Hiking in Taipei: Yangmingshan

Redeeming quality of this island: it actually gets cool enough to do some decent hiking, and the trails are fairly well maintained, too!

Hiking here mostly consists of strolling on stone-paved trails (which do get slippery in the mist with all the moss). There's some volcanic activity (and hot springs to be found) so the area is quite popular with the locals for the variety of things to do. A decent number of trails though none of the maps I saw were really all that helpful in navigating the area. (Or finding a bus to take us back down the mountain.)

Note: The elevation changes before you get to the Juansi Waterfall are pretty brutal-- lots of slippery steps going up and down. I saw two girls wear flip flops which in my opinion was a bad idea on a wet and misty day like this. My relatives were not used to the 100s of stairs that went up and down the mountainside. I thought it was a pretty decent waterfall. They were not so impressed.

If you are going to try the Juangsi Waterfall trail: Start from the parking lot next to the hot springs....

Falls next to the bridge

A very exhausted uncle and aunt next to a nice waterfall