Taiwan ~ Adventure Heaven for HongKongers?

I had a bunch of friends that went to Taiwan for the weekend and they all came back and told me that instead of going to Taipei (where all the shopping...), they went to the South of Taiwan, where all the adventures were, they went climbing, trekking, walking around in mountains and never realized that Taiwan was that amazing...

I never knew too, until now...and it's only 1.5 hours away!

So far, I've done 4 Action Asia Challenges in Taiwan (Fushing, Fulung, Sun Moon Lake and Kinmen). Loved them all!

Based on what I've seen, I fully agree with you. Taiwan's potential for outdoor sports is tremendous.

Happy training.
Pedro

Thanks Pedro,

It's such a shame though, that the Taiwan Tourism Board is still more interested in things other than their amazing outdoors...

For someone like me, if they had adventure package trips with an experienced guide, I would definitely go on one of the trips...

Cheers!

I suppose common perception may be the culprit here.

A lot of locals in HK view Taiwan as more of a gastronomical, cultural, and entertainment destination rather than adventure.

Though I agree, A-N, if only the tourism board would put more emphasis and promote Taiwan as another alternative to the other adventure-based outdoor activity destinations located elsewhere, it would definitely bring in hordes of well-heeled, professional, thrill-seekers.

I run an outdoor adventure company here in Taiwan called In Motion Asia (www.inmotionasia.com) and I couldn't agree more.......Taiwan is one of the most undiscovered adventure travel destinations in Asia and contains some epic locations and world-class scenery!

One of my favorite mountain biking trails is called the NengGao, perfect high altitude single track that starts at 2000m, takes you up to 3000m before bombing down to 1100m!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inmotionasia/sets/72157601398714320/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inmotionasia/sets/72157604097014441/

Another beast of a trail is called the Stone Deer Trail....an epic 7 hour ride through the central mountain range
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inmotionasia/sets/72157600348922192/

We also did an 10 day / 800km road bike tour recently from Taipei in the North of Taiwan to Kenting in the South......one of the best trips I have done in my life!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inmotionasia/sets/72157603813313078/

Click the slideshow button top right
Enjoy and hope so see you over here soon!

Considering the fact that I haven't exercised for god-knows how long, maybe I shouldn't start with biking up 2000m up a mountain... Or maybe I should...First thing first, I think the last time I was on a bike was when I was 9...

But the 10 day tour seems really really interesting...
I'm very interested and excited...really want to see the "other-side" of Taiwan.

Thanks for the information inmotionasia~

How about this one...The mighty Stone Deer Trail! A seriously EPIC ride!!

http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=nCEnDV0eg7w

Make sure you crank it up LOUD!!

Yes Taiwan is amazing. It's also amazing that so few people from overseas have seen so little of it!

Keep your carbon footprint small and see what is just round the corner from you, without slogging to distant countries that are not much, if any, better than Formosa.

If In Motion Asia doesn't have something for you - should have, especially in the biking end of things, have a look at Barking Deer Adventures http://www.barking-deer.com. We focus more on the hiking here, from a couple days advanced strolling to a couple weeks remote treks.

Cheers
Richard (Deer leader)

inmotionasia - saw the video and all i could say is WOW... i should SO do that! thanks!

richard - thanks for the information, took a look at your website too, just a quick question, when you say a couple of days, how many days are you actually hiking / biking for...?

BTW - Do I need any training (just in case I cramp up half way to where-ever) or at least start some sort of training?

Cheers,
Adventure-noobie

Actually, does anyone know where you could kind of train in Hong Kong to prepare for hectic hiking / biking for 10 days up mountains some where in Taiwan?

I am worried I might not be fit enough to do all that and not faint / cramp / dehydrate / injure myself in the first half hour just walking and be totally embarass for the rest of my life...

Cheers,
Adventure-noobie

Hi Adventure-noobie,

Most rides here in Taiwan are pretty rugged affairs through mountainous terrain. The Stone Deer Trail is perhaps the most hardcore of the rides available in Taiwan. It's an all-day ride with 3 solid landslides to navigate. In between the riding is very high quality and the suspension bridge crossings are epic! Also a lot of the timber stairs shown in the video to navigate.

In short you need to be a confident rider with a good level of fitness. There are other less taxing rides available. Either way, Taiwan is super rewarding experience and the scenery and culture is world-class. The best thing is HK's close proximity to Taiwan. You can leave after work on Friday and be back at the desk Monday morning.

I would suggest riding up to the Peak 10 times before coming. Even better join up for some of the Action Asia mountain bike races to get you into the swing of things.

Look forward to seeing you and any others soon!

That's what I thought as well, maybe I should go do something less hectic...more scenery and cultural hikes rather than outdoor adventure types.

Either way, you're right, I could go to Taiwan after work, and fly back on Sunday night and still work the next morning.

Next step, planning and training (a bit).

Cheers,
Adventure-noobie

Quick question, how much on average is needed for a weekend trip to do some hiking / biking / outdoor activities in Taiwan?

Could anyone please let me know?

Cheers,
Adventure-noobie

i am from singapore (not a "hong konger") and went to taiwan. just felt rather appaled by the number of constructions, roads and articial stuff built by the coastline. another thing for my european buddies that were travelling with me: little indications in english once you are out of taipei. does not make hiking in the centre of the country easy at all, despite having with us the latest issue of action asia mag on taiwan trails! i am not personally convinced by the destination as a paradise. LWC

As with visiting any new destination, there are a number of reasons why traveling with a local guide has an advantage:

- Experience and get to places you would probably never find on your own.
- Enjoy the best activities, in the best order, in the best direction.
- Greatly increases your chance of making it to the next hot spring resort
before the sun sets.
- No need to argue with your friends about which way that guy in the shop
said to go.
- You will waste no valuable time being lost.
- Qualified first aid assistance
- Guaranteed unobstructed leisure time
- MORE FUN!!

Hi LWC,

I guess I understand where you're coming from. Once you're out of the "city", you really do need a guide or someone that knows the area or else... It really depends on what you're looking for though, a real experience of hiking and learning another culture or whether you're just there for the hike, adventure, biking, etc...(in which case, if I didn't know the way, I would definitely have someone with me, getting lost and not knowing the language would be a bit overwhelming for me).

But I've heard SO many things about hiking in Taiwan, all of them good experiences, so it's how you enjoy the whole process I guess.

To some people, their own bed is a paradise... =)

Cheers,
Adventure-noobie

OK, tks for all the post la. funny that I as chinese I felt kind of lost in Taiwan when going out of the big cities, but that was the case and evenmore for my EU buddies. with so many guys posting comments, AA should do a special report on the best guides and best outdoor companies in TW. get all the guys there to send you ideas and their favorite routes & trails. could change the image of taiwan and get it more popular amongst asians, not ONLY for the food and easy chicks in taipei. LWC.

Just came back from Taipei. Hated the airport (supposed to be Asia's most modern, what a laugh!) but had a good experience with spas there. I recommend this reading for travellers going to Taipei and having some free time:

http://www.smarttravelasia.com/taipei.htm

Happy reading, Rosemary.

What trekking options could I go for in Taiwan. What are the best parts of the island to explore? I live in Shanghai and it is now OK to go there as we have direct flights to Taipei. thanks for your suggestions, see ya, James.

I'm with you James, I have been meaning to hit the trails in Taiwan. I have flown over Taiwan from the south to the north in Taipei and looked at some of these mountains that go from sea level all the way up to 14,000 feet--amazing!. Keep us up to date what you find.

No matter how much I love Taiwan and its mountains, I find it close to impossible to defend most of the nasty architecture/scruffy urban development - other than to say it has served the Taiwanese well in the last few decades in having a typhoon and earthquake resistant roof over their heads. Anyway, arriving at Kaohsiung Airport may be a more sensible choice than Taipei. Get away from the average west coast and Taiwan is a natural paradise. Really!

A couple points when looking at exploring Taiwan's mountains:
(A) Focus on using the cross-island highways - they get you up high and away from it all.

(B) Don't always aim to climb the main peak of Yushan. I've written of the problems involved with permits on our blog http://barkingdeernews.blogspot.com/
There are hundreds of other fantastic mountains over 3,000 meters.

For other info the usual site http://www.barking-deer.com

Cheers Richard

.
I've posted a list of hikes (long and short) coming up Autumn 2009 & Spring 2010 at http://barkingdeernews.blogspot.com/2009/06/fall-2008-spring-2009-hike-schedule.html

Enjoy!


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