Taiwan Hikes

There is no public transport near the trailhead of South Mt. Dongyan.

As to Mt. Yousheng, you take Nantou Bus 南投客運 6652 from Puli Station, and get off at Huisun Forest Farm 惠蓀林場. Or you can book a room and stay at Huisun Forest Farm. This is a very beautiful and underrated place to visit.

South Mt. Dongyan: 南東眼山, 1,875 meters (6,151 feet)
Mt. Yousheng: 有勝山, 2,105 meters (6,906 feet)

See the map and itinerary first

GPS coordinates of the trailhead: 24.037207, 121.10046

Our guide for this trip was also Xiao Tsai 小蔡. In case you haven't read Puli Six Beauties Part 1, Xiao Tsai is one of my favorite guides from LOHAS. Most of the time, I just sign up my favorite guides’ trips if I am available to take those hikes. Puli Six Beauties series is one of them.

On our Puli Six Beauties Part 1, Xiao Tsai said our Day 2 was an easy and happy hike. For those who have been hiking with him for a while, we all know to ignore his remark like this. But, surprisingly in a good way, our Day 1 of Puli Six Beauties Part 2 was indeed an easy and happy one. We left Taipei on early Saturday morning and arrived at the tea farmhouse around 10:30 am. We parked our cars there. The trailhead was right next to the farmhouse. After we got ready, we started our hike at 10:46 am.

Within one hour, we decided to stop to have a 40-minute lunch break.

Within another hour, we reached South Mt. Dongyan peak.

Then, we finished this hike and got back to our cars at 1:55 pm. This one was really easy. I don’t have much memory about this trail, but I was quite impressed by the place we stayed for the night, Huisun Forest Farm 惠蓀林場.

Huisun Forest Farm belongs to National Chung Hsing University with history dating back to Japanese Occupation in 1916 and has celebrated its 100th birthday in 2016. With the area of 7,477 hectares (18,476 acres) and elevations ranging from 450 to 2,420 meters, there are a variety of vegetations and landscapes. It's pity that we didn’t have enough time to explore this farm.

GPS Coordinates of the trailhead: 24.09104, 121.036436

As usual, we got up early in the morning and got to the trailhead at 5:40 am.

We hiked along Guandao Creek 關刀溪, and the valley looked spectacular. I had to stop several times to take photos. The path here was the regular road but please be aware of the falling rocks.

It took us around 35 minutes to reach Guandao Creek. So, our first task was to cross the river.

It rained a few days before our hike, and the swift but shallow water did intimidate me a little bit. Xiao Tsai and other guides accessed the creek and found a spot to assist us crossing the river. I wore a pair of rainboots so I just steppted into the water without any hassle. Other hikers had to take their hiking boots off before crossing the creek.

After everyone crossed the creek and put their boots on, we hiked along the creek a little bit and found the entrance to the steep slope.

We first encountered a rock slope. When I made a turn, something white caught my attention. There were several white flowers that looked like tiny people hanging from the plants, and those were gorgeous. Later I know those were White Calanthe 白鶴蘭. I didn’t expect to see them on this trip, and I was so happy to have this pleasant surprise. For more information about the flowers I saw on the trails, you can check out Flowers on the Trails.

After the orchid encounter, we continued our hike. It was a very steep slope almost without any flat area for me to catch my breath. In between the trees, I got a glimpse of the mountains surrounding us.

It was in midsummer, but we hiked at a higher attitude and started early, so the weather wasn’t that hot and humid. We got a great weather, and I could see sun lights seeping through the woods. While I was leaning against the tree and catching my breath, I saw this:

I also noticed some tiny white flowers scattering on some section of the trail, but I still don’t know what they are.

After the feel-like-forever uphill climbing, we reached 2023 Peak to have a lunch break. As you can guess, this was 2,023 meters (6,637 feet) above the sea level. The peak was actually not far away from here, but this was the relatively flat area for us to sit comfortably and have lunch.

Then, our good friends, bamboo woods, came back again. Compared to those we met on our Puli Six Beauties Part 1, those bamboos were very friendly, and this section was not too bad.

Within one hour, we reached our last peak of Puli Six Beauties, Mt. Yousheng, the only peak with views among Puli Six Beauties.

By the time we reached Mt. Yousheng, it was cloudy, nothing much to see. The good thing is we still got to see some views on the way to the peak.

The common thing about Puli Six Beauties was the massive descending, and it was a daunting task. By the time we left Mt. Yousheng, it was around noon. The heat and humidity made it even harder.

Since I started taking on more challenging hikes in 2020, my poor knees weren’t very happy with the massive descending. It was no surprise that my pace was getting slower.

By the time I got back to Guandao Creek, it was already 3:41 pm, and it took me another hour to get back to the trailhead. When we reached the trailhead, considerate Xiao Tsai had asked our driver to come back to the trailhead and pick us up.

To be honest, I think South Mt. Dongyan trail is okay. But if you really want to go, I will recommend you to visit Menggu Waterfall (Dream Valley) 夢谷瀑布 nearby. It takes only 30 minutes from the farmhouse to South Mt. Dongyan. From the photos I see online, Menggu Waterfall is gorgeous. If you visit Menggu Waterfall, please watch out the falling rocks and the potential risk of rapid rising water. Many people have lost their lives there.

As to Mt. Yousheng, I probably won’t go there again, but I am more drawn to Huisun Forest Farm. Huisun Forest Farm is a huge area with so many things to see.

There are also many short and easy trails for visitors to explore. It will be wonderful to take my time strolling in the woods to see what Huisun Forest Farm can offer.

If I visit Huisun Forest Farm, I will go to Guandao Creek again.

Moreover, there’s a bus to Huisun Forest Farm and you can book a room there, which makes life much easier. I highly recommend you visit this place if you can.

Chinese only:
Hiking Biji: 南東眼山 South Mt. Dongyan
Hiking Biji: 南東眼山+夢谷瀑布 South Mt. Dongyan and Menggu Waterfall
Hiking Biji: 有勝山 Mt. Yousheng
Huisun Forest Farm