Hiking Elephant Mountain for the Best View of Taipei

THE ELEPHANT MOUNTAIN 

Elephant Mountain  is the most famous of the “Four Beasts Mountains ” of Taipei, Taiwan and the most easily accessible.  

Elephant Mountain is the most popular of the mountains for a good reason.  Being the closest to the city not only means easy access, but it means stunning views of Taipei, especially Taipei 101

Despite being dethroned as the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2009 by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, Taipei 101 is a spectacular building and impressive to see in person.

      The main entrance to the Elephant Mountain  hiking trails.

The main viewing area of Elephant Mountain has a bunch of big boulders that you can climb onto to get a great view of Taipei City.

 Elephant Mountain is a serene place to relax and blow off the stress of the city below.

Though you can see Taipei 101 from many spots in Taipei, there is one place that is known as having the best view of the building: Elephant Mountain. Not only does it have great views of Taipei city, it’s also a popular spot for locals to exercise and tourists to hike. It’s easy to get to, free and a nice activity for all visitors.

So if you want to get that wow photo of Taipei, you have to head to Elephant Mountain. Here is all you need to know about visiting.

Tips for Elephant Mountain

• Try to go early in the morning on a weekday if you don’t want to be around crowds. I went on a Tuesday morning around 9 AM and there weren’t many people there, mostly locals exercising. But come around 4 PM on the weekend for the sunset, it gets crowded. So stake out a spot if you want that epic sunset photo of Taipei.
• Wear sneakers/running shoes. It’s not a long hike but like I said, it’s steep and you’ll need comfortable clothes and good shoes.
• It’s a short trail so no guide needed, there is no entrance fee.

How To Get There? 

From Taipei 101:
From the base of Taipei 101, walk east on Xinyi Road for two blocks until you reach MRT Xiangshan Station, only a 15 minute walk from 101and completely worth it. To get there faster, take aYouBike from the station across the street from 101 (MRT Exit 2), then return the bike at the park nearby the trail entrance.

By MRT

After arriving at Xiangshan station, the terminus of Red Line 2, leave from Exit 2 and continue walking alongside the edge of the park. At the end of this road, take a left and follow until the entrance for Xiangshan Hiking Trail, total 650 metres, around 20 mins.

Youbike

The closest station is located along the street next to the park at the base of the trail. Another station is located across the street from Taipei 101.