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About North Section 1, the route and features
The Difficulty Rating: ★★★★☆
North Section 1 (北一段) (or Nanhu-Zhongyangjian Traverse 南湖中央尖), like this name suggests, is the northernmost hiking trail for Baiyue mountains on the Central Mountain Range. It is to the north of North Section 2 (北二段) and both trails are in Taroko National Park. The famous but formidable Death Ridge (死亡稜線) is located between these two trails.
Basically North Section 1 is nearly a circuit after the trail junction, Mugan Saddle (木杆鞍部) at 11.1 K, where hikers can head to either the Nanhudashan (南湖大山) or Zhongyangjianshan (中央尖山) first. Instead of finishing the whole trail, hikers may only go to Nanhudashan and other peaks nearby or Zhongyangjianshan on different trips based on personal preference. Hiking novices may just want to visit Nanhudashan and leave the rest of the mountains for the future. The flexibility of making a hiking plan is a reason why this trail can fit hikers of different levels of experience.
The two magnificent Nanhu Cirques (南湖圈谷), likely the relic of past glaciation, is another highlight on this trail, which is particularly appealing to hikers. You can find more image and trip comments from the posts, “Nanhudashan” and “the Majestic Playground of Snow in the Cirques”, on this website.
Hiking safety on North Section 1
Overall the hike on North Section 1 is not for beginners. There are some sections of the trail require extra attention especially during the winter when the trail may be icy / snowy or when heavy rainfall occurs. People who are competent for this trail should be familiar with all of the aspects described in “Hiking Safety in Taiwan” on this website. You may find some useful information from that long article.
Providing you will travel toward Nanhudashan first:
Wuyanfeng (五岩峰), meaning five rocky peaks, is the steep and narrow ridge between the trail junction of Nanhubeishan (Nanhu North Mountain 南湖北山) and Nanhu North Peak (Nanhudashanbeifeng 南湖北峰). This section is exposed to height and can be windy or even icy in winter. Although there are metal poles with fixed ropes to assist hikers, but do not trust their strength and do not apply much force on them because you may dislodge these poles accidentally from the weathered rocks.
There are two routes that lead to the summit of Nanhudashan East Peak (南湖東峰). The trail which follows a gully will become very steep when you are pretty close to the top where you must climb carefully. The other route has a relatively gentle gradient but the rock slabs along the trail can be very very slippery due to black ice / frost. Whenever the temperature could be below the freezing point in any seasons, you need to be aware of this risk.
There are also two routes that you can choose for the hike to Mabishanshan (馬比杉山); one is via the ridge of Taosaifeng (陶塞峰) and the other is along the valley down the ridge, but either way is a long hike from Nanhu Cabin (南湖山屋). You need to reconsider your plan when the weather is poor or if you are not very well.
The hike along Zhongyangjian Rvier (中央尖溪) is a concern during and after heavy rain and whenever the river is high. Although it is not technically difficult, hiking on this section is essentially similar to river tracing. Multiple river crossing is required including crossing Nanhu River (南湖溪).
You will also need to bring a tent for this hike. Zhongyangjian River Cabin (中央尖溪山屋) is fairly small and old. I am surprised this hut is still there according to my research in 2026. Even this cabin may survive for some more years, a tent is still necessary while you hike along Zhongyangjian River.
My short note
I hiked on North Section 1 in 2013, the first time of my multi-day solo hiking. There were other hikers along the way and so the trip was actually not that lonely. I believe it is still one of the most popular multi-day trails in Taiwan nowadays. There are bus routes (1764 and 1751) to the trail head at Shengguang (勝光), a more popular trail head than the other one at Siyuan (思源). You can check the bus timetables using iBus Information System. I have taken the bus to the trail head for a couple of times and it is certainly the most budget option for a solo hiker or a small group.
For those who are eagle-eyed: there is a remain of a helicopter on the grassy platform in the foreground. It crashed during a filming mission in 1989; all six crews survived but the helicopter stayed there since then, a reminder of the difficulty to transport any big objects from a remote place in Taiwan. Interestingly, the relic has become a “sightseeing” spot for some experienced hikers. I saw trip reports like this one from time to time. Please be aware that it is a difficult off-trail trekking to get there.
