Jiufen is a beautiful centuries-old town that is situated on a hill in the North East of Taipei, also part of the New Taipei. This town is considered to be one of the most picturesque and visited destinations in Taiwan. Jiufen is all about the unique and old architecture, traditional food and mesmerising views of the sea, surrounded by greenery and hills.
Most travellers don’t realise that Jiufen is not all about the old town itself, there’s so many things to do and see which are located very near Jiufen. In fact, I made a mistake leaving Jiufen too early, so I had to return towards the end of my trip to explore more.
Expect Jiufen to be very busy!
I highly recommend going to Jiufen the night before and stay for 1-2 nights. This way you can explore Jiufen when it’s quieter, as well as have enough time to get lost in the surrounding nature.
When I went to Jiufen it was raining a lot. Apparently in Jiufen it rains often, you might wish to check that before travelling. It rained while I was visiting, although it was merely a small inconvenience which didn’t affect my plans. This town is so beautiful, I’d visit even if there was a hurricane (But I hope that doesn’t happen!)
How to Get There
From Taipei, a direct bus #965 to Jiufen departs from the bus stop above Beimen Train Station and takes approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. Buses depart roughly once every 40 minutes. You might find bus information below quite useful in planning your journey.
Alternatively, you can take a train to Ruifang. From Ruifang you will need to take one of the busses going to Jiufen. You can find your bus station here on Googlemaps.
Where to Stay
I stayed at ‘My Story INN JIUFEN’, this hostel is run by a lovely local Taiwanese lady. She was very helpful in planning my day to explore around Jiufen.
Thanks to the hostess I managed to plan my day out hiking the Teapot Mountain, she provided lots of useful information that I can pass on to you now!
The hostel itself is fairly cosy, rooms are very simple and separated by a massive curtain. Unfortunately this means you will be able to hear people next door, as if they are in the same room. This didn’t stop me from enjoying my stay, nothing that earplugs can’t fix! You get a privacy curtain in your bed and a big locker to store your belongings.
Book your stay with Booking.com directly.
Use my code to earn £15 back from your stay: V0OBUC54
Some Personal Advice
I found that even being located near all this stunning nature and all the hiking trails, it wasn’t easy to get around between them using the public transport. So if you intend to only use buses, I would highly recommend to break down your trip in Jiufen in 2 days and explore in the following order:
Day 1: Jiufen Old Town, Tea Houses and Street Food
Day 2: Teapot Mountain –> the Lighthouse Trail –> Elephant Trunk Rock
This way you can avoid multiple detours, as the busses will be pretty much direct from one place to another. I understand one day will be significantly more active than the other, but these hikes are not difficult. I could expect an averagely fit person to manage the whole day just fine (bring extra snacks and water!).
To travel around New Taipei area, I found the following apps particularly useful:
Map.me: for locating all the walking paths and hiking trails
Moovit & GoogleMaps: for finding public transport routes. Please be aware that times quoted on GoogleMaps are not accurate! I found that so many times it would quote 2 hours but in fact it would take me 30 minutes to get to the place. Unfortunately, in Taiwan GoogleMaps travel times are very unreliable.
The Old Town
Steep stairs lead up and down through this fairytale-like town which is decorated with striking red lanterns and old architecture. The best way to explore Jiufen is to just walk around, it’s very small.
I recommend to briefly check out the town before all the day-trip tourists arrive, which is before 8 am. It’s also incredibly beautiful at night when all the red lanterns light up, you can try exploring on the latter part of the evening as most day-trip tourists will be gone by 10 pm. Between 8 am and 10 pm expect the streets to be VERY busy.
Lovely spot to get panoramic views of the Ruifeng district, located around this area on GoogleMaps.
Street Food
The narrow Jiufen Old Street is dotted with a variety of restaurants and food stalls offering lots of local main dishes, snacks and desserts. This street market stretches across the entire width of the town, so you can literally eat your way through the town.
Some of the very special foods to try:
- Taro Ball Soup at Grandma Lai’s – you can try it hot or cold, Taro Ball Soup is made of taro balls, green tea balls, sweet potato balls, and kidney beans.
- Glutinous Rice Cake at Ah Lan Hakka – a very special Hakka style rice cake, made of various savoury vegetable pieces and sweet red beans… You don’t get to see this kind of food every day.
- Ice Cream Puff – two sides of puff pastry with an ice-cream in the middle. A couple of stalls selling Ice Cream Puffs are located on Jiufen Old Street.
- Deep-Fried Battered Seafood – a very common snack in Taiwan, an absolute must-try. You can also find a variety of stalls selling Deep-Fried Battered Seafood in Jiufen Old Street.
Baoshan Lookout Point & Teapot Mountain
Baoshan Lookout point is at the footsteps of the Teapot Mountain, a bridge-way leading through the jungle and above the trees, treating visitors with stunning views of the mountains that roll into the sea.
Once you have checked-out the Baoshan Lookout, you can start a scenic hike to the top of the Teapot Mountain. On your way you can learn the history of mining in this region and check out the old mining railroad.
I’ve noticed that in Taiwan hiking is not a popular activity, I barely met anyone hiking throughout most of my trip in Taiwan. It’s likely you could be treated with stunning panoramic views in this adventurous hiking trail all for yourself.
How to Get There
Jiufen has only one main road leading to and from the town, bus stops are located along and approximately every 100-200m. To get a bus you pretty much only need to step out to the main road and locate one of the bus stops.
From Jiufen, take a bus #1062 to Quanjitang. When you arrive, follow the road up to the parking lot, this is where you can find the Baoshan Lookout Point and the beginning of the Teapot Mountain Trail.
Once you check out the Baoshan Lookout which is located on your left, follow the road on your far right, it will lead you all the way to the top of the Teapot Mountain. Majority of the way will be concrete road or stairs, you can choose to take the stairs as a shortcut to the top of the mountain. Alternatively, if you have your own transport, you can drive up most of the way.
The final part of the hike is fairly steep and on a dirt road, from here you can only go on foot. From the top of the Teapot Mountain, you will get breathtaking panoramic views! You have to see it for yourself.
Bi Tou Jiao Trail, The Lighthouse Trail
We arrived here just 1 hour before sunset, the golden hour drastically enhanced the beauty of this natural park.
Unlike all the other hikes in Taiwan that I’ve been on, this one was very popular amongst locals and visitors. In my opinion, it had something to do with the accessibility and the easy trail itself. That combined together with landscape vistas and a magical sunset – I wouldn’t want to miss this beauty either.
How to Get There
Jiufen has only one main road leading to and from the town, bus stops are located along and approximately every 100-200m. To get a bus you pretty much only need to step out to the main road and locate one of the bus stops.
From Jiufen take a bus #788 to Jinguashih (Gold Ecological Park) which is only 5-10 minutes away, change for the bus #856 which will lead directly to Bitoujiao Park.
The bus should drop you off at this point on GoogleMaps. Take a road up and walk to the top of the stairs past the Bitoujiao Elementary School to the start of the trail. Follow the trail on your left, it will lead all the way in the loop back to your bus stop.
Elephant Trunk Rock
Naturally shaped rock resembling Elephant trunk is located near Jiufen. This is a very popular spot amongst tourists. I was quite sceptical if it really looked like an Elephant trunk, but once we got there, I was blown away by the whole experience.
It takes a little bit of a walk to get to the rock, there will be lots of people coming to see this unbelievable natural sight. However, I found that most people were taking photos from afar – there wasn’t a sign prohibiting anyone to go up, perhaps it was just individuals’ personal preference. On the other hand, I was very excited to climb up and explore, as well as take ‘the shot’!
How to Get There
Elephant Trunk Rock is only 6km away from Jiufen, that’s either 1 hour walk, 30 minutes on a bicycle or 15 minute by car. I highly recommend to rent a bicycle or get a private transport to save a lot of time and hassle. Location on GoogleMaps.
You can also take a bus, but the route is quite indirect and you will end up spending 1 hour just to get there. However, if you choose to travel by bus, take a Bus #965 from Jiufen to Ruifang Station, from there Bus #1051 goes to the Elephant Trunk Rock.
If you follow my suggested route to visit Elephant Trunk Rock, there’s a direct bus #791 between The Lighthouse Trail and the Elephant Trunk Rock.
Roni on the Run 