Taiwan · September 2022
Taiwan and Yushan
26.4 KM · 2 DAYS · 1,900 M
Tataka to Taiwan's highest peak and North Peak in 2 days.
Watch the film 16:44 · 193K viewsAt a glance
- Where
- Taiwan
- Distance
- 26.4 km (16.4 miles)
- Days
- 2: 5.4 miles on Day 1, 11.0 on Day 2
- Climbing
- About 6,230 ft (1,900 m) up and 6,220 ft (1,895 m) down
- Difficulty
- A steady trail to the lodge, then a night start, thin air, scree, a chained scramble and a long way down
- Start and end
- The Tataka trailhead
- When I went
- September 2022
Elevation, start to finish: highest 12,750 ft (3,886 m), lowest 8,550 ft (2,606 m).
My GPS recording on a relief map. The numbers are where each day starts. The GPX files come with the guide.
Everything I made about it
The films
Hiking film · 2023Hiking the Highest Peak in Taiwan16:44 · 193K views
Travel film · 20238 Days in Taiwan - Jiufen, Taipei and Houtong Cat Village15:33 · 94K views
Photos
Mountains from the trail before the Mengluting shelter, Day 1 mile 0.9. 
The Main Peak in the first sun, from North Peak at 5:55 a.m. on Day 2.
The guide · 40-page PDF + GPX files · 2027 season edition
Do it yourself
Tataka to Taiwan's highest peak and North Peak in 2 days.
- Where things stand
- Both days
- My GPX files
- Permits and the lodge
- Getting there
Free sample
Try Day 1 free
The whole Day 1, Tataka trailhead to Paiyun Lodge page from the guide as a PDF, plus my hut-to-hut packing list: the 35 things I carry, with a note on each. Both come by email. You'll also get my emails about new guides and trips, a few a year.
Music in this films
- AfterwordSteven Gutheinz · Musicbed
- Cranberry FlatsJesse Brown · Musicbed
- DrainsSun Rain · Musicbed
- Severe ClearTony Anderson · Musicbed
- ButtonsSlo Loris · Musicbed
- Contigo (with Lake Sanford)Slo Loris · Musicbed
- ForlornSteven Gutheinz · Musicbed
- RooftopSlo Loris · Musicbed
- Swiftly Drifting (with Lake Sanford)Slo Loris · Musicbed
- Tell MeSlo Loris · Musicbed
What I'd take now
My current kit
Asia bundle
This guide is in Asia Hiking Guide Pack: 8 guides for $39. Or all 62 guides for $59.
Short answers
- 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.
- 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).
- How do foreigners get a Yushan permit?
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- How much does it cost to hike Yushan?
- 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.
I make my guides with AI, from my own films and GPS recordings. How.