About two thirds of Taiwan is covered with remarkably untouched swaths of forested mountains, and the Northern Cross-Island Highway intersects some of this beautiful country. This part of Taiwan is highly scenic and can be easily reached in a day from Taipei. Midway along the highway is the 6,390-hectare Mt. Takuan Nature Preserve (....); the local name for the place is Mt. Lala (....), which is the original name in the Atayal aborigine language. The preserve is a highly popular place for those who need a respite from the hectic city.
A slow and bumpy road twists and turns its way up the mountain to a village called Lower Paling (....). From there you soon come to the gate of the preserve, where you must pay an entrance fee of NT$100 (US$4.00) for maintenance; up the road several more kilometers is the smaller village of Upper Paling (....). Both these villages have prospered from agriculture and tourism: they sell locally produced mushrooms, pears, peaches, and plums and operate the taxi service between Paling and the preserve. A short distance still further up the road is a "giant tree" area, where you will find yourself in utter tranquillity, immersed in the crisp, cool freshness of the mountain air. The 12.5-kilometer road has just brought you 1,550 meters above sea level.
Ancient Arboreal Giants
The existence of the giant trees here was first made public in 1973 by a photographer-professor and has steadily attracted increasing interest from tourists since. A 3.5-kilometer pathway leads you along a compact, gentle mountainside and takes you to 22 of the largest and oldest cypress trees in this part of the world. These mammoths are more impressive in age and in shape than in girth or height. Many of them are over a thousand years old and still flourishing. The oldest, simply named "No. 5," is 2,800 years old--that's 350 years older than Confucius. The largest tree in all East Asia is No. 18, at 18.8 meters in girth; the tallest is No. 21, towering at 55 meters. Most of the trees twist in odd shapes and appear grizzled or gnarled or convoluted.
The Proper Path
At the northwest corner of the giant tree area there is a wooded gate, more symbolic than real, which marks the southern end of the Paling-Fushan trail. It was originally a patrol pathway and started to gain popularity among hikers a few years after the giant trees became known. Immediately upon leaving the Mt. Takuan Nature Preserve the trail winds into the Mt. Chatian Nature Preserve (......)--nearly 7,760 hectares in area and up to 2,100 meters above sea level. The preserve is also noted for its primeval forests and highlights the rare Formosan elm (fagus hayatae).
The first two kilometers of the tail are rather level: after that, however, it winds downhill for the rest of its distance. Although it is fairly well traveled, the trail still requires special effort by the hiker, who at times has to part tall herbaceous growths, avoid poisonous weeds, disengage entangling twigs and vines, and climb over or stoop through fallen giant trees as well as watch out for leeches which might forsake tree leaves after a summer rain and adhere to an oblivious passerby. Hence, a cap, a long-sleeve shirt, a pair of trousers, and gloves are recommended for this hike.
The forest has been so well-preserved that the only man-made features along it are the trail itself and a small meteorology station. Tall trees, parasitic plants on some of them, and vines form an extraordinary floral canopy, and below it is a robust undergrowth which include lilies, begonias, and many other attractive plants. The living forest thrives and insects send forth a cacophony of song and croak and trill in warm weather. Now and then the mists shrouding the mountains part to allow a brief glimpse of a deep valley, high peak, or curving ridge line, or to allow streams of sunshine to penetrate through apertures in the canopy before they close in again; a photographer must be quick to capture these fleeting images.
Not far beyond the two-kilometer mark, and downhill from the trail, a group of huge trees stands pale and dead in the verdant forest. These trees are victims of lightning strikes. Along the trail huge trees can be seen here and there, some of them even bigger or taller than those in the Mt. Takuan Nature Preserve. Those who aspire to climb higher on this trail have two choices--one path to the top of Mt. Lala near the three-kilometer mark, and another to Mt. Kuai (....) at the nine-kilometer mark. Each takes about two hours in addition to the six hours for the 17-kilometer main trail. The trail reaches its northern end at Fushan, a small village about 20 kilometers southwest of the small town of Wulai. For the seasoned hiker, starting the trail at Fushan and heading south uphill is a more challenging alternative. It is suggested that the hiker make the trail a two-day trip by spending the first day in the Takuan Nature Preserve, lodging overnight in the Paling area (where there are many hostels), and then setting out for the trail early in the morning. A "B-class" mountain permit is required; you can get one by presenting your passport or ROC ID card to the local police station. Bring plenty of drinking water, a box lunch, and a raincoat with you. The trail is in a veritable no man's land, so a tour guide or an experienced hiking companion is recommended.
How to Get There
Public transportation to either end of the trail is not very convenient. From Taipei, you must take a bus to the town of Tahsi in Taoyuan county and there switch to a bus to Lower Paling; from there to the Mt. Takuan Nature Preserve you must rely on your feet or taxi service, or both. If you drive from Taipei, exit the freeway at Taoyuan and take Highway 112 to Tahsi, or exit the Northern Second Freeway at Tahsi, and from Tahsi pick up Highway 7 the rest of the way to Paling. At the other end of the trail, by the grocery store in Fushan, you can hire a cab to Wulai, and from there take a bus to Taipei. Departures are frequent.