was truly going to be a climb, and even though I knew I was fully capable of tackling this, I knew I had to take my time so as not to injure myself. I let a fellow hiker pass because he was a fair bit taller than me and had the assistance of hiking poles. He said something in Mandarin and I believe I just said “hello”, but he continued on his way. From the few greetings and pleasantries I know, I cannot be sure if he said “hello” or something else. 😅

A part of the trail featuring large boulders and stone steps surrounded by dense green shrubs and leaves, with some trees in view. — I had to climb up and over these giant rocks to continue!

Using ropes to assist in climbing a mountain wasn’t new to me, but because of the rain a couple of days earlier, the ropes were still wet. Gross. I had been grateful that the rocks were not slippery and the leafy parts of the trail were, at most, damp, but I just sucked it up and held onto the ropes tightly as I moved up. I made sure my belongings were secure as I moved my body in whatever way felt comfortable and safe to move past the giant rocks.

A close view of angled grey rock faces elevating sharply, surrounded by lush greenery and scattered foliage. There are some poles to the right of the rocks with some chains hung between them for grabbing on to. — I’d started on the left side, before realising it was probably safer to hold onto the chains on the right

Once I got past the rocks, I reached a platform with a view including the Taipei 101 tower. From that elevation height, I could really see the city beneath me. There was a viewing point on the platform up a number of stairs to get an even better view. Here I took the opportunity to eat some of the snacks I’d packed in my bag, before continuing on my way. I could see that I’d done a pretty solid portion of the hike already.

The trail was pretty well marked with signs in both English and Mandarin, but I still relied on the AllTrails app just to confirm and double-check I was headed in the right direction. There were a couple of forks in the road that connected to other trails.

Trail map sign in Chinese, with a coloured route line and legend, mounted outdoors. It shows the hiker’s current location on the trail. — A sign showing your current location on the trail and displaying the loop and connecting trails

The highest point and roughly the midpoint of the trail is a landmark called Scissors Rock, which is a famous spot for getting incredible views of Taipei, particularly at sunset. I fully expected to see a lot of people here, but there was virtually no one. This was truly a 360° view, with nothing blocking any direction around me. I really hoped it wouldn’t rain. There was no rain in the forecast but the clouds were telling a different story. The giant rocks around this area were difficult to really climb on top of, and I had seen photos of people climbing right on top of them to get the best possible view (and terrific photos of themselves on the rocks). I wasn’t going to dare climb on, for fear of injury and difficulty getting back down, and I wanted to avoid pulling any muscles even if I could climb on the rocks.

Another similar view of the city of Taipei, showing city buildings and tall high-rises in the distance. Green trees frame the view on both sides. — A view of Taipei at the summit near Scissors Rock

Large grey boulders and a rocky ledge in the foreground, with lush green mountain ridges and a distant city skyline in the background. The sky is overcast. — Scissors rock with a backdrop of lush green

Anyway, I got a photo amongst the rocks, because that was good enough, and you can definitely get an idea of how large the rocks are. I got another hiker to take a photo for me. I had seen him and his partner at the viewing platform earlier. There was a bit of a language barrier; it was a bit amusing to me. I actually was trying to ask which way he and his partner came from—the way I had come, and climbing the steep rocks, or the way I was about to head down. Instead he held up his hands to gesture at my phone and offered to take a photo. Sure, why not! I did want a photo of myself anyway. I don’t think I could have managed to set up to get a photo on my own that wasn’t just going to be a selfie. 😁

Me, Georgie, standing amongst some large rocks and posing with a smile and making the “v” peace sign with two fingers. In the background is the city of Taipei and some green hills, and the sky is overcast. — Many thanks to the hiker who took this photo for me! ✌🏼

I tried to ask the hiker the same question again, but with more hand gestures, and he gestured that he had come from the opposite direction. I asked which direction was easier to take, and he seemed to say that they were the about the same in difficulty. I was pondering going back down the same route because continuing on the loop seemed like I’d have to climb down more rocky surfaces. But if it was about the same difficulty, then, fuck it, I’d just continue on the loop.

Some scattered rocks and a narrow rocky path near the bottom of the frame, surrounded by dense green shrubs and trees, with Taipei’s buildings spread out far in the distance. — The descent began with some big rocks at the beginning of the path

I had to take my time on the initial part of the descent, because it was a lot of climbing down. As a short person, I feel safer almost sitting and shuffling my bottom down the rocks because my legs are too short to take large enough steps to traverse the rocks. The route back from the summit actually had even more rock surfaces, but there were grooves and metal pieces embedded in the rock that made it easier to climb down. By this point, I had not seen anyone else on the trail apart from the hiker who passed me and the couple at the summit. Now a group of about a dozen trail hikers were coming fast up the rocks and I moved aside to let them pass. They thanked me and I went on my way.

A steep, uneven stone path made of broad, flat rock slabs and smaller embedded stones, bordered by green vegetation and rocky ground, with hikers’ legs visible at the top edge. — I captured this to show the steep rocks I had walked down. Others were walking up this to reach the summit

Narrow dirt and rock trail through dense, bright green forest. There are low stone steps and a flat rocky path, with small trees and shrubs filling the foreground and sides, and hills in the hazy background. — A rocky, less shaded path on the way down

After descending over a lot of rocks, the rest of the trail was not so difficult, however, it was significantly more damp and muddy in some spots compared to the part of the trail I’d already completed. I accidentally took a wrong turn as I moved quickly past a group of people near a fork in the trail. I presume they were locals and we had a quick exchange as they wanted to know if I had come from the summit and that they were heading in the right direction. I continued down the path, and after checking the AllTrails app, realised I was taking the wrong path that would eventually connect me back to the trail. I turned around and some of the hikers from earlier saw me coming back and I just chuckled and pointed in the direction of the other path I’d meant to take.

A concrete path leading forward and veering right, with lush bright green trees and shrubs around the path. The sky is overcast. — Very bright green foliage leading to an alternate road exit

The elevation went up and down a little until I got back to the start of the trailhead. There was an earlier exit that led back to a road, but I didn’t want to get lost so I just went back to where I started. It was sort of like I had gotten to a point of exiting the mountain and trees and then went right back in. I could move pretty quickly but there were stone steps for most of the part at the end, and sometimes even descending steps can feel more difficult than a flat decline.

A street market on the left with colourful produce and goods and hanging signs in Chinese, with scooters parked to the right and trees casting shade. — A produce market was open on my walk back to the station

I really enjoyed the hike and was proud of doing it on my own. It took about 85 minutes to complete, including stopping for rest and to enjoy the view, timed from the trailhead and returning back to the same point. I’m glad the muddy areas had dried up enough to feel mostly safe, and that the challenging parts were not too terrifying. I dashed back to Xihu station, passing a small produce market on the way, and was thrilled with my morning adventure, and keen to have a shower before checking out of my hotel. I had missed out on the breakfast at my hotel but I grabbed a few cheap onigiri from the convenience store, thoroughly enjoying them before I finished packing all my things.

I would recommend the Jinmianshan loop trail for moderately experienced hikers, and to make sure you go at least one day or two after any heavy rain, to ensure the trail has dried up. I would not recommend it in even slightly wet weather as the trail can be slippery and you are more likely to injure yourself. I also recommend wearing proper hiking shoes. Hiking poles can be useful if you have them. It is a short hike that should only take around 90 minutes and it’s pretty much right in the heart of Taipei, so you don’t have to travel to the middle of nowhere to get to the hike. Although I didn’t stop anywhere to eat nearby, there are many options including McDonald’s, if that is your thing!