GUNUNG · Taiwan

Qixingshan (Seven Star Mountain)

七星山

Qixingshan (七星山), puncak tertinggi Kelompok Gunung Api Datun setinggi 1.120 m (foto: Peellden, CC BY-SA 3.0, 2006). Photo: source

Information

Elevation: 1.120 m
Country: Taiwan (TW)
Location / Range: Kelompok Gunung Api Datun (大屯火山群 / Tatun Volcano Group), Taman Nasional Yangmingshan, Distrik Beitou, Kota Taipei
Mountain type: Gunung api majemuk (complex volcano) dengan kubah lava — kaldera/kawah aslinya tererosi menjadi beberapa tonjolan puncak; puncak utama 1.120 m dan puncak timur 1.107 m
Volcanic?: Yes — volcano
Coordinates: 25.1708, 121.5533
Difficulty: Mudah sampai menengah — jalur tangga batu andesit yang terpelihara baik dan bertanda jelas, tanpa bagian teknis; basis data 健行筆記 menilai "rendah–menengah". Beban utamanya daya tahan otot pada ratusan anak tangga, bukan keterampilan panjat. Jalur tersingkat dari Xiaoyoukeng hanya 1,6 km ke puncak utama, jalur terpanjang dari Miaopu naik lebih dari 700 m
Best Season: Bisa didaki sepanjang tahun. Oktober–November adalah musim bunga alang-alang perak (芒花) yang menutupi lereng utara berwarna keemasan dan menjadi periode terindah. Musim semi (Maret–Mei) hangat dan berbunga, tetapi kabut sering. Hindari musim topan (Juli–September) dan waspadai badai petir sore hari di musim panas. Musim gugur–dingin (Oktober–Maret) membawa angin muson timur laut yang sangat kencang, hujan, dan kabut tebal — suhu di puncak bisa jauh lebih dingin daripada pusat Taipei
Permits & Rules: Gratis dan tanpa izin pendakian. Taman Nasional Yangmingshan terbuka untuk umum tanpa tiket masuk; tidak ada pendaftaran atau kuota pendaki untuk Qixingshan. Yang berbayar hanya parkir kendaraan di pusat pengunjung (mis. Xiaoyoukeng, tarif per jam). Aturan taman nasional berlaku: tetap di jalur bertanda, dilarang berkemah liar dan menyalakan api, bawa turun sampah sendiri. Pengelola sesekali menutup ruas jalur untuk perbaikan — ruas puncak utama sempat ditutup dan baru dibuka penuh kembali 7 Januari 2025
Hazards: Gas vulkanik dan uap belerang di ladang fumarol Xiaoyoukeng — area bertanda larangan masuk, dan pengunjung dengan gangguan pernapasan sebaiknya tidak berlama-lama di dekat lubang uap. Angin muson timur laut sangat kencang di ruas terbuka menjelang puncak pada musim gugur–dingin; pendaki melaporkan harus menahan badan di padang alang-alang. Anak tangga batu menjadi sangat licin setelah hujan. Kabut bisa turun dalam hitungan menit dan menutup jarak pandang total meski ramalan cuaca cerah. Nyaris tidak ada naungan di atas garis semak sehingga sengatan matahari dan dehidrasi nyata di musim panas; tidak ada sumber air di jalur. Jalur samping yang kurang bertanda (mis. arah puncak selatan) menembus rumpun bambu kerdil dan mudah membingungkan bagi pendaki tanpa pengalaman navigasi.

Description

Qixingshan (七星山, "Seven Star Mountain"), 1,120 m, is the highest point of Taipei City and the highest dormant volcano in Taiwan. It rises in Beitou District at the heart of Yangmingshan National Park and is the tallest summit of the Tatun (Datun) Volcano Group. The name comes from its shape: the original crater eroded after eruption into seven separate humps of differing height — roughly 759 to 1,107 m — likened from a distance to the stars of the Big Dipper. The main peak at 1,120 m and the east peak at 1,107 m lie only about 300 m of trail apart and are normally climbed together. Volcanic activity here began around 700,000 years ago; faults on the south-east and north-west flanks let geothermal heat reach the surface as hot springs and steaming vents. The best known is Xiaoyoukeng on the northern flank — a sulphurous fumarole field with mineral-stained yellow rock, which doubles as the shortest trailhead. On the south-east side lies Menghuan Pond (夢幻湖), a small wetland at about 860 m that shelters a rare Taiwanese aquatic fern and is often shrouded in mist. Sediment cores taken from this pond found volcanic ash layers indicating the last Tatun eruption may have occurred some 5,000–6,000 years ago — a finding that, together with high helium isotope ratios in the volcanic gases, has led the group to be reclassified as an active volcano, monitored continuously by the Tatun Volcano Observatory (TVO) established in October 2011. As a mountain, Qixingshan is a rare case: a summit above 1,000 m reachable from a metropolitan city centre on a single bus ride. Its trails are tidy andesite stone staircases through dwarf bamboo and stands of white-backed silvergrass. The north-east monsoon makes the two flanks utterly different: the northern side is too windy for trees and is dominated by silvergrass and arrow bamboo, while the sheltered southern side keeps typical subtropical forest. From the triangulation stone on top, the 360-degree panorama takes in the Taipei Basin, Taipei 101, the mouth of the Tamsui River and, on a clear day, Taiwan's northern coastline.

Gallery

Foto bersumber dari Wikimedia Commons — klik untuk memperbesar & lihat sumbernya.

Routes

Lengshuikeng (冷水坑) → puncak timur → puncak utama → turun Xiaoyoukeng (traverse)

Rendah–menengah menurut basis data 健行筆記 — naik landai tapi panjang dari timur, turun curam ke utara

4.20 km +380 m Sekitar 2 jam 30 menit bergerak; setengah hari penuh bila menambah Menghuan Pond dan Qingtiangang

The classic traverse that does not return to its start and normally ends with the 108 or S15 bus back. From Lengshuikeng Visitor Center on the east side at about 740 m, the trail climbs past Qixing Park to the 1,107 m east peak — a stretch hikers call "gentle but extraordinarily long", roughly 2.1 km of near-continuous ascent with almost no shade except at the rest shelters. East peak to main peak is only about 300 m and 10 minutes. The descent to Xiaoyoukeng, some 1.8 km, is far steeper than the way up, which is why this direction is preferred over the reverse. The 健行筆記 trail database logs the official segments as Xiaoyoukeng–main peak 1.8 km/70 min, main peak–east peak 0.3 km/10 min, east peak–Qixing Park 1.1 km/30 min and Qixing Park–Lengshuikeng 1.8 km/40 min. The route's bonus lies on its eastern half: Menghuan Pond, a misty wetland at about 860 m sheltering a rare aquatic fern, and the milky sulphur pool at Lengshuikeng, both only a short detour away. Many continue further to the Qingtiangang grassland as one stage of the Taipei Grand Traverse. Recurring warnings: the stone steps stay slippery for days after rain, the wind on the upper half is far stronger than below, and fog can erase the whole panorama within minutes.

Source

Miaopu (苗圃) dari terminal bus Yangmingshan → puncak utama → turun Xiaoyoukeng

Menengah — pilihan dengan kenaikan terbesar, tetapi paling teduh dan paling mudah dicapai dengan transportasi umum

5.97 km +731 m Sekitar 3 jam untuk versi resmi 4,0 km Xiaoyoukeng–Miaopu; 4–5 jam untuk versi penuh dari terminal bus dengan istirahat

The longest and steepest option, favoured by those who want a full mountain day without changing buses inside the park. It starts at the Yangmingshan Bus Terminal at about 388 m; the Miaopu trailhead itself sits at km 1.42 and around 556 m. Waypoints logged carefully by hikers: the Qixing Park junction at km 2.89 (857 m), the main peak–east peak junction at km 3.67 (1,079 m), and the main summit at km 4.25 (1,119 m). Descending the Xiaoyoukeng trail passes the Qixing Pond junction at km 5.72 (892 m) and finishes at the Xiaoyoukeng Visitor Center at km 5.97 (829 m), where the 108 bus can be taken. Unlike the other two routes, most of this southern side runs inside subtropical forest sheltered from the north-east monsoon, so it is far shadier but offers little view until near the upper ridge — the sharp contrast between the southern flora and the wind-scoured northern slope being its own scientific attraction. Yangmingshan National Park's official figures for the Xiaoyoukeng–main peak–east peak–Miaopu line give 4.0 km, an elevation range of 552–1,120 m, 568 m of height difference and about 3 hours. The park authority warns of rain and heavy fog from the north-east monsoon in autumn and winter, and of afternoon thunderstorms in summer.

Source

Xiaoyoukeng (小油坑) → puncak utama — jalur terpendek

Jalur ramah pemula (親山步道) — seluruhnya tangga batu, tanpa bagian teknis; menguji daya tahan otot, bukan keterampilan

1.60 km +315 m Sekitar 60 menit naik bagi yang terbiasa, 80 menit bagi yang jarang mendaki; pulang-pergi 2–2,5 jam

The most popular and shortest way to Taipei's highest summit. It starts right beside the bus stop at the Xiaoyoukeng Visitor Center complex at roughly 805–830 m, leaving only about 300 m of height gain over 1.6 km — the closest and gentlest of the four trailheads. Almost everyone first stops at the Xiaoyoukeng fumarole viewing deck: hissing sulphur vents and yellow mineral-stained rock, one of the clearest geothermal expressions in the Tatun Volcano Group. The trail is an andesite stone staircase climbing in two steep stages with a rest platform between; the view backwards opens progressively over the visitor center and car park, and out to Xiaoguanyinshan, Datunshan and Zhuzihushan. The final part passes through arrow bamboo before emerging onto open silvergrass just below the top — the stretch the park authority singles out as exposed, because the north-east monsoon blows hard here in autumn and winter. The 1,120 m main peak is a platform with a marker stone and a full 360-degree panorama; on fine weekends the queue for a photo at the triangulation stone can be long. The east peak is only 300 m further and is nearly always added. Access: the 108 park shuttle stops at the trailhead itself; parking at the visitor center is charged hourly and fills quickly, with the Xiaoguanyin car park below as a fallback.

Source

Climbing Experiences

Trip reports on Qixingshan repeat a very consistent set of patterns. First, the choice of trailhead: Xiaoyoukeng on the north side is used by most people because it is only 1.6 km to the main peak with the smallest height difference, while Lengshuikeng on the east is described as "gentle but seriously long" and Miaopu on the south is the steepest but the shadiest. The favourite combination is up one trailhead and down another, riding the 108 park shuttle bus back. Second, the ground: almost the whole route is neatly built andesite stone staircase — not a matter of technique but of thigh endurance. Many complain the steps stay very slippery for days after rain, and that there is almost no shade once you leave the bamboo. Third, weather that turns fast: plenty of hikers start with air clear enough to see the mouth of the Tamsui River, then within minutes a cloud passes and everything becomes a "white wall". Wind on the upper half is repeatedly called strong and cold, so a windproof jacket, a hat and trekking poles are the most frequent recommendations. Fourth, crowds: on a fine weekend the summit triangulation stone has to be queued for — one hiker logged a queue of twenty to thirty people and about half an hour of waiting just for a photo. Fifth, the season: October and November, when golden silvergrass sways across the slopes, is the most sought-after window, usually combined with a stop at Menghuan Pond, the milky sulphur pool at Lengshuikeng and the Qingtiangang grassland. The general tone: a beginner-friendly mountain reachable from central Taipei on a single bus, but still a mountain — several writers explicitly warn that even a "friendly trail" carries risk and advise assessing your fitness first.

References

The summary above is compiled from the following sources. Click to explore them yourself.