Hiking Wuliaojian (五寮尖) in Taiwan has become one of the most popular and well-known hikes in the greater Taipei area. Its popularity has grown in part because of its knife-edge and exposed ridge, as well as the spectacular views from the top. This is a picturesque hike, but one that requires hikers to be comfortable with heights and have a moderate/advanced level of hiking and climbing experience.
The difficulty level of the Wuliaojian Trail is high and frequently given a 5/5 for required hiking/climbing skills by blogs and experienced hikers. Please refrain from joining this hike with Parkbus if you are not capable of holding your own body weight and climbing down a vertical rock face.
This hike isn’t for the faint of heart, so if you plan on taking this one on, be sure that you’re prepared for a full body workout, some ropes and climbing. This hike isn’t your ordinary hike and if you are afraid of heights or scaling yourself down a rock face, you may want to reconsider going!
Josh Ellis, Photographer
Length / Duration / Elevation / Difficulty
The looped trail is a total of 5.5km. This will take approximately 4-5 hours to complete and covers a total of 900m ascent and descent.
The Wuliaojian trail is almost entirely on narrow compact soil trails and wooden/concrete stairs. There is also several short, vertical ropes to help hikers with the various steep sections that require moderate scrambling abilities. Hiking Wuliaojian (五寮尖) is famous for its dramatic knife-edge exposed ridge. It also gets notoriety for its long, 30-meter-long rope descent off the peak, which is rewarding, but challenging.
Hiking Wuliaojian (五寮尖) in Taiwan is strenuous and requires gloves (which can be provided by Parkbus – see image above) and plenty of water and sun protection if it is sunny. It also requires climbers to have sufficient upper-body strength and a bit of fortitude to manage the lofty heights and narrow scrambling.
Note: Unfit people tend to get stuck on the roped sections. This can cause problems as it is often hard to navigate around other hikers with such a narrow trail. We will try to depart early to limit the long waiting that can occur when we descend.
The trailhead is located in the picturesque Sanxia District of Taoyuan and is a difficult place to get to without taking multiple forms of public transit and a taxi. A perfect Parkbus Taiwan hiking destination.
