Songluo Lake: A Hike to See Beams of Sunlight Chasing Mist over the Dreamy Water in Taiwan
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Table of Contents:
About Songluo Lake
Songluo Lake
Songluo Lake is an alpine lake loacated in remote Xingdian, but the trailhead to the lake is actually in Yilan. The trail terrains from Xingdian to Songluo Lake are too treacherous to hike. The name of Songluo is originally from indigenous Atayal People 泰雅族, and Atayal People called this Syanoh Lake. Syanoh means a place with densely lush forests. This place is indeed a lush forest.
The altitude of Songluo Lake is 1,320 meters (4,330 feet) above the sea level. The wet season of this lake is from October to April, and many hikers prefer to visiti Songluo Lake during this time to see the beautiful lake in the morning sunlight. But I think the lake is still amazing if you go in dry season. Please note that you might not be able to find a camping spot if it rains too much, because it will be difficult to find a dry place to pitch your tent.
You need to apply for permit aleast 30 days to 5 days before your hike. This trail is well marked with yellow signs on the trees every 100 meter, but it's still recommended to have a GPX track with you.
As to the name, Songluo 松蘿 or 地衣 in Mandarin also means Usnea, a lichen growing on the trees, but please correct me if I am wrong. But you won't see many of them before you reach the junction to Mt. Quantoumu 拳頭母山. After the junction, you will see a lot of those delicate plants hanging on the trees.
Some hikers do this trail in one day and it's doable. But you won't see the majestic sunlight and mist dancing show on Songluo Lake in the morning if you do so.
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Songluo Trail
Please note that there is another Songluo Trail 松蘿國家步道, which is a totally DIFFERENT trail and way much easier than the one to Songluo Lake.
How to Get There
There is no public transport to get close to the trailhead. You have to drive or hire a car. Although Songluo Lake is located in Wulai, New Taipei City, we have to enter the trail from Datong in Yilan. So, I consider this is a hike located in Eastern Taiwan.
According to Hiking Biji, you can take Kingbus 1743, 1744, 1751 and 1798 and get off at Yulan Stop 玉蘭站. It will take about one hour to arrive at the trailhead on foot. But after doing research on Google Map, I still can't figure out how to get to the trailhead by bus. So, I will still suggest you drive there or hire a car.
Peaks and Places to Reach
The destination is Songluo Lake, and there is no specific peak to reach on this trail. If you want to explore more, you can hike to Mt. Quantoumu 拳頭母山, 1,551 meters (5,088 feet) at the junction after the sign of 050. The round trip from the junction to Mt. Quantoumu and back to the junction might take around 5 hours, and the trail terrain is very rugged.
Day 1: Revisit the Place in Hot Summer
GPS coordinates of the trailhead: 24.67541, 121.57332
This is my second time to hike Songluo Lake. My first attempt was in 2009, but I didn't hike often at that time and I wasn't fit at all. As you can imagine, I didn't enjoy the whole hike due to my lousy physical condition. After I picked up hiking again, I always wanted to come back here.
A Great Stop at Yulan Tea Farm before the Hike
I joined Dudu to do my second hike. As usual, we took off in Banqiao and it took us two hours to arrive at Yulan Tea Farm 玉蘭茶園. I'm glad that we took a long break here because the views at Yulan Tea Farm were so spectacular. You could oversee the mountains and Lanyang Plain 蘭陽平陽 (or Yilan Plain) in the distance.
There is a sign inside the pavilion if you are curious about what those mountains are. The mountains in Eastern Taiwan are truly wonderful, but it's not easy to hoke most of them. There's a campsite at Yulan Tea Farm if you want to stay here. This can also be an option before you hike to Songluo Lake.
From the Trailhead to the Faucet
After the break, it took us around 10 minutes to get to the parking lot of Songluo Lake. Since this trail is very popular, I wasn't surprised to see the parking lot was almost packed. From there, it took several minutes (around 250 meters or 0.15 miles in distance) to get to the trailhead.
There was a big sign with a detailed map at the trailhead telling you things you need to know and what to do if you need to ask for help. The one-way trip to Songluo Lake is only 5.4 km (3.35 miles), and you will see numbered signs (54 ones in total) in yellow every 100 meter and blank yellow ones for you to navigate on the trail. Overall, it is easy to follow the trail.
Our first stop was the Faucet 水龍頭, which was 2.4 km (1.5 miles) from the trailhead and 190 meter in elevation gain. This elevation part was relatively easy, but it was the humidity you have to deal with in summer. This area is one of the most humid places in Taiwan all year round, so it wasn't a surprise to see the muddy terrains.
Those Japanese Cedar Trees were tall and covered by ferns and other plants. If it weren't that hot and humid, it would be very pleasant to hike there.
It took us around 90 minutes to reach the Faucet. You'll know it because there was a faucet, of course. Our guide told us that the water was coming from the mountains. So, hikers shouldn't turn off the water in winter in case the water gets frozen. We had lunch here. There were so many people at the Faucet that I couldn't find a shaded area. So, I carried my umbrella hiding underneath it to eat my lunch.
The Up and Down Hike Didn't Put People Off
After the lunch break, the first climb was a steep slope. From the topology map, it seems like a gradual hike, but, in reality, we had to hike up and down, climbing over intertwined tree roots in the mud and rocks all the time.
Although our group booked on-site catering service for our sleeping bags, tents and food, I still carried my own sleeping bag and tent. The humidity and hot weather made the hike even tougher. But I think I was still in a better shape compared to 10 years ago.
Aside from the steamy weather and rugged terrains, the threes here were tall and amazing. There were also many huge trees, but we also saw what illegal logging has done to this beautiful woods.
We passed many hikers who were heading back to the trailhead. When they saw us, they told us many hikers had arrived at Songluo Lake and to expect a huge crowd. My heart sank when hearing this. I know Songluo Lake is a popular hiking trail, but the crowd did put me off. During pandemic, people can't travel abroad and many of them flood to the trails.
There are benefits and drawbacks of numbering the distance of the trails. The good thing is you know how much you've finished. But the bad thing is this also reminds you that you still have so much to go, especially when the trail is a tough one. When we finally reached the 050 sign which was the 5km mark, the last 400 meters seemed so long and I started wondering my sanity because there was a rough looking rocky slope waiting for me.
But I have to say the view from the 050 sign was great even though the weather became cloudy.
Finally, the Lake
After the rocky slope, we reached a small platform-like junction. Our guide told us there was a trail to Mt. Quantoumu, 1,551 meters (5,088 feet), and he could wait for us if any of us wanted to go there. Nope, I said to myself, perhaps next time.
We stayed at the junction for a while waiting for the rest of our group to arrive. From now on, no more ascending, only descending. The vegetation looked different now, and there were more ferns and Songluo/Usnea 松蘿 on the trees, which made the landscape look more mysterious.
Then, I heard our hiking mates' happy shrieking: the lake! Finally.
It was cloudy when we arrived at the lake. By the time I finished pitching my tent, it started drizzling. I sat inside my tent, looking at the lake. There was a mist floating on the top of the lake, and It would be very calming and mesmerizing if other hikers could be quieter and contain their excitement.
After a while, the drizzle became a rain shower. I was happy that I brought my own tent, and luckily my neighbor was also a quiet guy. He was very nice to offer me some hot drink and we talked for a while and enjoyed the scenery.
After the rain died down, we decided to explore around this valley. The lake, to be exact, wasn't a big lake, and was more like several sporadic ponds. When you walked on the grass/moss, it felt like you were walking on sponges, soft and squishy. However, you might step into water because the moss covered the surface of those ponds and you just couldn't see the water.
After a while, we had to get back to the kitchen tent and queued up for dinner. If we didn't get there sooner, it would take much longer to finish our dinner.
The Amazing Ecology at Songluo Lake
After dinner, my new friend and I decided to explore this area again. Before I came here, I did some research and many articles mentioned that Songluo Lake is home to
Eastern Water Snakes 白腹游蛇. I was hoping to see some. To my delight, I saw a lot of them. I even witnessed a battle between an Eastern Water Snake and a frog. The poor frog failed this battle and succumbed to its predator.
Day 2: Majestic Morning Lights Drifting over Songluo Lake
We got up around 5:30 am the next morning. I didn't sleep well because of many noisy hikers. I decided to get up and walk around the lake again. At first, it was still cloudy, but soon the sun broke through the sky.
The Morning Beams of Lights You Can't Miss
Not long, the sky was cleared up and mixed with light clouds floating by. When I looked at the direction where we entered the lake area yesterday, I saw the sunlight was divided into beams by the peak of a small hill and splashing on the lake. I was totally in awe.
Now, I finally understood why Songluo Lake was dubbed dearly as the Lake of 17-year-old Young Maiden 十七歲少女湖: the mist passing over the valley's surface like being chased by the morning light, casting shadows on the lake like waves.
To me, it was the nature's artwork. No words can describe what I saw unless you get there to see it yourself.
When I stood by the ponds, the reflection of the sky, mist, fog, and water made me confused all of a sudden. I wasn't sure where I was, whether I was floating in the air or still glued on the soil near the water and being embraced by the moss and mist. If there weren't hikers taking photos by the water, I would believe I was in an up-side down world.
Off-putting Breakfast Queue
While I immersed myself totally in the dreamy surroundings, someone yelled at us to line up for breakfast at 6:30 am. I reluctantly pulled myself away and got back to the kitchen tent to queue up with other hikers. While standing in a line, someone flew a drone which caused hikers in front of my overexcitedly jumping up and down, trying to draw attention. I had to turn away to hide my rolling eyes from them and looked at the lake, and I was struck by the view again.
When I thought I had already seen the most majestic light at Songluo Lake, she decided to catch me off guard again. She stirred the light and mist up once more and set off another round of wonder. Seeing this, I really wanted to abandon my breakfast to embrace the amazing phenomenon again, but I couldn't. If I missed breakfast now and came back later, I might delay our group's departure. As a result, I could only watch the marvelous show with those ugly tents in front of me. I could feel my heart was feeling excited but also weeping at the same time.
A Surprisingly Beautiful Woods and Nanshi River 南勢溪
Around 7:10 am, our guide gathered us together again and we were ready to for the trip to Nanshi River. Usually, most group would head to Nanshi River to fetch fresh water after they arrived at Songluo Lake. I think our catering cook just took the water from the small ponds near our campsite. There were too many hikers to fetch enough water. I wouldn't expect them to filter the water, either.
The trip to Nanshi River was very short and easy to hike, and the woods was a great delight. Ferns and usnea were almost everywhere. The terrains were muddier, too. I wore a pair of rainboots, so it was not a problem for me. I wish I could stay here much longer to explore this beautiful wood, but we had to get hurry.
After making a left turn, we arrived at Nanshi River. The water was so fresh, and the trees were tall and vibrant. Compared to the crowded Songluo Lake, this place was even better and much quieter. I walked around, checking out trees here and there, trying to think whether I could find a safe location to pitch my tent.
The weather was so great in the early morning. The sunlight just went through the ferns and usnea hanging on the trees. Perhaps this part of Nanshi River wasn't as appealing as Songluo Lake, but for people who prefer being left alone like me, this was a heaven.
Back to the Trailhead
After breakfast, we gathered our backpacks and things together and ready to get back to our bus. Since this was a point-to-point trail, we took the same way back.
Thoughts about This Hike
Will I come back to visit this beautiful lake? I'd love to, but I definitely will do things differently.
Rogue Hikers and Lousy Behaviors
If you have read this far, you probably can detect a hint of resentment in my post. Please don't get me wrong. I love this trail. The nature is amazing. What makes me upset is the hikers' behaviors.
Songluo Lake has been famous among hikers in Taiwan for years. Therefore, many businesses rely on this trail to earn a living, which means it's very easy to find catering services. However, during Covid-19, most people including myself don't feel safe to travel abroad. The domestic travel, especially those destinations in the nature, becomes extremely popular.
I'm happy to see so many people getting close to the nature, but what they have done isn't showing any love to the nature at all. Taiwan is a beautiful place, but its beauty is tainted by our lousy behaviors: toilet papers, plastic bottles, booming music, loud chatting and laughers, etc. When it rained in the late evening, I thought I finally could get a quiet night, but I was wrong. The rain didn't stop hikers' loud annoying chats.
Not to mention some hikers used the not so much pond water to wash their utensils. My neighbor told me he saw a film of grease floating on the surface of the pond. I saw at least two hikers brushing their teeth with toothpastes. Did they swallow the toothpaste and water? Of course not.
How to Improve Your Camping Experience at Songluo Lake
First, I will visit here in spring or fall. It's too hot and humid to hike the trail in summer, especially when you want to carry your own food, tent, and other gear.
Second, I will avoid going there on the weekends. You've seen those photos of tent city, so I assume there's no need for me to explain more.
Third, I'll bring my own food, tent, etc., and pitch my tent far away from other hikers if possible. And I will not set my mesh tent opening toward people. I will also hike further to River Nanshi and fetch water there.
If you get a chance to visit Songluo Lake, I hope you will not see too many ugly things on the trail and can purely enjoy stunning views at Songluo Lake, and the vibrant ecosystem. If you are lucky enough, you might be able to have a starry sky and even shooting stars to tuck you in bed.
Map and Itinerary
Group Hike or Solo Hike: Group hike with Dudu
Date of Hike: June 13, 2020
Hiked from the trailhead to Songluo Lake
Date of Hike: June 13, 2020
Hiked from the trailhead to Songluo Lake
Route map for Lake Songluo Day 1 by Anusha Lee on plotaroute.com
Date of Hike: June 14, 2020.
Hiked from Songluo Lake to River Nanshi and back to the junction.
Hiked from Songluo Lake to River Nanshi and back to the junction.
Route map for Lake Songluo To River Nanshi by Anusha Lee on plotaroute.com
Click Menu in the map to download, print or share the map.
Click
to change the speed to meet your condition.
Click
to change the speed to meet your condition.Based on my hike on June 13, 2020
07:00
Left Banqiao
09:16
Arrived at Yulan Tea Farm, and rested for 40 minutes
09:55
Arrived at the parking lot near the trailhead of Songluo Lake, and prepared the gear
10:16
Arrived at the trailhead and took group photos
11:15
Reached 017 distance sign
11:45
Reached the Faucet at the sign of 024, 2.4 km, and had dinner
12:25
Resumed the hike
13:06
Reached 3.2k and took a break. 2.2k to go
13:26
Resumed the hike
14:51
Reached the rock slope
15:10
Reached the 050 sign, 5km.
15:15
Reached the junction to Songluo Lake and Mt. Quantoumu
15:25
Started to descend
15:37
Reached Songluo Lake
Total time:
5 hours 42 minutes, including breaks
Based on my hike on June 14, 2020
06:38
Breakfast
07:15
Headed to Nanshi River
07:42
Reached a junction and took left
07:44
Reached Nanshi River
08:01
Left River Nanshi and got back the our campsite
08:30
Back to our campsite
08:50
Left Songluo Lake and took the same trail back
11:19
Reached the Faucet
12:56
Reached the trailhead
Total time:
5 hours and 31 minutes, including breaks