Taiwan Hikes

Zhizhong is in Nantou County, but much closer to Jiayi County where Mt. Ali is. There’s only one bus to get here, Yuanlin Bus 6739. Bus 6739 runs between Sun Moon Lake and Mt. Ali. If you plan to visit Sun Moon Lake and have some extra days, it will be great to put Tefuye and Mt. Ali in your itinerary.

After getting off at Zhizhong stop, you will find the trailhead of Tefuye and public toilets. Some hikers camp near the old police station building so they can see the sunrise or start the hike to Mt. Zhizhong early.

Mt. Zhizhong: 自忠山, Zhizhong Shan, 2,606m (8,550 ft). Views are very good on the summit.
Mt. Beixia: 北霞山, Beixia Shan, 2,472 m (8,110 ft). No views.
Mt. Dongsui: 東水山, Dongsui Shan, 2,611 m (8,566 ft). No views.

See the map and itinerary first

Tefuye trail locates in Alishan National Scenic Area Administration in south Taiwan, and Mt. Ali or Alisha is one of the most beautiful attractions in Taiwan. If you arrange this hike, you probably head south to Chiayi from Taipei and stay there overnight.

The first thing caught my eye was the layers of mountains in the valley. Our guide told us this was a great spot to see the beautiful sunrise if you camp nearby. If the clear sky and the mountains we witnessed at that moment was already astonishing, I can’t imagine how stunning it will be if I get a chance to see the sunrise.

The entrance of Tefuye trail is very obvious on Zhizhong side and there is an old railway. All you have to do is just follow the railway track. There are many cedar trees and the trail is very flat.

After a few meters, our happy time was over, because we had to go uphill here to start our journey. To demonstrate its authority, the trail gave us a very sharp steep beginning. A little warning before you decide to take this trail. This trail is considered as a high altitude one, and the high altitude will make the breathing a little bit more difficult if you aren't used to it.

I learned this lesson in the hard way during this hike. Our group left Taipei late on the previous evening, and by the time we got to our B&B, it was 1 am already. We had to get up at 5 am, which means we only had less than 4 hours to sleep. But sometimes your sacrifice will pay off. When we were about to leave our B&B, i realized we were surrounded by mountains and Mt. Yu was one of them.

I wasn’t feeling well on that week already. So, those things together made my hike even more miserable.

Our first peak was Mt. Zhizhong or Mt. Eryu, 2,606 meters (8,550 feet). The trail condition was quite good because some parts were covered by pine needles. We reached a place that was big enough for all of us to take a rest, and left our backpacks here before climbing up to Mt. Zhizhong.

Just when I thought the previous sections of trail were steep enough, it was even steeper on the way to Mt. Zhizhong. Luckily, it didn’t take us long to get there.

I looked the other side from the summit and our guide told us that that was the highest mountain in Taiwan, Mt. Yu, 3,952 meters (12,966 feet). The stunning view made me feel instantly better for a few minutes.

The view from the opposite side of Mt. Yu was also spectacular. I stood there for a while to admire the landscape around me.

We still had several peaks to go. Our next stop was Mt. Dongshui. The trail became steeper again, and my excitement soon was replaced by fatigue again. I managed to notice the higher altitude we hiked, the more amazing trees we saw. Our guide reminded us that logging was the main business in Tefuye many decades ago.

I’m no expert of vegetation, but you still can tell the woods is mixed with pines and subtropical trees, which was amazing. They just blended together so well.

While hiking on the trail and enjoying the beautiful trees, I noticed some big trees were brutally chopped down and there were signs on them. I went up close to check out those signs. The signs said those trees were the victims of illegal logging, and those crimes were under investigation. This wasn't my first time seeing this. Illegal logging is still a serious issue in Taiwan. The government promises they will relax the restrictions on hiking in Taiwan and encourage hikers to report poachers if seeing them. I truly hope this will help reduce illegal logging.

I also noticed there were many acorns on the trail. Our guide told us those were acorns of Ring-cupped Oak trees 青剛櫟. Those seeds are one of Formosan Black Bears' favorite foods. But you don't need to worry that you will run into those bears. Formosan Black Bears are endangered species in Taiwan. It's very difficult to see them on the trails. Seeing those also reminded me of Scrat in the movie, Ice Age.

It took us around one hour to reach Mt. Dongshui 東水山, 2,611 meters (8,566 feet), but there was no view near the triangulation stone, so we headed to our next peak, Mt. Beixia, 北霞山. After Mt. Beixia, we had to take the same route back to Mt. Donshui again.

Mt. Beixia, 北霞山, 2,472 meters (8,110 feet), was lower than Mt. Dongshui, and the round trip from Mt. Dongshui to Mt. Beixia took me 4 hours to finish. This section wasn't an exciting hike without many beautiful views, and my pace was getting slower and slower, especially during the ascending.

Before my first arrive at Mt. Dongshui, I already found myself huffing and puffing, and I had to stop almost every few meters to catch my breath. A very friendly guide, Fion, was very kind to keep company with me. I even asked Fion whether there was an early exit on the trail so I could retreat. Unfortunately, no.

On the way back to Mt. Dongshui, I was so exhausted that I had to stop every three steps. I did difficult hikes before, but i never experienced things like this. I was dead tired. I got disoriented sometimes that I missed the trail. So, Fion decided to take the lead.

Fion was in a much better condition than mine, and I felt so terrible for her that she had to slow down for me. I remember I even fell asleep within seconds during a break when I leaned on my backpack. When opening my eyes again, I was amazed by the beautiful sunshines dancing in the woods. So, I took this picture.

There was still a long way to go and we had to move fast, so I didn't take many photos afterwards. By the time we finally left the rugged terrains, it was already dark. Luckily, we also reached Tefuye Trail again and it was easier. It was pity that I didn’t get to see this part of the trail in the broad daylight, but it didn’t matter at that moment. It started raining and we just wanted to get back to our bus.

We put on our headlamps and continued to hike. We still had the final 2 km (1.2 miles) to reach the trailhead. It was almost pitch dark and the only thing I could see was the rain drops through my headlamp.

This final section took me almost one hour to finish, but it felt like forever. Although I was very slow, I wasn’t the last one to finish our first-day hike. There were around 7 people behind us, and it took them another two hours to finish the hike. For me, I was glad that I could call it a day.

It's a shame that I didn't get to see those trees on the easy part of the trail. From the photos taken by my hiking mates, those trees were gorgeous. For those who just want to enjoy strolling without too much stress, you can find some information at Tefuye Historical Trail from Forestry Bureau website.

I will do this hike again, but I will also change the route to make the hike more enjoyable.

First, I will leave Taipei earlier if possible. We left Taipei around 8 pm and we arrived at our B&B around 1 am, which took us around 6 hours to Mt. Ali area.

Second, I will camp at old Zhizhong Police Station, a red building next to the Tefuye trailhead, to reduce the commuting time. Sorry I didn't take the photo. The policemen no long station here. Some hikers camp here to save time. It took us almost 2 hours from our B&B to Tefuye Trail. If we could camp there, we could have slept more and even seen the sunrise. Our guides arranged B&B for us hoping that we could sleep better, but we could only sleep around 4 hours, which didn’t help much.

Third, I probably will skip Mt. Beixia, make it a point-to-point route, and take the same route back to where we stared, and spend more time to enjoy part of the railway trail.

Fourth, during our hike, I saw many maple leaves on the trail, and the color was still amazing. If you want to see fall foliage, I think you can arrange the hike when the timing is right.

I still highly recommend this trail, as long you can avoid my mistakes, or just take the easy one and enjoy the unique landscapes and the history behind the trail. After this, you can also visit Mt. Ali and see more spectacular views over there.

Here's my second day hike from this trip.

Chinese only:
Mark Choo: 過年假期阿里山之旅4-3，十字路社區、特富野古道、自忠山、東水山、水山
Hiking Biji: 自忠山、東水山、特富野古道
Waytogo: 特富野古道

English posts:
Alishan National Scenia Area: Tefuye trail
Alishan 阿里山
The Ultimate Guide to Sun Moon Lake 日月潭極限指南
SUN MOON LAKE FULL CYCLE LOOP