Two things - first thing, getting there was TOUGH! It was quite a wait for the 260 bus at the Taipei Main Station, then we had to stand for the 45-min journey. Reached the Yangmingshan bus terminal where it was a longish wait for the 108 shuttle bus. It came and, oh what a journey! We hung on for dear life as the bus swayed all over the steep windy roads. It was such a LONG ride too.
Second thing, this place is GORGEOUS. :) Until I encountered problems selecting which photos to post here! I decided on Xiaoyoukeng as our first stop with its volcanic fumaroles (from Google, these are openings in the earth surface which emit volcanic gases). Well it was something special all right! Erm, the smell of sulphur/rotten eggs does take getting used to.
Us with Hook, representative of hubby
Volcanic gas coming out behind us
Very hot, sign says don't even think of touching
The bigger stops have visitor centres and shops - not sure about smaller stops. Bought some hot pastries at the Xiaoyoukeng (literally means 'Small Oil Pit') shop for lunch.
Lunch first
The map of the trails in the area were not super-clear. We went up this 'Bamboo trail' we spotted behind the shop. The steps were steep and endless. Lovely trail but no way our fitness level could cope.
Err we go down soon
Went out to the front where there was a small lane beside the road. Seems there are plenty of nice walks to be had.
This one better
Our goal was the trail we saw on the way in. And so we climbed. This one... was also quite steep. After huffing and puffing for some time, this sign told us we had done 0.2km out of the 1.6km to the peak. Hahha... ok so we also had to surrender for this trail!
Shall we continue?
No no, we sit and then go down
I had mistakenly thought 108 was a shuttle bus which conveniently drops people off at various points of interest. Oh no no, it only runs every 30mins. We waited longer than that to get to Qiantiangang, another spot in Yangmingshan. Having to depend on this bus really means we cannot visit many spots in a day! Anyway, it finally arrived. Our destination was the 'Qiantiangang Circular trail'.
This way looks good
Now this trail, was jussttt right. The weather was sunny yet cool, perfect. This trail was mostly flat with some steps along the way.
Beautiful day eh?
Beautiful day beautiful surroundings
Everywhere, just WOW
We-fie with Captain Hook representing our Papa
We walked along and chatted. We agreed hubby would have difficulty navigating this trail at his recent level of mobility. He had holidayed in Taiwan before with his friends when the girls were still too young to travel - I wondered if he had visited this national park. The scenery was varied. We ate our snacks at this fortress.
Fortress here
Such a peaceful place. It was large enough that we didn't encounter many people deeper into the trail.
Eating my snack in peace
The trail is apparently a 45-min one, but we took our time and only reached the starting point again in 1.5 hours. After thinking we had missed the last bus back to Taipei, luckily another bus 260 arrived. Phew, saved. SE chose this place called 'Joyful' at the Main Station for dinner. My katsu choice really hit the spot for me and I kept telling the girls I was very joyful hehe.
My super-joyful mummy
Definitely an excellent day!
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