Long Dong(Dragon’s Cave) – 龍洞

Region: NorthEast

Type of Climbing: Sport, Trad,  possible Bouldering,  a little bit of DWS

Season:  Year round, but climbable days in Winter are rare because of rain.

Rating:  

Description: Long Dong(Dragon’s Lair or Dragon’s Cave)  is excellent sandstone climbing on the eastern coast of Taiwan and Taiwan’s premier outdoor climbing area.

Accessible easily from Taipei, Hsinchu and northern parts of Taiwan, approaches to the crags at Long Dong range from quick and easy to 30 minute hikes over rough terrain and sketchy traverses, but you’re rewarded for your hard work with superb climbing on firm sandstone that provides great friction.

The sapphire blue waters, the sea breeze and beautiful rock formations make for a breathtaking backdrop that complements the excellent climbing.

Guidebook 

We highly recommend the Rock Climbing Taiwan 台灣龍洞攀岩  guidebook, extensively covering both Sport and Trad climbing at Long Dong, available at Tingsaniou in Taipei, iClimb in Hsinchu, or online worldwide.

Directions

By Car: LongDong Schoolgate Entrance, LongDong Backdoor Entrance

Click on the Entrance you want to approach above and use Google Maps for directions

By Bus from Taipei: From Taipei West Bus Station Terminal A(台北西站A棟）buy a ticket to Long Dong Harbour(龍洞港）The  Bus # will be 1811 . Busses leave at 8:20, 9:20 and 10:20 in the morning. The bus ride takes about 1:10-1:30.

For School Gate entrance, get off at “龍洞港“(Long Dong Harbour) bus stop, walk down the bamboo stairs into the village main road, and walk right into the crag.

For Backdoor entrance, get off at the next stop(Officially “龍洞南口”, but if you ask politely, the bus driver will drop you off right after the tunnel.) and walk up the side road towards the temple.

Buses run back to Taipei at roughly 3:00pm and 6:00pm depending on traffic. To catch the Taipei bus from Backdoor wait at the Long Dong Ocean Park stop.

Weather:

• Taiwan Central Weather Bureau (Scroll down for LongDong) – This is specific to Long Dong, but it has only one forecast for the whole day.
• Detailed Township weather report(Choose New Taipei City->GongLiao District))- This is for the district that Long Dong is in, but is more detailed and shows weather forecasts throughout the day
• Long Dong WebCam - Thanks to Ophelia Huang for tipping us off about this!

Rebolt status: Because of seaside corrosion, some routes are not safe to climb. To be sure you are climbing on safe routes, we suggest you not only have a guidebook on hand but also visit our Long Dong Rebolt  Page to check latest status.

Guide Service: In Motion Asia provides guide service for this area

More Info 

MountainProject.com - Pretty good resource about Long Dong, with transportation, info about what gear to bring, and basic info about crags.  Lacks depth and coverage of the guidebook but enough for a day trip.

Climbstone.com - Well organized, basic  info on Long Dong, including how to get there, what to bring. The site is run by Matt Robertson,  author of the Rock Climbing Taiwan guidebook.

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Big Cannon Cliff at Yangming mountain – 大炮岩 (陽明山)

Region: Taipei,  Xinbeitou

Location: Big Cannon Cliff, YangMingShan

Type of Climbing:  Top rope, Bouldering

Rating:  

Directions: From Beitou Metro station, take the 小25（S25） or 230 in the Yangmingshan（陽明山） direction. Get off at DaHuangZui(大磺嘴). Walk down the road and you will see after about 5 minutes a yellow sign on your left – this is the access trail. Follow the trail up to the right.

Notes:  Since it’s on Yangmingshan, the scenery is quite good and there are hot springs nearby. Approach is short from the main mountain road.

The rock here is Volcanic Andesite — quite solid and with some texture.  Holds are smaller than long dong. Climbs here are more technical and short – about 5 to 6m high. With a bouldering pad it can be a decent bouldering area.

Hike to the top of the cliff to find glue-in style top rope anchors on some climbs(see pictures). On other routes you will have to set up your own anchors.

Gear needed:  Any Rope 30m or more is fine. Slings/webbing, lockers to set up top rope anchors.

If you want to use natural anchors you will need a LOT of static cord or webbing since most of the solid trees are about 10-20 feet away from the cliff.

Topo:

Ron’s Taiwan Climbing Page - Ron translated and enhanced an old guide originally made by Milk, a veteran of the Taiwan Climbing scene.

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Thanks to 郭寶 for guiding us here

Feng Shan Bouldering Area

Region: Chiayi/Nantou area (South Central Taiwan)

Location: Shigupan Tourist Bridge, Alishan Township

Description:　Feng Shan is a riverbed Bouldering crag in Chiayi county. The area is undergoing active development, and a simple guidebook has been put together by Roger Wu.

Because of the active development status of this crag, we recommend climbers going here to not only  bring a copy of the guidebook, but also keep track of their ascents and boulders they climb.

How to get there: Feng Shan Guidebookby Roger Wu

Topo: Topo Pictures

Weather: Weather Report(Chinese)

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photos by Kicker Chen

GuanziLing 關子嶺

Region:Tainan/Jiayi

Type of Climbing: Sport

Season: Fall, Winter, Eary Spring

Weather: Guanziling Week forecast(Chinese)

Ron’s Taiwan Climbing Page - Has some basic info.

The best resource for information about Guanziling climbing is the Guanzailing Climbing Guide Book written by Hung-hsiang Wang, available at iClimb as well as online at Alpine Direct.

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Rehai 熱海

Region: Taipei

Location:Approximately here（Google maps has not fully mapped this area)

The google map marker above will lead you to the general vicinity and you should be on 銀光巷（Yinguang lane） Keep on going on the road “銀光巷” past where Google maps claims it ends.

You will encounter a nice looking house and round mirror at a switchback going uphill.

Keep on going up the switchback, which leads to another switchback. on the third switchback you should see a stone trail leading into the forest.Take it!

Type of Climbing: Lead

Description: Close to Big Cannon Cliff, the rock at Rehai feels a bit more coarse. Unlike BCC, Rehai is bolted lead climbing. Climbs are short, and difficulty is mostly in the 5.8-5.10 range.

The crag is in a forested area and goes on quite a while. Even when you’d think the crag ends, if you keep on walking the ridgeline you will likely find another area.

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National ChengChi University Wall

Location: Outdoor basketball court of National ChengChi University 國立政治大學(台北市文山區指南路二段64號)

Directions: The wall is behind the gymnasium, which is by the track. Find the outdoor basketball courts and the wall is right there.

Type of Climbing: Lead Climbing up to 13m

Description: Pretty tall wall with a gentle but sustained overhang. Not a lot of routes, but a moderately challenging wall with height.

Do not use the 9m climbing wall on the right as its extremely old and not to be trusted.

Covered from the Rain: No

Lighted at night: yes, at least until 10pm

Rating:  

Notes: While the anchors are solid, some of the top carabiners hooked to the anchors is rusted shut. We recommend either doubling up with a Quickdraw/ locking carabiner, or clipping a separate nearby anchor for redundancy.

This is a university wall so please be mindful and respectful of students around you. Allegedly the Mountain club meets there (Tuesdays and thursday nights?) So if you see them please give them, and any other chengchi university students, priority.

Shulin Climbing Tower 樹林攀岩塔

Location: 台北縣樹林市水源街81號

Type of Climbing: Sport Climbing & Lead Climbing up to 13m

Description: Shulin Tower is the tallest climbing Tower in Taipei, and possibly the best artificial climbing area in the area. The walls are built by Entreprises and seem well maintained. The faces even have taped routes on them . There are 4 faces with different angles and thus different difficulty.

Covered from the Rain: No

Hours: 8am-10pm(Lighted at night)

Pricing: During the day, $50 per person. In the evenings（after 6pm),  $80 per person,.

Payable at the office by the tennis courts.

Rating:  

Notes: Shulin Tower is well maintained, holds are clean, there are a few taped routes, and the climbing tower is in a lively but neat park.  Because of the different angles and the different type of “terrain tiles” used on this tower, we consider this the best outdoor artificial wall in Taipei, narrowly beating out Neihu, which has slightly higher walls.

Since there is no way to setup top ropes and the routes are quite long, beginner climbers may be better off going to Yonghe Lions or the Binglang road towers which are easier to climb.

For intermediate and Advanced climbers, Shulin Tower is tip top.

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Climbing tower at Liugong Park 瑠公公園攀岩場

Region: Taipei – Xindian

Map : Outdoor Wall Map

Directions ： Come out of Exit 1 and make a left. Keep on walking until you see a park on your left. This is LiuGong Park. Walk a bit further until you can see the climbing tower in the park.

Offers :  lead climbing (7m)

Rating:  

Notes:  No set hours — Park lights turn off at midnight. A few holds are loose – be careful! Good for beginners because of short routes.

Covered from rain : No。

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Climbing tower at Binlang Road 檳榔路攀岩塔

Region: Taipei – Xindian

Map: Outdoor Wall Map

Offers : lead climbing (8m)

Covered from rain : Yes

No photos currently – please consider adding some if you have any — we will credit you!

Guting Riverside Park Bouldering 古亭河濱公園

Region: Taipei

Location:Outdoor Wall Map

Offers : Bouldering (~3m), The World’s shortest lead climbing

Covered from rain: Yes

Rating:  

Notes: It’s only about 3-4m high, ridiculously low for sport climbing, but it’s bolted! The landing here is this soft rubber tile — good until the red line, but might be a sketchy landing if you top out — best to downclimb or bring a pad if you have one.

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Neihu Extreme Sports Park Bouldering Area 內湖運動公園抱石場

Location: Outdoor Wall Map 

Offers: Bouldering(4m)

Covered from rain?: sort of

Rating:  

Notes: Not a bad place to boulder — when it’s dry. Hold variety isn’t good, but there’s a good amount of climbing area at various angles.

Although the bouldering walls are covered from the rain by an angular roof, the mats are not, and poor drainage means that bouldering even hours after the rain is akin to Deep Water Soloing

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Yonghe Lions Climbing Wall 永和獅子攀岩廣場

Location:　福和運動公園 

Offers: Lead climbing(8m), Top Roping – if you bring your own rope

Covered from rain?: No

Rating:  

Notes: This climbing wall is in family-friendly FuHe sports park, which gives it a nice neighborly atmosphere. Trash cans and places to sit are plentiful. During the day a lot of kids play in the area and will come and try their hands at the wall.  We recommend coming later in the day around sunset when parents will generally start taking their kids home.

A few holds are loose but the walls are in generally good condition.

There are stairs that go behind the wall and let you access the anchors, so if you don’t want to lead climb you could set up a top rope.

This place is ok but it’s not a big wall so there’s not a lot of “replay value”

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Neihu Sports Center Climbing Gym 內湖運動中心 攀岩場

Website

Description: staffed by a pair of competent climbing instructors, this Sports center climbing center has a 15m tall outdoor wall, as well as a small but well maintained indoor bouldering section.
Location: 台北市內湖區洲仔街12號
Offers: Sport Climbing & Top-Roping up to 15m, Bouldering up to 3m
Price: Bouldering $50. Lead Climbing $200

Wall height: 15m
Schedule: M-F 6-10. Weekends 10AM to 10PM

Rating:  

Notes: We like this place, it’s one of the highest climbing walls in taipei and has one of the most wicked roof climbs we’ve ever seen! A recent change in management has brought competent climbing instructors, better maintained walls and holds, and even routesetting! There are routes here from 5.9 to 5.12, from pure vertical to heinous long overhangs.

Also don’t forget to check out the indoor bouldering section. Though small, there are a good number of taped routes here to challenge all levels of climbers.

Though we wish there were more angles, Neihu gets a solid thumbs up from us.

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Tsinghua University Climbing Center

Region: Hsinchu

Location: National Tsinghua University (新竹市光復路二段101號)

Offers:  Lead Climbing(15m), Top-Roping, Bouldering Cave

Hours：no formal restrictions, although there is no lighting at night unless you work it out with the mountain club. The climbing club meets here on Monday and Thursday nights 8-10pm

Covered From Rain: No

Notes： Since this is a university wall, please respect the university environment and give students and mountain club members priority.

Thanks to Yun-yin Huang for the info, and 邱 榮東 for pictures

Outdoor Fun Taiwan Climbing Wall

Address: No. 330, Section 2, Chóngdé Rd, Beitun District Taichung City
Type of Climbing: Lead(15m), Bouldering

Hours: No hard restriction, but Outdoor Fun prefers climbers use the wall during shop opening hours(10am – 9:30pm).

Climbing demo session is held Saturdays 3-5pm during which you can go and rent equipment for $100TWD.

Fee: $100 on Saturday afternoons 3-5pm for climbing + gear rental, $0 otherwise.

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Thanks to Hawk Stone for this information!

NCHU Climbing Wall

Location: National Chung Hsing University, by the Track

Description: A fairly well designed and maintained University wall.  Please contact the NCHU Mountain Club to use. The Wall has vertical face on the back.

Type of Climbing: Lead(12m), Top rope(anchors accessible by stairs)

Covered from Rain: No

Lighted at Night: Yes

Hours: Monday, Thursday 7pm-10pm. Saturday 2pm-6pm

Notes:  This university climbing wall is open to the public as long as you get permission fom the NCHU Mountain Club.  Since it’s a university wall, if students or climbers from the mountain club are there, they have priority.  Please be respectful of the university environment and students.

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Photos by NCHU Mountain Club. Thanks to 黃智威 for this information

TungHai University

Location:  TungHai University Running Track

Type of Climbing:  Lead Climbing/top roping) up to 12m

Description: This is  a school climbing wall.

Hours：

Open to the public Wednesdays 7:30-10pm

For other hours, please contact the TungHai University Mountain Club.

Fee: $100

Covered from the Rain: No.

Lighted at night: Yes.

Notes:

A lot of Tunghai climbers also go to B1. We recommend taichung climbers  interested in lead climbing here to either come on Wednesday nights, or go to B1 to meet other taichung climbers, and you will probably be able to come outside of the official hours.

This is a university wall so please be mindful and respectful of students around you.  The Mountain club meets here regularly so if you see them please give them, and any other university students, priority.

Thanks to 黃智威 for this information

National Tung Hwa University Climbing Wall

Location: Right by the Track of National Dong Hwa University 國立東華大學(志學村大學路2段1號人社二館)

Directions: The wall is in a former theater behind an old gym by the track. Please check the map link provided above.

Type of Climbing:  Lead Climbing/top roping) up to 6m , plus a wicked roof climb spanning the entrance of the gym.

Description: Short but well built gym with a killer roof climb. This is  a school gym so please get in touch with the Dong Hwa University Mountain club before climbing here.

Covered from the Rain: Yes.

Lighted at night: Yes.

Rating:  

Notes:

This is a university wall so please be mindful and respectful of students around you.  The Mountain club meets here regularly so if you see them please give them, and any other university students, priority.

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Thanks to 郭寶 and Fang Hsiang for this information!

Kunshan Tech Bouldering Wall

Location: Kunshan Tech, by the gym (崑山科技大學，體育館旁邊）

Type of Climbing: Bouldering, 5m

Notes： This is a university climbing area. Please respect the university environment and give priority to students and mountain club members.

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photo – Jim Althans

National Cheng Kung University Wall

Location: north side of National Cheng Kung University Student Activity Center（學生活動中心北側）

Type of Climbing: Lead(15m)

Notes: This is a university wall. Please respect the university environment and give priority to university students and mountain club members.

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photo – Jim Althans

Shoushan Junior High Climbing Wall – 壽山國中攀岩場

Location: 台灣高雄市鼓山區鼓山二路37巷壽山國中

Type of Climbing: Lead Climbing up to 15m, Bouldering

Description: Walls are built by Entreprises and of international competition quality. Has a Speed Climbing wall, as well as a separate bouldering area.

Covered from the Rain: Yes

Hours：Weekdays 6:30pm-12 midnight. Weekends “all day”, although on weekends, it’s best to check with Microrock before going to make sure people will be there.

Pricing: $100 per time, or  Membership(half year) – Contact The MicroRock climbing club as per below!

Notes: This wall is maintained by Microrock Climbing Club and you should contact them to use it. Because their main website is in Chinese, it may be wise to try sending a message to Steven Chen or Alec Lin on the MicroRock Facebook group

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Photo credit EP Taiwan