Songluo Lake - 松羅湖

Songluohu 松羅湖 is a kind of swampy lake set in a small basin and surrounded by mountains on all sides. It's a tremendously beautiful place and in some ways very similar to Jialuohu 加羅湖 which is also in Yilan. They are both great places to hike and camp and both can easily be done in a weekend.

We set off on Saturday morning and took the number 9 towards Yilan. It's a great road to drive on, especially since most of the Taipei to Yilan traffic now goes through the Xueshan tunnel. And the views of the Yilan plain towards the end of the road are spectacular (weather permitting!).

After a quick pit stop in Yilan City we cracked on and got to the township of Yulan 玉蘭 on the number 7 at around midday. From here we followed the Benjue road 本覺路 up and past the Yulan tea flieds. Unfortunately we didn't have time to stop here but next time I'm in the area I'll definitely go back. The tea place we passed had tables set up in the fields and it looked like a good place to chill out drink tea and enjoy the views of the valley below. Towards the end, the road condition began to deteriorate but we made it up on the motorbikes and at around 600m, we parked up next to the entrance to the trail.

The path is obvious throughout and very easy to follow, however, it isn't always that easy going! We started up the stairs and passed a couple of people coming down. They were covered in mud and said that the trail was 'bu hao zou'. Almost immediately after, the paved stairs gave way to mud and thick bush. We were slipping all over the place and each took a tumble or two!

After ten about minutes we came out of the bush and back into the forest. The trees kept changing between tropical forest and pine and there was plenty of wildlife around with Neil getting a little peckish.

At about halfway we, somewhat bizarrely, came to a tap with running water and filled up our empty bottles. I don't know whether the water is potable or not so we just used it for cooking later on that evening.

After about four hours of hiking through the lush forest, the trail began to really steeply rise up the mountainside and it became much more difficult. There were a few small landslides to cross and a couple of ropes to climb up but after half an hour or so we got up to the highest point; a saddle between two small peaks. From there we followed a dry river down to the lake side.

The hike took a little longer than we had anticipated and so we quickly got to setting up camp. The tents were just about ready when the wind picked up and we had to abandon our original site and go in search of somewhere more sheltered. We eventually settled on the far side of the lake a good 30m from the edge of the water.

It got dark quickly and after eating, we messed around taking photos in the dark. For a brief while the stars came out and in the moon light the lake looked particularly beautiful. Feeling tired after a tough day's hiking, we went to sleep early. However our sleep was interrupted when the heavens opened and it began to pour down. The noise of the rain and the lightening was unbelievable but apparently my snoring was louder!

At about 5am, I woke to what sounded a lot like a river. Thinking it impossible as there was no river, we dismissed it as the just noise of the wind. I then rolled over only to find that the side and bottom of the tent were completely soaked. Sleepily climbing out of the tent we were then surprised to find the lake was now only a metre away and a river had appeared next to our camping spot!

Packing in a hurry, we didn't get time for breakfast and only just got the tent down before the lake waters reached us. The walk back was a lot tougher in the rain. The saddle we crossed to get to the lake had turned into a river and it took about 5 hours to haul ourselves back to the car park.

Next time I'm checking the CWB more thoroughly before heading out!

More photos here

Phil also has his blog for this one and I guess Neil will soon

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Jialuo Lake - 加羅湖

For this four day weekend we had originally planned to hike some of the bigger mountains of Taiwan but getting a permit proved difficult and so we settled on going to Jia Luo lake in Yilan.

Jialuo Lake actually isn't one lake but a group of around 10-20 lakes (depending on how much rain there's been) and Jialuo is the largest and probably the most impressive of them all. At around 2300m, it's a great cool get away from the summer heat of Taipei.

Unfortunately for those without their own transport, there's only one way to get there and that's to drive. We went to Yilan first and then followed the number 7甲 towards Wuling farm. At the village of Siji 四季 we turned left and followed the road up. It's a rough, rough road! And if you are in a car, you can only go so far up before hitting a barrier.

From there it's perhaps a 4km walk up the forestry road to the trailhead. However, motorbikes can go a little further up but be careful! In places the road is nothing but mud and loose rock.

The furthest point you can get to is the abandon forestry building. Just after here there are several small landslides that have wiped out the road but it is still passable by foot.

About 1km after the abandoned building, we got to the trail head proper. Just next to it is a huge and very impressive tree. No idea how old it is but I should imagine that it's at least a thousand years old.

At this point the trail no longer follows the forestry road but instead goes directly up the mountain, very steeply! At several points on the trail we met back up with what would have been the road but the trail always continued steeply up.

On the way up it rained lightly and there were low lying clouds that shrouded the forest making it look particularly beautiful. After a while we seemed to get above the clouds (or the clouds went further down) and we got some partial views of the valley below and a sea of clouds sitting above it.

About 3 sweaty hours later, we got to the top of the mountain and the trail flattened out. This is the lake area and surrounding the hillside are row upon row of dead white trees. An amazing sight.

From here we walked through a lot of awn grass and went past a few small lakes.

About 30mins later we arrived at the lake and set up camp. There were a few other groups there but still we had plenty of space.

As the sun started to set we headed off up the mountain to find a spot to get some photos. Running out of time to get back before it got dark, we had to head directly through the forest back to the lake, which was hard work but a lot of fun.

After we got back we cooked up some food. Normally when we go camping/hiking, we take the "boil in bag" meals but this first we made hot-pot and it was definitely a good idea. It got pretty cold at night and some hot soup was just right.

We were expecting the temperature to drop to about 10C at night but suddenly the clouds that had been around all day disappeared and it got down to below zero! A big surprise for everyone! I recently bought a down feather sleeping bag and so I was nice and toasty while everyone else complained about the cold.

We had an early night as we wanted to get up at 4.30am to see the sunrise. When my alarm went off, I was considering giving it a miss but I'm glad I managed to drag myself up the hill to see it.

After that it was just a case of breakfast and a slow hike down the mountain. Because of the rain and cloud on the previous day we hadn't noticed it but on the way back we could see Snow mountain and we could even make out Dabajian mountain!

Practicalities

Definitely one for driving to and getting there early. There isn't much room for parking at the barrier and so if you go in a car and arrive too late you'll have to park even further down the hill and walk up the road.

The rain didn't really bother us at all. It made the trail a little bit slippy but not to the point of being particularly dangerous.

The lake water can be drank if boiled first. Watch out for giant tadpoles!

A map can be found here and more pics here

Phil's Chinese account is here and Neil's great multimedia presentation is here

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