Nick kindly passed a virus on to me so the Taiwan leg has been a bit of a slower pace. It took a few days for me to feel up to tackling this hike but on our last full day it was now or never. Elephant Mountain, at 184m, provides some of the best views of Taipei 101 – a 508m skyscraper, notable for its 101 floors, iconic design, and impressive speed elevators. Once the world’s tallest building (but no longer as that honour goes to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai), it is the world’s tallest green building, having achieved LEED Platinum certification.
The climb up Elephant Mountain starts from a quiet backroad beside Lingyun Temple. These steps felt brutal in almost 30c and given there was at least 2 defibrillators on the trail it validated the fact it seemed a tough upward hike to the top at 184m (approx. 600 steps). Although there were some young fit locals jogging up…no one likes a show off…..
There are several viewpoints on the way up to take a breather, each furnishing spectacular views over the city towards the mountains…a picture perfect day. It was worth the sore muscles the following day!
