Southern Taiwan - hike to Bei Da Wu (3090 m)

Hi,

I've never hiked Bei Da Wu (I was interested in climbing it, but could find absolutely no information about permits or transportation when I was in Kaohsiung, so I didn't try in the end) but I do have a little experience getting police permits in Taiwan. The police in Taiwan - at least in my experience - are incredibly cautious in their approach to hiking mountains, particularly when it's foreigners who are doing the hiking. If you're planning on hiking alone, this will likely be a big problem, and permits are sometimes refused if you don't have a Chinese-speaker in your group. I had to spend a good half-hour once convincing the police that I could safely walk up alone to a guarded mountain hut (with a path capable of handling small motorized vehicles), and (on the basis that I was alone) I was officially refused permission to venture anywhere beyond the mountain hut, even though the paths up to some of the nearby peaks had concrete steps going up all the way. I have no experience of the particular police station that you're going to have to deal with, but it may well be a hassle to get the permit, particularly if you want to hike alone (it's also quite possible that no-one will ever check your permit). Police permits are issued on the spot at the relevant police station - you need to fill in some forms and bring your passport along.

Anyway, just some advice. I wish you luck and hope there's someone on here who's actually climbed the mountain who can help you more!

Thank you very much! I hope that permit won't be too difficult - I plan to do the hike with my wife, we have some considerable mountain hiking experience from several places. From a post in another forum (forumosa.com) I figured out that there is actually a police post on the road leading to the trailhead and it's enough just to drop by and register there, no prior permit is required.
I also had a close look at Google Maps for transport and it seems that the trailhead is ca. 36 km by road from Pingdong or ca. 25 km from Chaojhou train station. Public bus transport apparently reaches only some 15 km short of the trailhead, so taking a taxi from either Pingdong or Chaojhou seems to be a better option. Do you have any idea on price range for such out-of-town taxi rides?

I have no experience with taxis in Taiwan, I've always walked or hitch-hiked in such situations. Taiwan is one of the most hitch-hiking friendly nations in the world: as long as there are cars heading to villages along the road to the trailhead, you should have no problem getting rides. If you want to take a taxi, you're probably best off getting one from Pingdong or the train station, as there may well be no taxis in whatever the last village that the bus ends in. But don't be surprised if people in that village will happily run you to the trailhead simply to do you a favor.

Thanks! It seems now I have enough information on that hike from a couple of sources to give it a try. I've heard about the friendliness of the Taiwanese towards hitch-hikers and we plan to hitch-hike back from the trailhead. As regards getting there, it's quite far behind the last village, so I think a cab will be a more secure option for the start, if the cost is reasonable.