Tapung Fort – 李棟山古堡
The front gate of Tapung Fort The Tapung Fort at the top of Lidong Mountain is a fascinating relic of Taiwan’s past.  It was built by the then occupying Japanese army as a way to control the local Atayl tribes and, even though only the walls and main entrance survive,  it still provides an intriguing glimpse into just how far the Japanese went to gain control over the island.

Qixingshan by night – 七星山
The moon was exceptionally bright Qixingshan, otherwise known as Seven Star mountain, is the highest peak in the Yangmingshan national park.  This area is very different to most mountains around Taipei because there are very few trees and the trail is almost entirely exposed to the elements.  This means it can be a painful hike to do in the heat of the summer but it also means that you get fantastic 360° views from

River Tracing near Wanli
This was the second time we’ve been to this spot.  The first time we actually found it by accident.  Our intention was to go to a completely different place but we couldn’t find it and so we just settled on anywhere, anywhere being next to the Dixi bridge.  This time was pretty much the same!  Not finding the river we where looking for, we decided to revisit this one.

Danshui Cycling
Enjoying the views at Danshui I recently got myself a new bike and so I was keen to get out on it this weekend.  I did the graveyard run a couple of weeks back and it was great, apart from the mental stray dogs. However, this weekend I wasn’t in the mood for climbing hills and so a nice easy ride along the riverside park up to Danshui seemed like the perfect alternative.

Wai Niao Zuishan – 外鳥嘴山
After a couple of rainy weekends, we were desperate to get out of Taipei. And when the weather looked like picking up, we all jumped at the chance to get on the bikes and head towards the mountains.  The place of choice this time was Neiwan 內灣.