Dabajian DIY

One of the best high-mountain hikes in Taiwan, Dabajian Mountain (usually referred to as Daba), is now available as a self-guided package. It is the iconic 'Pa' part of the 'Shei-Pa' National Park (the 'Shei' is 'snow' as in Snow Mountain - Taiwan's 2nd highest peak). The trailhead is at Guanwu - approached from Hsinchu County.


If fit, and your transport to the trailhead is well organized, it is possible to do this hike in 3 days. We recommend you plan 4 or even 6 days for a truly fantastic hike. The route to Daba can be divided into 3 parts: the flat walk along Dalu Forest Road to Madala River; hiking up through lush forest to Jiujiu (99) Cabin; and the hike along the ridge to Daba proper. All very very scenic, rich with wildlife, peaceful (often no one else on the entire trail midweek) and with several pleasant extra options.

Prior to Typhoon Aere in August 2004 Daba (大霸尖山) was a popular 2-day hike for many Taiwanese. This standard approach reopened in July 2009, but hikers must now walk the 19 km of forest road (still just about passable by official/emergency vehicles) from Guanwu ( 觀霧) Forest Recreation Area to the original trailhead at Madala River. This essentially flat gravel road is a delight to walk but is despised by most Taiwanese hikers - in a hurry to the main peak.

We provide:
The necessary national park permits, and cabin bookings.
Professional, topographical maps with English annotation.
Detailed information on how to do this hike by yourself - trail notes, transport & accommodation options, flora/fauna, other options, suggested packing list, hiking language tips etc.
Additional follow-up email/phone support and advice.

Cost:
NT$2500 (US$80) for the first person, NT$900 for additional individuals on the permit. We accept payment by Paypal, bank transfer, or cash. Discounts for poor students and English teachers (not poor).

Send your dates of travel, name, date of birth, either your passport or ARC number (just the main number is enough), and postal address (for the maps) to Richard at barkingdeerinfo@gmail.com If possible include your cell-phone number, and any emergency contact in Taiwan.

Notes:
Hiking Daba can be part of the world-class 4-9 day Snow Mountain Holy Ridge hike to/from Wuling. Only suitable for the more experienced.
Dabajian is also known as Tapachienshan, Daba, Taba, Dabajianshan. Is featured on the NT$500 note.
Possible to stay in cabins only, or a combination of cabins and camping.

See the photos from Rachael's recent trip there.

Other good news:
Snow Mountain's West Ridge is expected to actually reopen after after being closed for 10 years - as soon as the snow accumulated on the main peak melts in the next couple weeks.
Shei-Pa National Park are to build a new cabin at the ruins of Banan Cabin (just south of Daba on the Holy Ridge) this year. This will enable hikers to stay in modern cabins all the way from Snow Main Peak, or the Wuling Quadruple Peaks, right through to Guanwu.
We now have available weatherproof 1:50000 topographical maps covering the entire Shei-Pa National Park. For a modest fee we can annotate with English to your requirements.

Hiking maps and other resources.

Taiwan hiking maps come in many shapes and forms, but with one common element - they're only in Chinese. The main printer of quality topographical maps is Sun River 上河. Their 1:25,000 TM__ series of 22 maps focusing on the top 100 peaks and key trails, plus a guide to mountain flowers and printed on weather/abuse-proof plastic is probably the most useful for hiking the high mountains. The accompanying hiking times and gradient charts seem accurate. Their 1:50,000 M__ (1-25) series seems to be out of print now with only certain maps still in stock, a pity as they covered some areas not on the TM__ series.

The M__ (40-47) series covers the hills around Taipei. M__ (31-36) follows an (often imaginary) "Green day hikes" route N-S over mid-level mountains and valleys just west of the main high mountains. Sun River also have a series of comprehensive Northern Taiwan hiking maps, and atlas-like books for all of Taiwan (1:50,000).
For regular navigation of Taiwan's roads, the free bilingual maps published by the Tourism Bureau are usually more than adequate. These are clear, marked with most appropriate places, and contain very few mistakes!!! In the collection there is a general Taiwan map, and separate maps dedicated to Northern Taiwan; Central Taiwan; Eastern Taiwan and Offshore Islands; and Southern Taiwan. The reverse is packed with lots of tourist information. Airports and tourist offices should have these - often you need to ask, failing that, politely suggest that they look in the bulging cupboard behind them.
Of interest to some hikers will be Sun River's coffee table map/photo books introducing the Top 100 peaks, and maps published by the forestry department for various excellent trails - why are these so hard to come by??? The Tourism Bureau's site has links to some good (and mediocre) maps. The Taiwan Mountain Magazine (pictured in first picture above) is a delight to look at even if you don't read Chinese. The googlemaps-based site CubePoint seems to work well. We are willing to annotate some maps with English, contact us at barkingdeerinfo@gmail.com

Richard Saunder's excellent Taipei day trips and Yangmingshan guides are available at the Community Services Center.

Of course Lonely Planet Taiwan (remember to get the most up to date edition) and the Rough Guide have lots of practical advice. Check out Lonely Planet author Robert's blog Pashan for great (and well written) Taiwan hiking suggestions.

Books not to do with hiking but worth noting: 'Private Prayers and Public Parades' by Mark Cantonhill. And 'Keeping up with the War God' by Steven Crook.

Let's not forget Taiwan's premier English-language bulletin board, Forumosa, for all sorts of information and sophisticated discussion.