Hiking the Highest Peak in Taiwan
Kraig AdamsSep 2022 · With friends
- Days
- 2 days on Yushan
- Direction
- Out and back from Tataka via Paiyun Lodge to North Peak and the Main…
- Cost
- 11,712 (about US$370, US$120 each)
- Lodging
- Huts
Asia · Taiwan
Taiwan and Yushan
Taiwan
- Distance
- 16.4 mi26.4 km
- Days
- 2 days2 days on Yushan
- Elevation gain
- 6,230 ft1,899 m
- High point
- 12,966 ft3,952 m
- Season
- The end of September
- Lodging
- Huts
Hikes / Asia / Taiwan and Yushan
At the end of September 2022 I hiked Yushan, Jade Mountain, the highest peak in Taiwan, with two local hikers, Curtis and Larry. We drove down from Taipei through the night, took the shuttle to the Tataka trailhead and hiked about five miles up to Paiyun Lodge on the first day. On the second day we left the lodge at 2:30 a.m., went past the Main Peak in the dark and on to North Peak and its weather station for sunrise, came back and summited the Main Peak, 12,966 ft (3,952 m), and then I hiked all the way back down to the trailhead the same morning. Two days, about 16.4 miles by my GPS: 5.4 on the first day and 11.0 on the second. It's the trip from my film Hiking the Highest Peak in Taiwan.
Kraig Adams
Effort at this pace: Hard · about 8 mi (13 km) and 3,115 ft (950 m) of climbing a day over 2 days, up to 12,966 ft (3,952 m). Our grade for the days given, worked out from distance, climbing and altitude a day; it isn't the trail's usual difficulty rating (under Basics) and doesn't rate exposure, terrain or weather.
Where these numbers come from
From Kraig Adams's GPS recording and guide.
From Kraig Adams's GPS
The route, day by day
Elevation8,550–12,749 ft16.4 mi
From Kraig Adams's GPS. Terrain: Mapzen Terrain Tiles (SRTM, GMTED) on AWS · Rivers & lakes © OpenStreetMap contributors
Tap a day for his map of it
Download GPX258 KB · free
The film
Watch it first
Hiking the Highest Peak in Taiwan
Before you go
The basics
- Start
- The Tataka trailhead, about 8,560 ft (2,610 m), reached by a shuttle from the Shangdongpu parking lot
- Finish
- The Tataka trailhead, about 8,560 ft (2,610 m), reached by a shuttle from the Shangdongpu parking lot
- Direction
- Out and back from Tataka via Paiyun Lodge to North Peak and the Main Peak
- Usual difficulty
- A steady trail to the lodge, then a night start, thin air, scree, a chained scramble and a long way down
- Best time
- The end of September. I went on September 28 and 29. It was very hot midday and not that cold at night, and the mornings were clear: cloud filled the valleys below the peaks at sunrise. The afternoon at the lodge was foggy.
- Permits
- Two free permits on Hike Smart Taiwan; Paiyun's beds by lottery or the foreigner quota; NT$480 a night
- Getting there
- My way in, 2022. I flew in and spent a lot of time in Taipei. Curtis and Larry picked me up in Taipei in the dead of night and did all the driving, a four-hour drive to the trailhead and almost 10 hours round trip, while I slept in the back seat. We stopped at a 7-Eleven at about 5 a.m. in the Alishan area for instant noodles and food for the hike, drove on along the Alishan Highway past the Yu-Shan National Park sign, where macaques sat by the road, and parked at Shangdongpu. From there we took a little shuttle up to the trailhead, because the road is closed to cars.
- Lodging
- Huts
From Kraig Adams's guide
Costs and gear
Bookings and permits
When bookings open, from the sources named under each. Dates move: confirm on the official site.
Yushan permits and Paiyun Lodge beds
Foreigners can apply for 24 reserved beds a night (Sunday to Thursday) 35 days to 4 months ahead; otherwise Paiyun's beds go by lottery about a month before the night. Both permits are free, on Hike Smart Taiwan.
Opens a set time before your start date: make a plan with your dates to see yours.
Source: Kraig Adams's Yushan guide: Permits and the lodge. Checked October 2026.
Alert me when bookings open
From Kraig Adams's guide
Safety
Rescue numbers
- Emergency: 119 · police 110.
Phone signal
- Reports say there's 4G at Paiyun Lodge and on the Main Peak, from a shared mast on North Peak.
- Download your permit to your phone anyway; you have to show it.
Insurance
- The park tells you to buy mountain or travel insurance; nobody checks it.
Bail-out points
- Day 1, Tataka trailhead to Paiyun Lodge. The only way off is back down the way you came, to the Tataka trailhead. From the White Wood Forest that's about 3.2 miles and 1,400 ft down. Turn back if you're feeling the altitude badly (a headache that gets worse, vomiting, confusion), if a storm is coming, or if you're too slow to reach the lodge comfortably in daylight. Rockfall is the main danger on the stretch below the lodge in heavy rain and after earthquakes.
- Day 2, Paiyun Lodge to North Peak, the Main Peak and Tataka. The way off is back down to Paiyun Lodge and the trail you came up. From the wind gap the lodge is about 1.45 miles and 1,500 ft down. Turn back before the scree and the chains if the wind is strong, if there's ice, if a storm is coming, or if you're feeling the altitude badly: the only treatment that works is going down. If you're on a one-day permit, the park says anyone not at Paiyun Lodge by 10 a.m.
From Kraig Adams's guide. For planning, not navigation: check before you go.
Their films and versions
Creators who've done it
1 creator so far: Kraig, 2 days, about $120, huts.
Hiking the Highest Peak in Taiwan
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Typical: 2 days on Yushan (the hike's facts).
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Planning questions about Taiwan and Yushan, answered only from this page's facts, the creators' versions and hikers' public tracks, with where each answer comes from. When the data doesn't say, the answer says "not given".
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Answered from the data
Questions people ask
How many days do you need for Taiwan and Yushan?
Two, with one night at Paiyun Lodge. That's what I did, and it's the usual plan: up to the lodge on the first day, the summit for sunrise and all the way down on the second. There's also a one-day permit, but it's a very long day; see Other ways to do it. Plan a few days around it in case your lottery date or the weather doesn't work out.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
How much does Taiwan and Yushan cost?
The permits are free. Paiyun Lodge is NT$480 a night in 2026, with meals and a sleeping bag NT$1,050 if ordered ahead, and the trailhead shuttle NT$150 each way. Our whole trip for three people, from Taipei, came to about US$370 in 2022.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
When is the best time to hike Taiwan and Yushan?
The end of September. I went on September 28 and 29. It was very hot midday and not that cold at night, and the mornings were clear: cloud filled the valleys below the peaks at sunrise. The afternoon at the lodge was foggy.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Do you need a permit for Taiwan and Yushan?
You need two free permits, a park permit and a police mountain permit, applied for online on Hike Smart Taiwan, and a bed at Paiyun Lodge. Foreigners can apply for 24 reserved beds a night, Sunday to Thursday, 35 days to 4 months ahead; otherwise the beds go by lottery a month before.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Is Yushan open?
Yes, in October 2026: the park's trail status page showed the Yushan peaks trails open on October 2, 2026. A typhoon warning closes the park and voids permits, and from about January to March only teams with snow experience and gear can go up.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
How long is the Yushan hike?
My GPS recorded 16.4 miles over two days: 5.4 from the Tataka trailhead to Paiyun Lodge, then 11.0 on the second day with a detour to North Peak, the Main Peak and back down to the trailhead. The Main Peak only is about 13.5 miles round trip. The summit is 12,966 ft (3,952 m).
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Do you need a guide to hike Yushan?
I couldn't find any rule that requires one. I went with two Taiwanese hikers who handled the permits and the driving. A guide doesn't get you around the lottery or the foreigner quota.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Can you hike Yushan in one day?
Yes, with the one-day permit: 60 people a day by lottery, starting after 5 a.m., at Paiyun Lodge by 10 a.m. or you turn back, and out by 5 p.m. It's suspended from January to March, and it's about 13.5 miles round trip.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.