Elephant Mountain

This morning we took a little walk up a "hill" behind our friends' apartment building. At least, they called it a hill when they sold the outing to us. It was more like a small mountain. Apparently, I am a bit out of shape, my heart racing as I climbed the 500+ steep steps up the side.


So pretty, though. Taiwan is full of these lush tropical hideaways. Once we got up the vertical stone stairs, the paths leveled out and meandered around trees and flowers. At one of the many stations, there was a stamp device, which you could use to create an embossed record of your visit up Elephant Mountain (see, it is even officially deemed not a hill...)


We hiked around for about an hour. My legs were jelly by the end. After we stumbled down the last steep step, I saw a map of the mountain. The area that we hiked was only a small square, a mere morsel of the vast trails and terrain. It was a bit discouraging. More for another day, I guess. Additional pictures are here.