Bitoujiao (鼻頭角)

A drive or bus ride from Taipei will get you to the northeast Taiwan icon of Bitoujiao. Here you can take a short hike to the tip of the cape and view the mesmerizing ocean sunset from the trail or one of its viewing platforms. When the sky changes and the ocean clouds roll in, you’ll feel enchanted by the natural beauty.

The best views come at the top, and my favorite view is of the trail jutting out into the sea, with the sun on the same visual plane and the green mountains to the left. There are some viewing platforms which also offer fantastic perspectives.

There’s also a lighthouse, though as of writing the trail to the lighthouse was closed due to erosion (there might still be people on it disregarding signs).

This is a photographer’s paradise and the platforms and trail can get quite crowded with people taking and posing for pictures/selfies, but because you’re up high above the coast and have a nearly 360 view of the ocean and coastal scenery, you can get a great picture from mostly anywhere.

The windy road which scales the coast (Number 2) is a pretty sight in itself from above, and when you look down and see the cars and buses in bumper-to-bumper traffic on their way back to the northwest, you can feel at ease knowing that you’re in such a secluded spot away from such a stressor, and yet you might also feel a sense of trepidation that you’ll soon be stuck in that same traffic going back home…

The walk up the trail takes 20-30 minutes (and has some stairs). You can start on the left by the harbor (Trail start 1) or on the right by the school (Trail start 2).

You don’t have to worry much about staying too long for the sunset since the walk back down is not too bad, but still take a flashlight as the trail is only partially lit and does go through a bit of a forest for a short period of time.

Driving here from Taipei takes about an hour. You can also take the 791 bus from Keelung and get off at Bitoujiao.