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Mt. Keelung 基隆山 is also known as Mt. Chicken Coop 雞籠山, because its shape looks like a chicken coop. But the pronunciation of chicken coop in Chinese is exactly the same as Keelung. Mt. Keelung also has a third name, called Beauty with Big Belly Mountain 大肚美人山, also because of its shape that looks like a big-bellied beauty lying down there.

From geologic perspective, Mt. Keelung Main Peak and East Peak belong to the Chilung Volcano Group (aka Jilong or Keelung Volcano Group), and were formed about one million years ago. It's inactive now, so there’s no need to worry about the erruption. What made the Chilung (Keelung) Volcano Group different from other groups in Taiwan was the majority of Chilung (Keelung) Volcano Group consisted of Dacite. Long story short, Dacite was the main reason why Jiufen and Jinguashih were full of gold and copper ores in the old days. I'm not a geologist. Please let me know if I make any mistake here.

From the historical perspective, because of the gold and copper ores, Jiufen and Jinguashih experienced the mining booms and established their unique culture, which makes the whole so special and nostalgic and becomes very popular tourist attractions locally and internationally.

From a hiker’s perspective, there are so many amazing trails with the spectacular mountains and ocean views, Ruifang District (where Jiufen and Jinguashih are located) is a heaven for hikers. I've been hiking for a few years, but there are still many trails in Ruifang that I haven’t got a chance to explore.

As to Mt. Keelung Main Peak and East Peak, this trail is listed No. 1 on Gold Ridgelines Hikes, and the trail is right next to Jiufen, which makes this hike more appealing. Like Mt. Teapot, which is another very famous hike in Ruifang, you can decide to take the challenging one or just the easy part.

10 Gold Ridgelines, a list of beautiful hiking trails in Ruifang, New Taipei City, was established by a famous hiker and author, Mr. Lin Tsung-sheng 林宗聖.

There are several buses to the trailhead. My favorite and recommended one is to take Keelung Bus 基隆客運1062 from Exit 2 MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing Station 忠孝復興捷運站 and get off at Jiufen Old Street Stop 九份老街站. After getting off, continue to walk for about 300 meters and you will find the trailhead of endless steps to Mt. Keelung Mian Peak. You can find toilets on both sides of the road.

Other options:
Take Keelung Bus 788 from Keelung Train Station or Ruifang Train Station and get off at Geding Stop 隔頂.
Take Bus 965 from Banqiao Train Station or Ruifang Train Station and get off at Geding Stop.

After getting off at Geding Stop, you walk back toward Jiufen direction a few meters and you can see the trailhead with a sign. If you take this one, you just follow the endless stone steps and go all the way up. There are 3 pavilions (the last one is your destination) to take a short breaks and enjoy the mountain views.

Some people might argue that taking endless stone steps isn’t easy, and I agree with that. But if you don’t hike regularly or are not familiar with the jungle-like terrains in Taiwan, I still recommend you to start from here, and you won’t get lost as long as you keep going up. All the efforts will pay off when you get to the top.

When you finally get to the top, which takes around 30 minutes, you’ll see the last pavilion and a small square in front of it. This is your hiking destination, the peak of Mt. Keelung with height of 588 meters (1,929 feet) above the sea level, and there’s a Class 3 Triangulation Stone.

You can take your time, watch the surroundings, and be amazed by the mountains and the ocean if the weather is gorgeous. You can also see Keelung Islet 基隆嶼 on the right in the following photo.

After you think you are ready to go, you can take the same stone steps back to the main road and walk to Jiufen or nearby Gold Museum and other tourist attractions.

If you decide to continue the hike, you need to find another trail entrance, which is next to the electric power lines on the main peak. When you take this trail, the grass on both sides can be very tall, but the trail isn’t too difficult to find. You can feel you are descending, and you will see a big rock slope.

I took this one when it was drizzling. I didn’t know there was a very steep rock slope waiting for me. When I saw that, I think my heart skipped one beat, but my friend and I still kept going. Hiking on this trail during the rain is not fun. Therefore, if the weather is wet, please turn back.

Even though it’s not raining, it might still make your cringe a little bit just by taking a look down the slope. I didn’t take a photo from the top down during my both trips, because I got panic and just wanted to move on as soon as possible. There are ropes for you to grab, but I think looking down the slope will make you unease if you aren’t comfortable with height.

Just take it slow and make sure your hands hold on tight with the rope, and you should be fine. During my first attempt to get down the slope, I slipped, and my friend later told me that she saw me hitting the rock. Luckily, my hands were still holding the rope tightly, and I had a small bag in front of my chest, which absorbed some impact for me.

When you get down the steep slope, the trail becomes relatively flat and easier to hike, and you will get to see a hill with a tree near the peak, which is called 485 Peak 485 峰. As you can guess it, it’s 485 meters (1,591 feet) above the sea level. Standing here, you get to see how far you’ve gone, and you can see Mt. Keelung East Peak from here, too.

After you are ready to leave 485 Peak, Mt. Keelung East Peak isn’t far. You will see a trail junction, and please take the one straight if you want to go to the east peak. The one going downhill will take you back to the other side of the trailhead. Unless the weather isn’t good, I strongly suggest you to go to Mt. Keelung East Peak. The views there are even more amazing than the ones you see on the main peak.

After you finish the east peak, the sightseeing is over and what’s waiting for you is the challenging jungle hike. I’ll explain more in the following.

After I took this hike from both ends, I highly recommend you to take this one. After you get off Geding Stop, you will see a pavilion-like bus stop building, and there’s a stone step trail going down. Take this one and you will get to see the sign before another stone steps.

After this, you get to walk on the regular road again. This trailhead isn’t that obvious compared to the other one, and you’ll see a road junction and you have to take the left to get to the trailhead.

Once you see the trailhead with many plastic ribbons, the jungle trail is waiting for you. Although it’s like a jungle, the trail isn’t too difficult to find. There are many plastic ribbons on the trees left by other hiking groups. Basically, you just follow those ribbons if you can't find the trail.

However, there are many rocks and the terrain is intertwined with tree roots from this side, and it’s very steep and very slippery on several sections. It's better to have a pair of yarn gloves with you because you need to grab the ropes or tree roots from time to time.

There's nothing much to see in the woods. All you can do is to keep going and looking forward to seeing the view when you get to the peaks. If it’s raining, it will be more difficult to hike on this trail, not to mention the slope climbing part later.

Once you get to the ridge, you will see a trail junction. Take the right one, and you’ll arrive Mt. Keelung East Peak very soon. I personally thought the views on the east peak were more amazing than those on the main peak and 485 Peak, but perhaps this is because this was what I first saw after taking the treacherous trail first. But, no matter what, the views are spectacular. If I hike here again, I’ll stay on the east peak at least for 30 minutes. Because I was with a group, I moved on after taking as many photos as I could.

While on the east peak, you can see 485 Peak and Mt. Keelung Main Peak ahead of you, and the steep grade of those peaks is quite impressive. Take your time to climb those slopes. However, if you think your fear of height kicks in, please don’t hesitate to tell your guide or hiking mates and ask for help. Local hikers are very friendly when you need their help.

Climbing up those rock slope might be slightly easier than going down, but it was still scary. I could feel my arms and legs were very tight when trying to grab the rope and find my footing. I think my pose might look funny, too, but I didn’t really care. The only thought I had at that time was I could get up to a safer place in one piece.

Finally, I got up there safely, but I think I also used up all my strength. We still had to go uphill, and I was already huffing and puffing. The views on 485 Peak were also amazing, and it was totally wroth the effort.

The main peak was still ahead, so we continued our hike. After going through tall grass, we reached the main peak. It was already crowded there because of the good weather, and we finally could take a long break to have lunch.

What’s next is the long stone steps going down. Compared the dangerous slopes, the stone steps that lead to the other end of the trail are nothing. Plus, watching the beautiful Jiufen and Jinguashih mountains will make you feel much better.

To finish those peaks, it takes less than 3 hours from the difficult end to the easy one. It was a little bit crowded on the day when I hiked. So, it could take less time if not many people are there. If you are okay with height and want to take a challenging but a short hike, this one is definitely for you. After you leave the trail, the bus stop is very close. I was able to catch the bus right after I finished my hike.

For people who have tight schedules but still want to see the most unique things you can experience in Taiwan, hiking to Mt. Keelung Main Peak and visiting Jiufen and Jinguashih later is not only doable but also lets you make the most of it in one day.

For those who want to take on the challenging hike and also see the amazing views only in northeastern Taiwan, starting your hike from the Mt. Keelung East Peak side to the main peak is highly recommended. If you take this route, please be cautious when climbing up the rocks.

There are also other ways to take on this hike. Some hikers start from the trailhead near Lian Dong Elementary School 濂洞國小, and hike to Mt. Keelung East Peak and then the main one. This route is short, but more intense than just doing the east peak and the main one. I haven’t tried this one yet, but I might try in the future.

Have you been to Mt. Keelung before? What do you think about Mt. Keelung East Peak? Let me know in the comment box below. Also, subscribe Taiwan Hikes newsletter for the wonderful trails in Taiwan.

Chinese only:
Mark Choo: 九份山尖路基隆山觀光步道
Hiking Biji: 雷霆峰步道(基隆山東峰、黃金一稜)
Waytogo: 基隆山稜
Keelung Mountain

Mt. Teapot, Mt. Banping, and Mt. Canguanliao
Bitou Cape Trails