Route for Power Wheelchair Users, Yangmingshan Longfenggu and Sulfur Valley – Day Trip for Electric Wheelchair Users
Yangmingshan
Longfenggu and Sulfur Valley –
Day Trip for Electric Wheelchair Users
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Yangmingshan
Longfenggu, Sulfur Valley, Longfenggu ,
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Weather: the weather
can change quickly on Yangmingshan. A sunny day can easily become rainy so be
sure to bring your raincoat (not umbrella). The diversity of the landscape and
scenery will create beautiful memories for any trip, making visits that focuses
on geology or enjoying the beauty of flowers particularly popular.
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Take step entrance
bus 612 at Dunxu High School
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Approximate Time:7
hours
From MRT Jiantan
Station
Vehicle: The best
step entrance bus route is bus 612 (Songde←→Datong Home). The Bus Tracker
Taipei app can be downloaded from:
Visitors wanting to
take a shuttle bus to the National Park should do so from Jiantan stop or
Chiang Kai-Shek Shilin Residence as they are most convenient. As Jiantan Road
is wide, drivers who want to take public transport to the National Park can
park their cars at the paying parking lot of Chientan Youth Activity Center or
MRT Jiantan Station. It’s close to Exit 2 and the Land God temple.
Route:
Get off at Dunxu High
School of Industry and Commerce stop → Longfenggu Visitor Center→
Longfenggu-Qingshui Park → Xinyi Waterfall → Sulfur Valley → take the bus at
Dunxu High School of Industry and Commerce stop
After getting off the bus at Dunxu High School of Industry and Commerce stop, I saw a lot of people leaning on the railing at the top of Longfenggu enjoying the spectacular view, an unforgettable memory for many visitors.
Longfenggu Visitor Center
It takes about 3
minutes walking to reach Longfenggu Visitor Center, which is around 100 meters
below the entrance to Yangmingshan No.1 Public Cemetery. A young female member
of staff received us at the building and introduced the area to visitors. We
then went to the “private” scenic spots to view the reclining Guanyin Mountain
and the natural beauty of Guanyin Mountain.
Longfenggu-Qingshui
Park
Leaving this spot and
heading back to where the car was parked we reached the entrance to Longfenggu
in 5-7 minutes. There is no “Longfenggu” sign, just a really steep road,
located between Xinyi Road and Dunxu High School bus stops. Follow the zig-zag
road down to the valley. Manually-operated wheelchair users will be unable to
make their way back up the hill unassisted. The area at the bottom of the
valley isn’t very large but there is a car park (with several disabled scooter
parking spaces), a pavilion and disabled toilet. There are also steps up the
steep slope.
Disabled visitors
will only be able to move around the area near the pavilion at the bottom of
the valley. However, the views are still stunning; the andesite rock (very hard)
here is very brittle due to acidification and can even be used like chalk to
write on the ground.
The geothermal heat is as hot as 200-300C so be careful not to burn your hand when handling the rocks. Visitors should also be aware that this area is in Yangmingshan National Park and nothing can be taken away by visitors. Going back up the slope takes a bit of effort; the able bodied should take the steps to experience the fun of mountain hiking; users of electronic wheelchairs can go back up the slope to the entrance.
The rock here has metamorphosed due to the geothermal heat and may still be hot.
The geothermal heat
is as hot as 200-300C so be careful not to burn your hand when handling the
rocks. Visitors should also be aware that this area is in Yangmingshan National
Park and nothing can be taken away by visitors. Going back up the slope takes a
bit of effort; the able bodied should take the steps to experience the fun of
mountain hiking; users of electronic wheelchairs can go back up the slope to
the entrance.
Only part of this
area is accessible to wheel-chair users. There are four locations to visit:
1. Sulfur Valley
Above the northeast
side of Sulfur Valley and next to the bus 230 Dunxu High School stop there is
an entrance that allows wheelchair users to go a short distance. The beautiful
setting sun on Guanyin Mountain and stunning red clouds over the Guandu Plain
at sunset can be seen from here only a few days a year.
2. About 50 meters below the fork in the road at Datong Home on the left there is an entrance/exit to a Land God temple. With a bit of effort, wheelchairs can enter here (but the stone floor is uneven so take care). The steps on the left lead to the first entrance which is closest to the geological scenery; the gentle slope on the right leads to the car park but unfortunately there are steps to the bridge that prevent easy access.
3. The car park
entrance is at the bottom of Sulfur Valley on the west side. Although there are
four disabled parking spaces here, there is a foot spa pool so there are often
there many vehicles and visitors so the toilets are temporary mobile units. The
scenery is lovely and the blue water below enchanting, with two stones on the
rock wall to the right that resemble the faces of a man and woman looking up at
the sky together. It is recommended that the beautiful scenery is best enjoyed
on days other than weekends and holidays.
4. The bus shelter at
the bus stop on Quanyuan Road is a great place for a bird’s eye view of the
surrounding scenery. However, although it is accessible to wheelchairs and car,
there is only enough space for 2-3 cars to stop briefly.
The national park
provides only limited wheel-chair accessible facilities. Plan an easy and
simple educational trip. On the return journey, the toilets at Longfenggu
Visitors Center are available.
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| You can also enjoy a geological-oriented trip to Longfenggu and Sulfur Valley on Yangmingshan. |