谷爐巴民宿 (Kulupa homestay) where we spent the night before our hike.

It's a nice place with a good view but it's about 1-2 hours away from 塔塔加 (Ta ta jia), depending on how lucky you are with traffic and getting through construction sites.

The view from 塔塔加 (Ta ta jia) with 大塔山 (Da ta shan) in the center.

The parking lot at 塔塔加 (Ta ta jia) and the road up towards the trail head.

The 塔塔加鞍部登山口 (Ta ta jia sattle trail head) where most ascents to the various peaks of 玉山 (Yu shan) start. There's a convenient shuttle from the parking lot to here. It's around 35-40 minutes on foot but less than 10 minutes by shuttle. So to shave off some time (afternoon showers!) we decided to spend the 100 TWD per person.

The trail to 排雲山莊 (Pai yuan mountain lodge) is about 8.5 km long but the trail towards 玉山前峰 (Yu shan front peak) branches off at around 2.6 km.

The view back towards the 塔塔加鞍部 (Ta ta jia sattle).

Most of the path is quite easy to walk, which partly explains the scores of people you'll encounter here on a typical weekend day.

The view towards the valley leading to 那瑪夏 (Na ma xia) in the north east of 高雄 (Gao xiong).

Looking south-east we see 玉山南峰 (Yu shan south peak, 3844 m) near the center right below the cloud and 玉山小南峰 (Yu shan small south peak) in the right third.

Most of the trail looks something like this ...

... and every so often you'll encounter a few remarkable dead trees on the side of the trail.

The view of 玉山前峰 (Yu shan front peak), which we would climb later. You can clearly see the main trail along the mountain. The trail up to the peak cuts straight up through that little patch of forest.

We walked an extra hour just to snap this picture! (Okay, I made that up. We really just missed the turnoff.)

The beginning of the trail to 玉山前峰 (Yu shan front peak) that we had missed.

The path up is super steep but the view is not bad at all.

Another view down towards the valley, this time from higher up.

The fog beat us to the top, so the only thing to do was to take the obligatory peak bagging photo and have lunch.

The entrance to 郡大林道 (Jun Da Forest Road) where everyone gets stuck until the official in charge peels himself out of bed and presses a button.

The newly built 台21線 (highway 21) towards 望鄉 (Wang xiang) where we had spent the night.

Finally through the gate it's a bumpy ride.

Every so often the forest clears up a bit and you can see the beautiful view.

Shortly after the 22.5 km mark we took a little break.

The obligatory temple along the way. :-)

Apparently I was too shaken to take a picture of the trail head but about an hour later we got off the bus and started hiking. The first landmark on the way is this little weather station.

Most of the trail leads through shrubs and tall grass.

The absence of trees on the ridge makes for great views all around.

In the distance you can already see 玉山 (Yu shan).

The trail ahead ...

... and behind.

Every so often the path leads through patches of bamboo.

Finally at the top, about an hour before the flu from the previous few days caught up with me and made me feel rather miserable.

But that won't stop me from snapping another photo with 玉山 (Yu shan) in the background!

The steep trail to the top after the forest slowly clears.

The view back onto a beautiful sea of clouds and 桃山 (Tao shan) on the far left.

The continuation of the previous picture if you will. 桃山 (Tao shan) is the treeless peak far away in the center and on its left are 池有山 (Chi you shan) and 品田山 (Pin tian shan), the rocky one on the far left.

Looking back you can see 中央尖山 (Zhong yang jian shan). On the left is 南湖大山 (Nan hu da shan) and on the right are 甘薯峰 (Gan shu feng), a.k.a. 中央南山 (Zhong yang south peak) and 無明山 (Wu ming shan).

At the center is the village of 環山 (Huan shan) where we had started our hike a bit more than five hours earlier.

Finally at the top (sort of) with some Swiss snacks ...

... and a butterfly that was very fond of my frog-blue jacket.

From the triangulation point you also get a nice view towards 大劍山 (Da jian shan), the peak of which is just blocked from view on the right.

The triangulation point is where everybody likes to take pictures because of the little pillar.

However, if you continue a few hundred meters you get to the real peak. Unfortunately, the trees there block the view of the surrounding peaks, which explains why the triangulation point is further down.

Reading this sign makes you think what else you could possibly make faint using this plant. ;-)

On the way down you spot all the things you walked past a few hours earlier in the darkness like fungi ...

... or fields of cabbage.

The last meters of the hike. On the other side of the bridge is the trail head and the conveniently located hostel where we could take a shower before heading back.

The view from the suspension bridge is a good sample of the area: Rock slides ...

... and orchards.

The view from 武嶺, at 3275 meters above sea level.

合歡山東峰 (He huan east peak) just before sunset.

The view towards 中央尖山 (Zhong yang jian shan), the pointy one in the far center. The sunlit area much closer is 畢祿山 (Bi lu shan) which we climbed the next day.

The sunlit peak on the left is 奇萊主峰 (Qi lai main peak) and the round one just right of center is 奇萊南峰 (Qi lai south peak).

合歡山隧道 (He huan shan tunnel) near 大禹嶺 (Da yu ling) the next morning. The trailhead is just on the other side.

820林道 (Forest road 820), which can hardly be called a road anymore. Over the years it has been hit by countless landslides.

One of the several waterfalls on the way.

From some parts of the trail you can see 佳陽山 (Jia yang shan) near the middle with the rock slide as well as 大劍山 (Da jian shan) just right of the grasslands.

A tree looming dangerously over the trail.

Point 8.4 km of the forest road, very close to where the real ascent begins.

While 1.6 kilometres literally is a walk in the (national) park there are 800 meters of elevation to climb on just 1.4 kilometers, which makes it everything else but a metaphorical walk in the park.

A great view of the 合歡山 (He huan shan) and 奇萊山 (Qi lai shan) area. The grassy mountain on the right is 合歡山北峰 (He huan shan north peak) and the rocky one on the left is 奇萊北峰 (Qi lai north peak).

A short but near-vertical climb along the way.

Another peek at 奇萊北峰 (Qi lai north peak).

View down along the trail. If you look carefully you can see a few colorful dots hiking. :-)

And the view upwards near the ridge.

Finally, the crossroads on the ridge, very close to the top of 畢祿山 (Bi lu shan).

The last 200 meters before the top.

The view back from near the top.

Finally at the top, posing with 無明山 (Wu ming shan) in the background. 中央尖山 (Zhong yang jian shan) is already covered in clouds.

The night before: Dinner at the 武陵國民賓館 (Wuling hostel).

All-you-can-eat buffet, just what you need to load up for a day of hiking.

Rhododendron along the way.

Notice the forest in the background. The right side has apparently been reforested.

The view back down towards 武陵農場 (Wuling farm).

黑水塘 (Hei shui tang), a small pond along the hiking trail.

The trail has a great view of the surrounding mountains. The tallest peak in the left half of the photo is 南湖大山 (Nan hu da shan), the pointy one in the right half is 中央尖山 (Zhong yang jian shan).

A little further up you can actually see the whole length of 武陵農場 (Wuling farm).

Close to the top the always easy-to-recognize 大霸尖山 (Da ba jian shan) pops out above the forest.

And a little to the West you can see 池有山 (Chi you shan) in the front and 品田山 (Pin tian shan) in the back.

Looking back towards 雪山 (Xue shan). If you look closely you can see a little white blot; that's 三六九山莊 (369 mountain hut).

The steeper parts of the mountains are riddled with rhododendron.

The last few hundred meters.

And finally at the top! That was about five minutes before it started raining.

Time to dress up in rain gear ...

... and snap a few last photos.

In this direction another peak would have been waiting to be conquered: 喀拉業山 (Ke la ye shan). But it's another 5-6 kilometers to go and come back and I hear the view is rather disappointing. Maybe next time!