Day #137: Pingxi Branch Line

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From Taipei Main Station there is an old branch line leading out to Pingxi, an old mining area. The line has mostly been preserved for the use of tourists (it was packed the day I went, which was a Friday). The line is exceptionally scenic and there are 6 or 7 stops where it is worth getting off to explore and hike. I had time to go to two of the stops: Pingxi, which is famous for its hills with sheer rock faces, and Sandiaoling, a waterfall area.

Pingxi is a hilly area, and the hills are mostly straightforward to walk up, with trails clearly marked. However the hill tops are all bare, sheer rock, so to enable people to reach the top, steps have been carved into the rock faces, initially fairly gentle, but then right at the top becoming more like ladders, with rope ways either side to haul yourself up by. I don't think they are particularly dangerous in dry weather (and I did climb a couple), but everyone in Pingxi was on edge and full of ominous warnings because a Japanese tour guide recently died falling from one of the peaks. The views from tops of the peaks are impressive, but the fun is getting up there. Pingxi is also famous for its traditional sky lanterns, which people buy, write wishes on, and then release. There were several people releasing them from the railway tracks, but the downside is that they fall in the forests and effectively become litter.

In the afternoon I went to Sandiaoling (the name, I was told, is a corruption of the name the Portuguese gave the the area, "San Diego"). The walk through to the waterfalls was very jungle-like, including rope bridges over rivers and streams, but the waterfall itself was a bit of a disappointment, having mostly dried up. I met with a group climbing and abseiling down the tallest waterfall. My walk came to an end at another sheer rock face where a wooden ladder had been built to get up, however in the humid weather it was too slippery to even attempt, there was no foothold whatsoever.

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