Hiking Nanshijiaoshan (南勢角山)

Hiking in Taiwan is a remarkable experience and Taiwan’s Xiao Bai Yue (小百岳) is a great place to start. Taiwan’s Xiao Bai Yue is a perfect list of 100 suburban mountain peaks suitable for hikers of all skill levels.

The Xiao Bai Yue is 100 mountain climbs oriented towards sub-urban destinations and routes suitable for novice hikers. These include beginner routes like Dawulun Mountain, novice routes like Dongyanshan National Forest and some that are more challenging, like Jialishan.

About Nanshijiaoshan (南勢角山)

Nanshijiaoshan (南勢角山) is listed at #016 of the Xiao Bai Yue (小百岳). Located in Zhonghe District (中和區) in New Taipei City (新北市), Nanshijiaoshan is only 13km south of Taipei Main Station.

When hiking in Taiwan, there are mountains of significant heights, with plenty of peaks over 3,000m. Then there are some that don’t quite reach so high, but offer something unique and interesting. Enter Nanshijiaoshan – With an elevation of 302 meters, Nanshijiaoshan is a short but steep hike up a mountain side that is dotted with various temples. So it’s not only only hikers that frequent this area, but also believers making pilgrimages to the areas shrines and holy places. It’s an animated area making it a short, but fun hike that has a bit of a cultural flair to it.

Hiking Nanshijiaoshan (南勢角山)

We started our hike from Tianfeng Temple (天鳳宮), which added on a few hundred meters of hiking, but most people start from Hongludi Nanshan Fude Temple 烘爐地南山福德宮 as there is sufficient parking in that area. We left Xinnan Road and started climbing the white stone staircase off the right hand side of the roadway.

A stone staircase continues up the mountain as you ascend closer to Hongludi Nanshan Fude Temple’s lower base temple. You’ll walk across Xinnan Road twice and over top of it on an elevated crosswalk before you arrive at the parking lot of Nanshan Fude Temple (see image below of where you will arrive).

Walk to the far side of the base temple and ascend the steps to the right the temple when facing the building. Here you will see a wide set of stairs that climbs up behind the lower part of temple. Don’t worry, the stairs continue. You can either explore the temple before or after you reach the peak, as you will be hiking this trail in both directions.

The stairs continue up and around temple with the first section featuring an odd metal structure that acts as a bit of a tunnel. These steeps stone steps are unshaded and could be a killer on a hot sunny day. You’ll reach some temple gates. Be sure to turn around and enjoy the views back down the stairs and across the mountains. Walk out across the front of Hongludi Nanshan Fude Temple 烘爐地南山福德宮 and ascend to the leftside of the temple.

Continue upwards with lots of steps and nice views that become a bit less frequent the further up you go. The stone steps transition into some wooden steps and even some sections of crushed stone and compact soil. It also gets a bit more shaded.

The final ascent after passing the temple is probably the most enjoyable section of the trail as it becomes much more natural and the crowds thin out a bit. If you’re coming up to the peak of Nanshijiaoshan (南勢角山), you will find it along the trail along with a few lookout spots, some gazebos and other trails that connect up to the peak. Enjoy some time at the top with views off east across Taipei (with views of Taipei 101 on clear days), before heading back down.

What to Bring

When hiking in Taiwan consider your capabilities before heading out. We hope this helps provide insight into the level of difficulty. When it comes to the kinds of equipment or resources one should bring when hiking this trail in Taiwan, we’ve provided a list below:

• Water – About 1 to 1.5L of fresh drinking water
• Food – There are some services along this trail, but limited to vendors and some vending machines at the temple.
• Washrooms – Available at temples.
• Sunscreen – The trail is mostly unshaded, with about 30% shaded. The peak is open, so if you’re spending much time up there you may wish to wear a hat or have some sunscreen on.
• Camera/Phone – Reception is near perfect on this trail!

How to Get to Nanshijiaoshan (南勢角山)

Get a Ride: If you are driving, you can set this as your location – HERE. Nanshijiaoshan is approximately 30 minutes from Taipei Main Station

Public transport: From any MRT Station in Taipei or New Taipei City, transit to Nanshijiao Station on the Yellow Line (aka Zhonghe-Xinlu Line). Exit from #3 and turn right. Take a short 3 min walk to Nanshijiao Station on Jieyun Road where you can catch bus F512 Sub Line Holiday. Approximately 18 minutes and 17 stops later you’ll arrive at Hongludi Station. It will be a 13 minute walk from this stop.

Here is the New Taipei City Route Map .