Elephant Mountain from Taipei City Hall

I rode the YouBike from Taipei City Hall to Elephant Mountain. At the park near the entrance of Xiangshan Hiking Trail, there is a YouBike station that looks like picture below. The ride is ~15 mins. 

I registered my EasyCard at the machine at the bikes with the Taiwan number of the SIMCard I bought. Download the YouBike app beforehand so that you can check the stations and availability. 

Alternatively, the most direct way to get to the Elephant Mountain is via Xiangshan Station, Exit 2. From the exit, continue walking along the edge of the park. At the end of the road, take a left turn and follow the uphill road to the entrance of Xiangshan Hiking Trail. It takes around 20 mins to reach the entrance.


From Taipei City Hall Stn, you will have to ride to 3 stops to Zhongxiao Fuxing Stn then, ride 1 stop to Daan Stn then, ride 3 stops to Xiangshan Stn. Or walk ~15 mins to Taipei 101 Stn and take one stop to Xiangshan Stn. 


The entrance of the hiking trail.

Elephant Mountain is a hike with (seemingly endless) steps. It took me almost 20 mins of hike to the first viewpoint. 

The view was OK and didn't wow me as looking at buildings was not my kind of thing. The internet said there is another viewpoint with better views but I gave it a miss. Recommend to be mosquito repelled ready. 

Do try to hike up slightly before sunset so that you can see Taipei 101 light up. I missed the light up, so I viewed it from the park.