Pashan's Picks

I've decided to add a new feature to the blog: Pashan's Picks, which will link to articles and other blog posts on hiking in Taiwan. To start here's a good overview of some of the longer trails around the country by my friend Steven Crook in Taiwan Journal.

...efforts to draw international visitors to Taiwan's mountains have received a boost from National Geographic Adventure, a monthly zine published in nine languages by the U.S.-based National Geographic Society.

In its November 2008 issue, the magazine included Taiwan on a list of 25 Best New Adventure Travel Trips 2009. Describing the island as "standing shoulder to shoulder with the world's great trekking destinations," National Geographic Adventure also included Indonesia, Nepal and eastern Russia in its Asia section.

According to Pete Royall, a manager with U.K.-based firm KE Adventure Travel that set up the 15-day itinerary in Taiwan, the company is always on the lookout for new routes and destinations to offer its clients. "To many people in the West, Taiwan may not immediately present itself as a destination for adventure travel, but the scenery is superb with lots of hiking above the tree line," he said. "Taiwan's ranges are crisscrossed by established trails which give relatively easy access to wild and remote areas."

The Taiwan itinerary includes 12 days of what the company's brochure describes as "demanding trekking," and 11 nights spent under canvas or in mountain refuges. On most days, the trekkers will be walking for five to seven hours, but there will be some longer days of 11 hours or more.

Enjoy.