Snow Mountain (Syueshan or Xueshan) is the second highest mountain in Taiwan respectively with altitude 3886 meters above sea level. It is a part of Shei-pa National park and hiking Snow Mountain Taiwan requires permit.
I had applied for the permit in advance and got no problem in obtaining one, so I’m ready to go!
Keep reading and scrolling down till the last part for tips and prices for hiking Snow Mountain.
In this article you’ll find some information about the campsite – Wuling Farm, the trail and sort of like my itinerary hiking Snow Mountain or Xueshan, Taiwan.
At the end of this article you’ll find useful tips including bus schedule and prices.
Getting to Snow Mountain, Taiwan
After Jiufen, I took the train to Yilan where I still had to transfer by bus to get to Wuling Farm.
It was a long bus ride around 3 hours.
I spent most of my time sleeping because I was exhausted plus I might get a car sickness because of the winding road.
The scenery along the way was delightful.
Local farms and the mountain ranges covered by cloud are captivating.
Arrived at the bus station, I tried to find the information center however it was closed.
I met an Australian couple who had the same plan hiking Snow Mountain Taiwan, together we’re making our way to the camp ground.
Before heading to the camp ground, we decided to obtain our police permit for Xueshan or Snow Mountain Taiwan at the police station.
Luckily it wasn’t closed yet.
The distance between the bus station to the police station wasn’t too bad but apparently the camp ground was further than what we expected, about 3 km far.
In the beginning we could still have conversation and take photos of the autumn leaves but after a while, it was indeed tiring.
I got this big backpack with me, not an easy walk.
We should have hitchhiked!
About an hour walking on the ascending road we finally reached the campground before it was too dark.
Camping site in Wuling Farm
The Campsite in Wuling Farm
The campground has a decent facilities with several options of rooms or tents.
I chose the cheapest option which is the tent. Still, it’s expensive for me since I was alone.
The campground has a shared-bathroom with hot showers, a big common area with benches and tables.
They also sell some basic supplies such as cup noodles and other snacks.
I made myself a noodle before heading to bed.
The next morning, all the preparations were done to hike Snow Mountain Taiwan, I stored my big backpack at the campground and had my smaller backpack with me.
I was ready to hit the trail, so did the couple.
From the campground it was still another 1 km to the trail head.
In the middle of our way, a car stopped and invited us along.
A Taiwanese man, guess how old is he? 65 years old and strong enough for the hike! and another lady, his hiking partner were about to do the hike as well.
That’s how we formed a group, five of us doing the hike. I’m glad to have companions.
The office was not opened yet. There is a box where you can drop your papers in, just write the starting date and time.
Few hikers were getting ready as well.
They were full equipped with high boots and trekking poles. The man led us well despite of his age.
He speaks pretty good English while I had to pick up some of Chinese words that I’ve learned to speak to the lady.
She got this big bag overloaded with food! Pretty sure that I wouldn’t be hungry!
Registration Shei-pa National Park
Snow Mountain Hiking Trail
We did two days hike in total, here’s the most common hiking route or trail starting from Wuling Farm.
Trailhead – Qika Hut : 2 KM
From the trailhead, it was a steady climb uphill with built-in stairs.
Slowly and sure, I took my time adjusting my steps and breath.
The weather wasn’t good but not too bad either.
Sometimes it drizzled and stopped before starting to pour again, glad that it wasn’t a heavy rain.
We’re doing pretty well and less than an hour we arrived in Qika Hut.
Some people who arrived a bit late might spent a night in Qika Hut rather than Wuling Farm.
It was for free anyway and it’s good enough with bunk beds, toilet, and kitchen area.
We didn’t spend time to long in Qika Hut and continued our walk.
I was thinking it could be a very different experience compared to hiking volcanoes in Indonesia.
Into the woods
The vegetation
Inside the cabin. Pretty much the same with 369 Hut
Qika Hut – 369 Hut : 5 KM
From Qika Hut the trail starts to get steeper but still okay for me.
I love hiking without having big bags. It is completely different when you have heavy load, more tiring for sure.
I could see the lady started to walk slower but she handled it very well, she’s strong.
Also, we had good time management and had a good stop for rest.
There’s this famous spot called the Crying Slope when hiking Snow Mountain Taiwan because it’s very steep, challenging, in a fun way of course.
So far, no improvement regarding on the weather. I saw only trees and grey sky pretty much.
Sometimes I took off my raincoat and after few minutes I had to wear it again.
We arrived at the East Peak of Snow Mountain at the elevation of 3201 meters above sea level.
Then, we’re descending down, less tall trees now, it’s an open area with bushes.
Some parts were muddy, that’s why they’re wearing high boots and laughed at my shoes. Just gotta walk slow and careful.
I didn’t pay too much attention to my timing when I followed other people.
I think after 4-5 hours walking we finally arrived at 369 (Sanliujiu) Hut.
The clouds were away for a bit and I could see the mountain ranges, beautiful!
Basically there are three cabins here. Sleeping cabin, kitchen, and toilet.
Sleeping arrangement is according to the number that comes along with the permit.
From the entrance, you’ll either sleep at the right or left wing on the bunk bed.
It was too early to sleep so I hung around the kitchen area, chit-chatting, and had my dinner.
Ready to sleep, I had my sleeping bag with me but it was so cold that I had to rent the sleeping bag from the cabin.
It was the best decision I’ve made.
The sleeping bag was so warm until I had to remove my other sleeping bag and some of my jackets in the middle of the night cause I was sweating.
East Peak Xueshan
369 Hut
369 Hut – Snow Mountain Main Peak: 4 KM
I was hoping that the weather would be nice to get a perfect sunrise.
I talked to my Taiwanese friend and they’re not planning to see the sunrise, they prefer to start after the sun is up.
The Australian couple were unsure whether they wanted to see the sunrise because one of them was feeling unwell due to altitude sickness.
Maybe I should join any other group to do the sunrise, as long I’m not alone.
I set my alarm and woke up at 3 a.m. No one’s awake yet!
I checked the sky outside and it was clear and full of stars.
Normally around this time people would start, but until 5 a.m. no one’s up for the summit.
I was a little bit disappointed but I didn’t want to walk alone in the dark.
I waited for the sunrise in 369 Hut. The clouds were swirling around the lower peaks like a cotton candy.
The sky was getting brighter and I was back with my team, heading to the summit.
From the ridge, the sun popped out behind one of the peak and the view was drop-dead gorgeous!
Sunrise in 369 Hut
From 369 Hut towards main peak
Sunrise from the ridge
From the ridge we entered the Black Forest. Probably there are thousands of them soaring high, I rather called it mysterious or creepy, especially when birds like crows making noises.
The trek was pretty flat. I could imagine it could be a bit tricky in the dark, though the path is pretty clear but there’s still a chance to get lost.
Some of the path is a bit rough with big rocks and after 2 km we’re out of Black Forest.
No more tall trees again from now on. The trek starts uphill again.
I started to move faster because it was cold even though the sun was up.
My nose was running, I wrapped both my hands with my scarf.
It’s getting steeper and steeper, 500 meters seems far and tough.
Finally after a bit of hard work I touched the highest peak of Snow Mountain. It was the best feeling!
I turned around and all I could see was mountain ranges.
Not long after, all my team mates were catching up and all of us made it!
Black Forest
Hiking Snow Mountain Taiwan
Made it to the top
The view before heading down
I was very grateful for the sunrise and the beautiful sky. We went back to 369 Hut, had lunch, and got our stuffs ready back down.
It was starting to rain again on our way down, I felt lucky.
The man was kind enough to take us back to Yilan with his car cause it’s too late for the bus, even though he had to go on the opposite way. Thank you so much!
By hiking Snow Mountain Taiwan, I’ve added another high mountain on my list!
After Xueshan, I did also another hike to Yushan or Jade Mountain.
Tips for Hiking Snow Mountain (Xueshan) Taiwan
- It’s easy to get to Yilan by train from anywhere in Taiwan. Once you reach the train station, head out to the bus station which is just about 150 meters away. Kuo-Kuang Bus departs to Wuling Farm and takes about 3 hours. Price is NTD 306. Bus Schedule:
Yilan – Wuling Farm: 7.30 a.m. and 12.40 p.m.
Wuling Farm – Yilan: 9.10 a.m. – 2.10 p.m. - Entrace Fee to Wuling Farm Recreational Area is NTD 130
- I paid NTD 1300/night for a tent (NTD 1500 for tent and NTD 1600 for cabin, update on Jan 2019). I sent them message in advance to ask whether I can rent only tent which is only NTD 500. Apparently you can’t pitch the tent on the ground, it has to be on a camping board which is another NTD 1000. Click here for more information about Wuling Farm.
- You can pre-book your meal by contacting Aqing: +886 912976610.
Dinner : NTD 400
Breakfast : NTD 300
Sleeping Bag : NTD 200 (you don’t have to book this in advance)
I just brought some foods that I got from 7-11 such as onigiri, sandwich, cup noodle or chocolate bars. For water I have around 2-3 liters with me, this depends on how much you drink. - It can be pretty cold so make sure you bring enough warm clothes.
- Make sure you acclimatize yourself or take medicine to avoid altitude sickness. It is a high mountain, each person is different in handling the altitude.
- Check out my other post on how to apply the permit for Xueshan.
Thanks team!
If you think this post is useful, kindly share the information by clicking the logo below. You’ll be directed to your facebook or twitter.
The view is awesome and your photos added to the prettiness of the scenery. I noticed though that some signs are in Chinese characters only. I think maybe they should put up a bilingual signs.
And how can you all hiked with all the big backpacks?! Lol.
Most of them have alphabetical characters, so won’t be a problem 🙂 yea.. it was a good exercise haha
Kabutnya keren banget, pengen di elus-elus *eh*
Hahaa, ide bagus nih ntar coba elus-elus kabut juga haha
keren, ndak sekalian ke Yushan juga?
Ada donk hehe tapi belum nulis artikelnya 🙂
ditunggu ^^
i have read urself in about page, i see that u love traveling especially mountain and mountain hahaha i love it.
and in this page u tell about mountain again, so when we can tracking TOGETHER?
We have the same hobby then. Hope that we can go hiking together someday 🙂
Hello! This is a great blog and very informative, especially your guide in getting the Park Permit for Xueshan. I plan to hike Xueshan this coming July. Can you please share how much you paid for the lodging fee at 369 Cabin? Thank you and more power to your blog. 🙂
Hi,
Thanks for reading my blog. There’s no lodging fee for 369 Cabin, however if you’d like to book meals or sleeping bag, the price is stated above. Have an awesome hike!
Hi Velysia. Thanks for sharing this information. Is the dinner and breakfast available for order at 369 cabin or only at Wuling Camp?
It’s available to order in 369 but better to book it before. You can try to contact Aqing: +886 912976610
Thanks so much for sharing this adventure! It was useful and I hope to climb in a few month too 🙂
Thank you for dropping by, have fun on your hike to the snow mountain!
Hi Velysia, I enjoyed reading your post so much. It is very informative. I am also planning to do this hike in November. Wondering whether will there be any chance that it might snow end of November in Xue Shan?
Hi Yap,
I don’t think it’ll snow yet, maybe late Dec to Feb? I was on Jade Mountain on early Dec and there’re some ice on top but it’s not fully snowing yet.
Thanks for your report -I used it as the basis for my hike up Xueshan in Dec 2018. Nothing much to add except that i had no problem gettign a permit online as a solo hiker, and didn’t get hassled by park rangers or when I also obtained the permit from the local police – no need for a local guide or to have a GPS.
I would only say that the walk from the visitor to the campsite is a LONG one – I’d estimate 3km along the road (flat) then another 1km up a switchback steep road. And at the campsite it’s just as cheap to get a cabin (NT$1600) as a tent (NT$1500). There is nobody at the Qika Hut but there is a resident caretaker at the 369 (Sanqiliu) Hut who can provide meals and sleeping bags.
Hi Mick, thank you so much for your update! Glad that you made it without any problems. Yep getting permit for Xueshan is much easier as it’s less popular than Jade Mountain. Totally agree for the long walk to Wuling Farm, I’d hitchhike if I knew that before as well 🙂 Ah, so the price of the tent has increased, it was NTD 1300 when I did it, I’ll update it on my blog. Thanks again!
Thanks for this great review of the hike. I will do it in March but fro Wuling Farm to the top and back in 1 day. I guess there is no need to stay in the cabins?
Have a great time and greeting from Switzerland
bjoern
Hi Bjoern, yes you dont need to stay in the cabin but I think you still need to apply for the permit. You can go to the national park website and apply there. Have fun!
Hello! May I know if it’s easy to hitch a ride to the trailhead and if you had to bring thick sleeping bags up to 369 hut? We are solo hikers going in May and hoping to finish this in 2D2N. Thanks!
Yep, it’s only one way so you can try to stop the car that passing by. You can rent sleeping bag at 369 for 200 TWD so it’s not that necessary.
Thanks for the reply! Is it also possible to leave the big bags at 369hut before heading for the summit push?
thank you!
Hi Yiling, yep sure! You can leave your stuffs before the summit push 🙂
How you book the hut? should I book in advanced?
Hello, yes you should book it in advance. You can read my other post here https://www.littlenomadid.com/apply-permit-xueshan-taiwan/
Will it be dangerous to do this hike without a guide? We are planning to hike just 2 people, how likely is it that we will be able to join some groups for companionship?
Hi there, it’s completely fine. Initially I planned to hike solo but I met some other hikers on the way and hiked with them. The route is pretty clear so I think to hike without a guide is definitely doable.