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About Shenshan & Wutai
Shenshan (神山) and Wutai (霧台) are the two communities located deeply in the mountainous region of Pingtung, the southern Central Mountain Range. Mos of locals are Rukai (魯凱族) people. For a long period of time this area is outside of my search radar when it comes to a travel or hiking because it is far away from most of high mountains, particularly Baiyue, in Taiwan. The nearest place I have ever been is Beidawushan (北大武山), where is about 13 km to the south of Wutai. Although it sounds close, but this is actually a huge distance given many mountains and gorges in between these two locations.
In November 2024 I had a road trip to explore this blank area of my travel map in Taiwan. This 3-day trip like the previous one in Jinlun (金崙) was not planned in advance, but it turned out as an eye-opening experience to me. I rang the owner of the guesthouse (獵寮民宿, meaning Hunter’s Hut Guesthouse) in Shenshan and they were happy to host me with such a short notice. I am very lucky to be able to stay there, a home of artists, as the exhibition of their sculpture, craftwork and the collection are truly amazing, filling a graceful and organic power.
As a veteran scooter rider, I rented one near Kaohsiung Station and rode it through the crowded roads of Kaohsiung and Pingtung. To be honest I was pretty nervous all the way because it has been a while since the most recent long ride. The roads and the signs were all strange to me, and anyone but me seemed fearless. As a slow rider during this stage of my life, the only vehicles I passed were the mobility scooters used by elders.
I stopped to refuel at the last petrol station and cool down myself on a hot day shortly before entering Sandimen (三地門), the famous community near the entrance of the winding Highway 24 in the mountains. There is a police checkpoint at 26.5k of the highway where every vehicle / bicycle has to stop and register the ID before going further. It is a quick paperwork, acting like a simpler version of mountain entry permit. This is probably the last police checkpoint remaining on the highways of Taiwan.
In the next two days I was busy riding the scooter back and forth between Dewen (德文), Guchuan (谷川), Shenshan and Wutai, either to take time-lapse videos or on the way to find the nice spots to shoot, including two ascents to Dewenshan* (德文山). By the night of the second day, I found myself very tired. In the last morning, the host showed me the other house in Wutai, where he only took his guests to visit. There are delicate handicraft and incredible interior design, which are absolutely stunning that I would not expect to see beforehand.
I left Wutai with full respect. In the rain I rode down the hill and into the crowded plain again, the ride was not as scary as the time I came, but the buzz of the busy downtown still bombarded me.
*The climb to Dewenshan is a popular short hike of 1.5-star difficulty rating (★⯪☆☆☆). Great view on the top.
