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Dakeng Hiking Trail. Photo by lienyuan lee on

Top 10 Fun Facts about Dakeng Scenic Area

Dakeng Scenic Area is the area that contains most of the mountain region of Beitun District, Taichung, Taiwan. It is also is an area of emerald green steep hills at the eastern border of Taichung.

Dakeng is a hilly area that has a good selection of short hiking trails that lead to some wooden lookouts perched on a ridge at around 800 meters. There鈥檚 no better place in the region to watch the sunset. 

Let’s take a look at some fun facts about it;

1. The Chung Cheong campsite in the Dakeng scenic area is the closest campground in Taichung 

Front left view of Dakeng Earthquakes Park name sign, as taken on 7th October 2020. Photo by Kai3952 on

Chung Cheng Campsite is the closest public campground in Dakeng scenic area you鈥檒l find around Taichung. Locals gather here on weekends to have late barbecues, so you鈥檒l want to bring earplugs if you鈥檙e not gonna join them for a bite or a sip.

The campground is right at the entrance of trail #4 and is easy to find and you can rent tents there, but they鈥檙e old, dirty and probably missing few poles. Better to bring your own. There鈥檚 showers, toilets, and an area where you can build a campfire in the Dakeng scenic area. 

2. Not much equipment is needed when hiking the Dakeng scenic Area trails

The Dakeng Trails are perfect for just a half-day hike so no much equipment needed apart from the main hiking essentials.As always, plenty of water is a must as the trails are short but steep at times so they can be demanding, specially on hot weather.

 Always take camelback reservoir in your daypack which is the most useful thing to hydrate when hiking. As the trails go mainly on wooden platforms, the 鈥渢errain鈥� is not changing, but if you get a rainy day then the logs can get dangerous at times so a good pair of hiking shoes with good grip are always better than slippery sneakers.

3. One can get to Dakeng scenic area using Bus 

One can can get to Dakeng Scenic area by using the bus. Bus 66 is the one that you will have to link to no matter where you stay in the city as that bus is the one that goes through all the 1 to 4 Dakeng Trailheads. It stops literally in front of the 1,2 and 3 trails.

Depending on where you are in the city you will very likely have to take two different buses to arrive to the Dakeng Scenic Area. One great thing about Taichung is that most bus journeys up to 10Km are free! make sure just to have an Easycard to take advantage of this.

4. The steps to Dakeng Scenic Area are man made

Dakeng Hiking Trail. Photo by lienyuan lee on

Dakeng Scenic Area is a range of small mountains with a few hiking trails. The Dakeng Trails are numbered from 1 to 10 and the highest lookout points are at around 850 meters, offering great views of the region.

What makes Hiking the Dakeng Trails different to other hiking places in Taiwan is that although they鈥檙e mostly over man-made paths, they鈥檙e over man-made wooden steps.

5. The Dakeng Scenic area has several different trails

The Dakeng Scenic Area has several different types of trails. The trails start from 1-10.Within the 10 different trails there鈥檚 something for everyone.The trails have several views and give some of the best view to visitor. 

The most famous trails are the numbers 1 to 4 which run almost parallel to each other with the trail number 5 linking them together through the highest ridge.Trails 6 to 10 are mostly short and not very steep. 

6. The trails of the Dakeng Scenic area are often quite steep

Dakeng Hiking Trail. Photo by lienyuan lee on

These trails, as mentioned before, are quite steep and sometimes a little bit aerial. The trails are well equipped with staircases and fixed ropes and they are suitable for averagely fit people.

Just a warning 鈥� unfortunately most of the steep parts of the trails are equipped with kind of staircases made of logs. Often those logs are so widely apart that is not uncommon to accidentally put a leg in between and break a bone. So be careful. 

7. There are several hotels and Restaurants near Dakeng Scenic Area 

There are several big hotels near Dakeng Scenic Area including; The Aroma Chew Hotel which is 0.03miles away from the area, Berlin Hotel which is 0.09miles away, Taichung Box Hotel 0.26 miles, Lai Lai Hotel 0.29miles and the I-deal Hotel which is 0.21miles away. 

The are also some of the best restaurants in Taichung near it; The Non Lo So 0.01miles, Pizza Factory-Yi Cheong 0.01 miles, VegesM 0.02miles, Yang Ji Change Yi Zhong 0.03 miles and Palsaik Korean BBQ – Taichung Fourth Branch which is 0. 10 miles away. 

8. There also several other attractions near Dakeng Scenic Area

Taiwan, Taichung City, Beitun District. Photo by Fcuk1203 on

There are several other attractions near Dakeng Scenic Area including; Zhongyou Department Store which is 0.10 miles away, Eslite Bookstore 0.11 miles away, Yichung Shopping Street 0.30 miles, Yimin Yizhong Shopping Mall which is 0.22 miles away from the Scenic area. 

Other attraction include ; Chung San Hall, Ying Cai Fu De Temple, Yingcai  Children’s Park, Taichung Yingcai kids park, Fairly waterfall, ConfuciusTemple Martyr’s Shrine, PaoChueh Temple, Sunshine Plaza and Zhongxintang. 

9. Dakeng Scenic Area is also home to the Guanyin Temple

Dakeng is also home to the Guanyin Temple on Guanyin Mountain located near Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology (CTUST) on Bu Zi Road.The mountain is a popular hiking trail that takes about twenty minutes to hike to the top.

The top of Guanyin Mountain offers a good view of the Beitun District. At the base of the mountain is the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology.It is one of views you can get in Taichung district, Taiwan. 

10. It only takes 10 minutes to walk to Dakeng Scenic Area

It only takes 10 minutes to walk to Dakeng Scenic Area and as much as Taiwan cities are chaotic, they are never too far from lush hills and mountains, which can be easily reached by public transport and are marked by a network of hiking trails.

Taichung is no exception so there are several places around the city where you can make even long and challenging hikes in areas covered by forest and tropical orchards. Dakeng Scenic Area is actually going round the mountain and it takes about 1 hour to go round. It is very easy, enjoyable and effortless.