Dayuan mountain(大原山) is a small peak located just east of Liugui(六龜). It’s fairly easy to get to and ideal for a half day hike or a full day ride and hike.

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I had been cooped up in my house for the past month because of all the rain we’ve had. The weather was starting to look better, but a massive typhoon was on the way and I knew we’d at least have several days of more rain, so I said screw it and prepared for an outing. I wanted to go somewhere I could ride my bike on the trails and also hike to a peak. I remembered there was a small peak with some decent trails near Liugui that I rode last November. This seemed an ideal spot.

The plan was to ride to the trail head, hike to the peak, then back down for some trail riding. And that’s exactly how it went.

THE HIKE

My GPX track (download it below) starts at an intersection with a little shrine or something. I didn’t think to take a picture, but here’s a Google Street View picture.

Resource : Out Recording

Take the left and head up! From here it’s about 3.4km to the trail head. The majority of the road is concrete, but it will eventually turn into dirt.

Resource : Out Recording

Still be careful on the concrete. There’s a few sections with water running across the road and plenty of moss. When I went last November there was none of this though. Anyway, be careful. The views on the way up are sparse, but pretty nice.

Resource : Out Recording

Resource : Out Recording

You’ll reach the trail head when you see this little shrine on the right. To the right of the shrine is a dirt road headed up. That’s where you’ll need to go.

Resource : Out Recording

From here it’s about 1.4 kilometers to the peak. Now here’s the dilemma. If you have a bike that’s capable of riding easily in the dirt, then you could drive up this section and knock 700 meters off your hike. For me, I was there for a hike so I parked my bike and started the ascent. As you go up you’ll come to a fork. Stay to the left and keep going up.

Resource : Out Recording

Resource : Out Recording

After about 700 meters you’ll split off the old farm road and start down a trail. The trail eventually links back up with the road, so you could just stick to the road the entire way if you want. I chose not to because the trail looked more traveled than the road.

The trail itself is like any other trail I’ve been on in Taiwan.

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There’s one section with a couple ropes that looks pretty steep. It’s not as bad as it looks once you start climbing. Just be careful with the second rope; it’s attached to a dead tree. It’s OK for now but I’m guessing it won’t be too safe in a couple years.

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The trail isn’t well marked (unless you count trash from irresponsible hikers as markers) but with a GPX trace to follow you should be able to make your way up easily enough. Not too long after the rope section you’ll reach the peak. And take your obligatory “peak pic”

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And right, there isn’t a sign up there with the name and elevation. So make and bring your own if that’s important to you.

Resource : Out Recording

There’s only one direction that offers a view. As you can see, I brought clouds up with me. I couldn’t see anything but white; but on a good note, it was nice and cool up there!

That’s pretty much the entire hike. Great for a morning or afternoon hike if you can’t do an all day. If you would like to make it an all-day thing, you could couple this hike with a hike to DaGongZhan(大貢占山)across the river on the other side of LiuGui. I haven’t hiked it, but I’ve read of locals doing these two together. With a stop for food in LiuGui between hikes, it could make for a nice little day trip.

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