Yushan (Jade Mountain)

Yushan reaches 3,952 metres, which makes it the highest mountain in Taiwan and the highest in northeast Asia, taller than anything in Japan or Korea, and it stands at the centre of a national park of deep valleys and cloud forest. The standard route is a two-day walk: a long approach of some eight kilometres from the Tataka trailhead to Paiyun Lodge just below the treeline, a night there, then a pre-dawn start up the final rocky ridge, with chains on the exposed sections, to reach the summit for sunrise over a sea of cloud with the whole spine of the island falling away. It is not technical but it is high and cold, and the mountain is properly wild, with black bears and Formosan macaques in the forest below. Numbers are strictly controlled: permits are allocated by lottery months ahead and the lodge beds are the bottleneck.

What you actually see

• The summit at dawn - sunrise over the cloud sea from the highest point in northeast Asia.
• The final ridge - the exposed rocky section with fixed chains.
• Paiyun Lodge - the mountain hut below the treeline where climbers overnight.
• The forest approach - cloud forest and wildlife on the long walk in.

When to go

October to April is generally the driest and clearest, though the summit is snowy and icy in midwinter, which requires crampons and a winter permit; typhoon season in summer closes the mountain often. Permits are drawn by lottery well in advance, so plan months ahead.

Honest expectations

The permit lottery is the real obstacle: applications open months ahead, demand far exceeds the beds at Paiyun Lodge, and many people never get a place. Weather closes the mountain regularly, and permits are not transferable to another date. It is high enough for altitude to affect people, the summit ridge is exposed, and winter ascents need proper equipment and experience.

Nearby

Alishan's forest railway and Sun Moon Lake are the nearest bases; the park's other trails start from the same road.