100 Peaks Hike - Mt. Dabajian: A Bucket List Hike to the Magnificent Rocks on the Ridgeline in Taiwan
Posted by: Anusha Lee
Published date: January 12, 2021
Disclaimer: Please note some of the following are based on my
personal condition, and I will try to provide the latest and
correct information as possible as I can. Please feel free to let
me know if I make any mistake and thank you for reading. Please
also note that your safety is your own responsibility.
About Mt. Dabajian, Mt. Xiaobajian, Mt. Yizhe, and Mt. Jiali
Mt. Dabajian 大霸尖山 is the mountain that every Taiwanese sees on a daily basis probably without knowing it, because those are depicted on the back of the NT$500 banknote. For many hikers in Taiwan, hiking to those mountains is on their bucket list.
Mt. Dabajian is depicted on the NT$500 banknote.
Mt. Dabajian and Mt. Xiaobajian are the sacred mountains for Taiwan indigenous people Atayal 泰雅族 and Saisiyat 賽夏族. Atayal people call those two mountains Babo Papak, meaning two ears 雙耳嶽. Those two peaks do look like ears from the distance.
In Chinese, Da 大 means big, Xiao 小 means small, and Jian means peaks. That's why you see Daba Peaks on the permit application page. When I was hiking on other trails, I was able to see those amazing peaks from the distance.
There was a ladder going to the top of Mt. Dabajian, but the ladder has been worn out and become too dangerous to climb. The most important thing is the summit is Atayal’s sacred place. To respect their culture, Shei-Pa National Park 雪霸國家公園 banned climbing to the top in 2010.
Hikers can only stay at the base of Mt. Dabajian
Mt. Dabajian and Mt. Xiaobajian belong to Mt. Xue Range 雪山山脈. Therefore, here are several ways to hike if you want to get close to those amazing mountains. Here, I hiked on the most popular and the easiest trail.
As to Mt. Yizhe 伊澤山 and Mt. Jiali 加利山, those are listed on 100 Peaks, and Mt. Yizhe is the northeast peak among the 100 Peaks list. Our guide told us that the views of Mt. Dabajian and Mt. Xiaobajian from Mt. Yizhe and Mt. Jiali peaks were amazing, but the weather wasn’t good and all we saw was clouds. Perhaps I'll have better luck next time.
How to Apply for Permits to Hike 100 Peaks (Mt. Dabajian and the other three)
Standard Application v.s. Foreign Advanced Application
If you have an Alien Resident Certificate or an exchange student, you still have to click Standard Application like we locals. If you are a tourist from other countries, you can click Foreign Advanced Application. The difference is that the hut will give tourists a certain number of beds to ensure you can have beds on the weekdays and non-national holidays. The application is open from 4 months before the date of exit to 65 days before the date of entry. But you still have to check the bed availability
Foreign Advanced Applications are for international tourists only.
There are required days for Standard Applications, but I usualy will wait one week before our entry because I want to make sure the weather is okay to hike.
Enter Your Itinerary
When you type your route, your primary route will be Daba Peaks Trail and you can either choose "Grade A Daba Peaks Trails" staying at Jiujiu Hut or "Grade C Daba Peaks Trail: Zhongba Shelter in first day" staying at Zhongba (or spelled as Jhongba) Cabin. You can decide to hike the trail in 3 or 4 days.
You can decide which cabain you want to stay.
After you receive the notice email, you can proceed to pay the fee of Jiujiu Hut within 5 days of receiving notice for payment. You can check your orders and payments here. The fee is NT$200 per person for a bunk bed per night at Jiujiu Hut, and free staying at Zhongba Cabin.
Emergency Coordinator
In Taiwan, Emergency Coordinator is deemed as a member of the hiking team. This person has to participate in your trip planning, knows itinerary very well, provides the weather forecast for the team if they can’t get phone signal in the wilderness, and calls for the rescue team for help, etc. The team guide has to report back to the emergency coordinator everyday about their progress and team members’ condition, etc.
Of course, not every hiking team really practices this, but at least the person you put here should know your itinerary very well, and it’s your responsibility to report to this person every day. So, please don’t just put a random person in here. It's about your safety.
Meal and Sleeping Bag Rental Service
Jiujiu Hut doesn’t provide food catering but has a designated area for hikers to cook food or water. Since this is a popular destination for hikers, you can find porters that provide cooked meals and sleeping bag rental services.
There’s no bus to the trailhead of Mt. Dabajian, so you have to arrange your own transportation or drive there. The closest tourist attraction is Guanwu National Forest Recreation Area 觀霧國家森林遊樂園, and you have to get inside Guanwu to get to the Mt. Dabajian Trailhead Service Station 大霸尖山登山服務站 or Checkpoint, 2,039 meters (6,690 feet), to submit your permit in the mailbox before hiking.
Mt. Dabajian Trailhead Service Station/Checkpoint 大霸尖山登山服務站
We stayed at Yuanshan B&B 雲山民宿, which was in the north of Guanwu National Forest Recreation Area, about 30-minute drive. The early morning views from Yuanshan B&B was amazing.
The early morning from Yuanshan B&B
Peaks to Reach
Mt. Dabajian 大霸尖山: 3,492 meters (11,456 feet), a Class 2 Triangulation Stone on the peak. It’s not allowed to climb the rock. Hikers can only stay at the base of the rock. Mt. Xiaobajian 小霸尖山: 3,418 meters (11,214 feet) Mt. Yizhe 伊澤山: 3,297 meters (10,817 feet), a Class 3 Triangulation Stone on the peak Mt. Jiali 加利山: 3,112 meters (10,210 feet), a Class 3 Triangulation Stone on the peak
Other places you also need to reach: Jiujiu Hut 九九山莊: 2,699 meters (8,855 feet)
Zhongba (or Jhongba) Cabin 中霸山屋: 3,280 meters (10,761 feet)
Note: to make life easier, I will use the spelling of Jhongba to refer Zhongba.
There are several ways to do this hike. We did the easiest one, the three-day hike:
Day 0: Taipei to Yuanshan B&B in the evening
Day 1: Yuanshan B&B to Mt. Dabajian Checkpoint to Madala River Entrance to Jiujiu Hut
Day 2: Jiujiu Hut to Jhongba Ground to Mt. Dabajian, Mt. Xiaobajian, Mt. Yizhe, and Mt. Jiali, and back to Jiujiu Hut
Day 3: Jiujiu Hut to Madala River entrance to Mt. Dabajian Checkpoint, and back to Taipei
If I do this hike again, I will change my itinerary and you can check out here first.
A Super Long Forest Road to the Real Trailhead
GPS Coordinates of Mt. Dabajian Checkpoint: 24.505037, 121.118944
We arrived at Guanwu around 6 am and submit our hiking permits at Mt. Dabajian Checkpoint. After everyone was ready, we went through the gate and started our hike on Dalu Forest Road 大鹿林道線.
Mt. Dabajian Checkpoint
But, In December 2020, the government hinted that they might consider allowing shuttle services for hikers on Dalu Forest Road so hikers can save a 38 km hike and start hiking at Madala River. By the time I post this, it hasn’t reached any conclusion yet.
Allowing hikers to take shuttle buses can save a lot of time, but it can also make this trail too popular to get a park permit.
It's disheartening to take such a long trail (38 km or 23.75 miles round trip hike) to get to the real trailhead near Madala River, but it seems to protect the trail to Mt. Dabajian and other peaks from being overcrowded, especially during the pandemic when local people don't feel safe traveling in other countries.
We started early to hike on Dalu Forest Road.
It was easy to hike on Dalu Forest Road. One of the reasons was it was slightly descending, and the second reason was we just got started with the full energy. The trees along with this road were tall and beautiful. We could see peaks through the tall trees.
Many beautiful tress along Dalu Forest Road
But hiking here for a long time can be very boring, especially when you had to do it twice. We had three guides in this group, and two of them were very friendly. They shared their knowledge of the plants on this forest road , but I forgot to take photos of them.
You can find phone signals when seeing this sign in yellow.
There are many Biting Cats or Stinging Nettles 咬人貓 on this forest road. Please be careful if you need to find a place to relieve yourself.
It's not fun to get stung by Stinging Nettles
I've seen many mushrooms on my previous hikes, but they weren’t as big as those I saw on Dalu Forest Road.
There were so many huge mushrooms when I hiked there in September 2020.
There were many wild kiwi trees and fruits or Chinese gooseberry 奇異果或獼猴桃, too, but I wasn’t brave enough to try them.
When you see a concrete bridge with a big beautiful Waterfall next to it, you've reached Dongxian Waterfall 東線瀑布, which means you get 3 km left to the shortcut. You will also find many clean water sources on this forest road. So, you don't have to carry too much water with you.
You'll find a beautiful surprise on the left side of this concrete bridge.
Dongxian Waterfall
The Collapsed Building and Bridge at Madala River Trailhead
There were also many chairs on the side of the trail, and they looked very tempting when I was tired. Finally, we reached the mark of 17K with a big stone table and chairs.
Finally, we reached 17 km.
Not sure it's a good idea to write something on the public property, but you can find the shortcut with many plastic ribbons following this direction.
We took a steep slope down to Madala River 馬達拉溪 and the real trailhead to Jiujiu Hut 九九山莊 and Mt. Dabajian. This steep slope was actually a shortcut, so we didn’t have to hike extra 2 km.
This was a short steep slope but not too difficult.
There was a tiny hut after you got to the bottom of the slope. Our guide told us that some hikers stay here one night and head directly to Mt. Dabajian the next day. But it’s not guarantee that you will get a place here because it’s like first come first serve.
A small hut next to the bridge over Madala River
We crossed the river on the red bridge, 1,815 meters (5,954.7 feet) above the sea level, and saw a collapsed building and a collapsed bridge on our right-hand side. The abandoned building was the old checkpoint, but it was destroyed by a typhoon.
A
My friend told me they could drive here and start hiking to Mt. Dabajian years ago (last century to be exact). But the government decided not to fix the forest road and the building because the typhoons destroy them from time to time.
Crossing Madala River
We took our lunch under the bridge to hide under the shade. The view from the bridge was wonderful.
The weather was great on our first day.
Real Hike Began to Jiujiu Hut
After lunch, we took the stairs next to the collapsed suspension bridge. From there, it was a hike with elevation gain of 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) all the way up to Jiujiu Hut and the distance was 4.1 km (2.54 miles).
The real hike began.
The vegetation looked different now and there were many tall cypress trees. The trail terrain was more rugged than the forest road, but there were wooden stairs in several sections. It was a little bit tricky to navigate your way when passing through a section of rock rubbles underneath the trees.
Many beautiful tall cypress trees after we crossed the bridge.
Although my friend and I joined a group hike, my friend was already exhausted and became slow and I kept him company. We were left to go through the rock rubbles, but it wasn’t difficult to find our way out. Compared to the rock rubbles I encountered at Mt. Baigu, this one was very mild.
We passed a small section of rock rubble area.
There were many timber posts with millage marks telling you how much you still had to go to get to Jiujiu Hut. As I said in my previous posts, those marks can be encouraging and depressing at the same time.
We took a small break at 3.4K mark.
Eventually, we arrived at Jiujiu Hut. I could’t tell you how much we were so happy to see the gate of Jiujiu Hut.
Finally, we reached Jiujiu Hut.
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Stunning Sunset that Was Worth Skipping Dinner for
The elevation of Jiujiu Hut is 2,699 meters (8,855 feet), and the pronunciation of 99 in Chinese is Jiujiu. It’s under the administration of Shie-Pa National Park. You get the idea why it’s called Jiujiu. It has 6 small dome huts and 3 big houses to accommodate up to 300 hikers, but the available bed is usually around 130.
You will be assigned to stay at the bunk-bed houses or dome huts depending on the size of your group. The long house in the center is the kitchen and canteen.
When we stayed there in early September, I was told that you could get a better phone signals if you headed to the west for about 70 meters passing the solar panels. When I was trying to find the place to get the phone receptions, a very kind girl pointed the direction for me and told me the view was great.
We stayed at this bunk-bed house.
It was about time for us to have dinner, so I was struggling whether I should get the hot meal or check out the views first. In a few seconds, I decided the hot meal could wait. And I was so thrilled to know that I’ve made the right decision. The sunset was stunning! Sorry for the blurred photos, but it still looks stunning.
This stunning sunset was worth skipping dinner for even after a long day hike.
I wasn’t the only one there to admire the epic sunset. Many hikers were already there to enjoy the amazing views (or the available phone signals). Lucky for future hikers, they can get the phone signals inside Jiujiu Hut by the end of 2020.
When I was about to leave, my friend came to the spot to tell me to get my dinner. I decided to come back later before going to bed, and I wasn’t let down. I saw the amazing starry sky and even caught a sight of a shooting star.
A Long Way to the Epic Rocks
We got up around 2:30 am to have breakfast and got ready to head to Mt. Dabajian around 3:30 am with light backpacks. The trail was next to Jiujiu Hut and it was uphill again.
The stairs went up to Mt. Dabajian and the other three peaks.
It was still dark when we reached the junction to Mt. Jiali around 4:26 am. By the time we reached 3050 Upland (or 3050 Highland), it was around 6 am and we could see Mt. Dabajian and Mt. Xiaobajian in the distance. Some hikers will go to Mt. Jiali before going to Mt. Dabajian, but our guide took us to Mt. Dabajian first.
There were two ridgelines here. The Mt. Dabajian and Mt. Xiaobajian one, and Holy Ridgeline in the back.
The weather seemed okay with clouds when we reached to the fork to Mt. Dabajian and Mt. Yizhe at 6:14 am. The view of Mt. Dabajian and Mt. Xiaobajian was amazing, but the clouds seemed to get thicker.
The mountains from the other side were also amazing.
We arrived at Jhongba Cabin around 6:29 am. This hut can accommodate 12 hikers but there was no stable water supply here. We took a small break and continued to climb up the small hill.
You can stay at Jhongba Cabin for free.
Very soon, we reached a very flat ground, which was Jhongba Ground 中霸坪, around 3,350 meters (10,990 feet). One of our guides told me that some hikers came here to see the sunrise. Standing here, I could almost imagine how stunning it could be to watch the sunrise here.
We were getting closer to Mt. Dabajian and Mt. Xiaobajian. I felt energetic, especially when our hiking mates struck an encouraging pose in the back.
I took out my NT$500 banknote which had been sitting in my pocket since I got up, and took photos of Mt. Dabajian and Mt. Xiaobajian. It wasn’t easy to get a clear focus of the banknote and the mountains, but I was thrilled to see those epic mountains in person.
I'd been waiting for this moment for a long time.
Finally, we reached the edge of Jhongba Ground, and were about to go downhill to the base of Mt. Dabajian.
Ready for the Epic Mt. Dabajian
The trail condition became more rugged from here, and you had to watch out the cliff on your right-hand side while admiring the magnificent Mt. Dabajian ahead. I could see the metal gate at the base of Mt. Dabajian, and I also started seeing more amazing wildflowers on the left side the trail.
I still need to check what those delicate and beautiful flowers are.
Eventually, we reached the base of Mt. Dabajian, whose shape was more slander and pointed from this angle. We can’t climb up to Mt. Dabajian summit for safety reasons, but I was very thrilled to get so close to this amazing mountain, not just from our banknote.
Definitely had to take this photo.
As usual, we had to take the peak photos. The weather turned cloudy without any blue color in the sky like what we saw earlier, but I think we were still lucky because it didn’t rain. It was too windy here, so we resumed our hike to Mt. Xiaobajian.
When we passed the base of Mt. Dabajian, we saw the old cage to protect hikers from falling rocks decaying on the side.
Before our hike, our guides had told us to pay extra attention to the trail around Mt. Dabajian base, because it could by icy and slippery because of the dropping temperature at night. Moreover, you might bump your head to the rock wall. I saw the old trail cage decayed on the side of the trail. It did look scary.
It can be very slippery if the trail around Mt. Dabajian base becomes icy.
I looked at the slope on my right-hand side, imaging how desperate it would be if someone lost their footing here made my palms sweat. Definitely not fun. I walked as soon as I could and reached to the ridge behind Mt. Dabajian. Mt. Xiaobajian was waiting for us.
The ridge to Mt. Xiaobajian looked scary but manageable.
While we walked on the ridge, one of our guides told us Mt. Zhongyangjian and Mt. Nanhu were on our left-hand side. This was one of the very few clear photos I could take before clouds covering up those beautiful peaks.
Mt. Zhongyangjian and Mt. Nanhu were in the distance.
Within 30 minutes, we arrived at the rock platform before Mt. Xiaobajian and prepared to the biggest challenge for that day.
A small rock platform before our hike to Mt. Xiaobajian
Scary Vertical Climb to Mt. Xiaobajian Summit
We took a break at the platform waiting for our hiking mates to arrive and other hikers who were still descending from Mt. Xiaobajian to finish. The rocky, barren and almost vertical rock of Xiaobajian did look terrifying from there.
Mt. Xiaobajian looked huge from the platform. The hiker on the peak looked so tiny.
Our guides had told us constantly how dangerous it could be to climb Mt. Xiaobajian, and I was so worried my weak spaghetti arms were too weak to hold my weight that I started doing pushups one month before our hike. I hoped it paid off.
Finally, it was our turn to climb Mt. Xiaobajian. We left our small backpacks and trekking poles on the platform to reduce more weight. There were ropes for us to hold, but I usually didn’t trust ropes on the trails. I tried to hold on the rocks with one of my arms instead of totally holding on the ropes. I didn’t dare to take any photo during my climb, and I just wanted to reach the summit as soon as I could.
They said you could see 360° view from the peak of Mt. Xiaobajian, but unfortunately the only thing I could see was clouds. This happens a lot when you do 100 Peaks in Taiwan.
On the peak of Mt. Xiaobajian. It was pity that we didn't see any view there.
It takes luck to hike 100 Peaks in Taiwan. If you are lucky enough, you win the draw to the beds of the cabins. If you get the beds, you start to pray for a good weather.
Since there was nothing much to see on the summit, I decided to get back to the platform. Thinking of descending the rock made my palms sweat again. Looking down from the rock was scarier than climbing up. Luckily, I didn’t panic and made it safely to the platform. By the time we reached the platform, it started drizzling.
It looks scary but it's still safe if you are careful.
So Many Stunning Wildflowers on the base of Mt. Dabajian
Something worth mentioning was there were so many delicate beautiful wildflowers on the base of Mt. Dabajian and the ridge to Mt. Xiaobajian. As much as I wish I could take photos of those delicate flowers, I didn’t want to risk my and other hiking mates’ lives by kneeling on the narrow passages. Luckily, I found out more at safer locations and I was able to take photos of them.
Taiwan Ladybell 玉山沙參
Dianthus pygmaeus Hayata 玉山石竹
This is one of the flowers I found on the trail, Cirsium kawakamii Hayata. At first, I thought this was the plant that printed on the back of our NT$1,000 banknote, but according to Foreigners in Taiwan, it was a different species, Cirsium tatakaense (Compositae). Even though it’s not the one printed on our banknote, this was still a very lovely flowers and I was very happy to see them on the trail.
Cirsium kawakamii Hayata 玉山薊
When we returned from Mt. Dabajian and Mt. Xiaobajian, I saw many cute white fruits hanging in the bushes along with the trail. Our guide told us this was Taiwan Gaultheria 高山白珠樹, and those fruits were edible. Thus, I picked up those big ones and ate them. I told my friend some of them were pretty good and he gave me the look that I was nuts.
Taiwan Gaultheria 高山白珠樹. I ate some of those fruits.
You can check out this page for more flowers I found on the trails.
Gloomy Weather Dampened the Glory of the Other Two 100 Peaks
The weather was getting cloudier after we left Mt. Dabajian and Mt. Xiaobajian. I was already tired, and the cloudy sky wasn’t able to boost my morale to finish the other two peaks, but I still managed to continue.
Time to visit the other two 100 Peaks
Unfortunately, our lead guide was foul-mouthed person, which made the rest of the trip even more unbearable. Since we took the same trail back to Jiujiu Hut and I had a GPX track, my friend and I decided to take our time.
From other hikers’ blogs, the view of Mt. Dabajian and Xiaobajian from Mt. Jiali and Mt. Yizhe were phenomenal. I definitely have to do this hike again.
Mt. Yizhe
It took us 9 hours and 21 minutes to finish the round trips on the second day.
Mt. Jiali, my forth 100 Peaks on that day
Sun Bright and Shiny Again When We Were Ready to Leave
Since it was raining, I didn’t go to the secret spot in the west of Jiujiu Hut to use the phone signals. I packed my backpack as much as I could because we were leaving in the next day. When I was packing my belongings, I got a feeling that it might be a great weather by the time we left. I was right. It was a sunny day with bright blue sky.
The weather turned good again when we were ready to leave.
On the way back, the nicer guides told us that we could see Mt. Yizhe and Mt. Jiali on Dalu Forest Road. Looking at those peaks with the blue sky made me feel a little bit sad because we couldn’t see it yesterday.
Looking at Mt. Yizhe and Mt. Jiali from Dalu Forest Road
Hiking 20+ km two days in a row already made us exhausted, and we still had 22 km to get back to the trailhead. Although 17 km was slightly uphill, it was more like a mental challenge than a physical one. I could feel my willpower was draining away. I felt like zombie walking on Dalu Forest Road.
The good thing was you know you would finish it, sooner or later, and called it a day.
Hiked on Dalu Forest Road again
Some Thoughts about This Hike: Staying at Jhongba Ground to See the Epic Sunrise
This is definitely a hike that I will do it again. Most parts of the trail aren’t dangerous, and you can do it without going with a big group, if you are not afraid of height.
The most dangerous section is the climbing to the top of Mt. Xiaobajian and you have to be extremely careful when doing it. Wait till the passage cleared up when you go. It won’t be fun if you ran into someone when you are trying to get up and they trying to descend.
Staying at Jhongba Cabin for one night is an option, but you need to carry your own water and sleeping bag.
If I do it again and under the circumstance that we still have to hike Dalu Forest Road, I will do it in 4 days and stay at Jhongba Cabin for one day. If I’m lucky enough, I might be able to see sunrise and sunset at Jhongba Ground. The itinerary will be:
Day 0: Taipei to Yuanshan B&B in the evening
Day 1: Yuanshan B&B to Mt. Dabajian Checkpoint to Madala River Entrance to Jiujiu Hut
Day 2: Carry water from Jiujiu Hut to Jhongba Cabin. Head to Mt. Dabajian and Mt. Xiaobajian. Get back to Jhongba Ground and wait for the sunset. Stay one night at Jhongba Cabin.
Day 3: Get to Jhongba Ground to see the sunrise, and head to Mt. Yizhe and Mt. Jiali. Back to the cabin and head to Jiujiu Hut.
Day 4: Get up early and leave Jiujiu Hut to the trailhead, and back to Taipei.
I was thinking about staying one night at the hut near Madala River Entrance, but I was told it’s first come first serve, not sure you can get a bed. Since I don’t want to carry my tent, it’s better to hike all the way up to Jiujiu Hut.
There were several huts on Dalu Forest Road and some hikers stayed here for one night.
Map and Itinerary
Group Hike or Solo Hike: Group hike with Dudu
Day 1: September 4, 2020