Incredibly healing matcha mountain with a 360-degree view of Yilan’s million-dollar night scenery

Text by MOOK Scenic Spots' Liao Weiren | Photos by MOOK Scenic Spots' Liao Weiren
 
The layered mountains covered in green grass resemble a matcha-dusted tiramisu—super healing—and offer million-dollar views of the Lanyang Plain. Climbing up here is totally worth it.

Located in Jiaoxi, Yilan, the Our Lady’s Mountain National Trail has its entrance at the well-known Five-Flag Peak Waterfall. With an elevation drop of about 700 meters, it’s a bit challenging, but the view from the summit is absolutely worth it.

Starting from the entrance, you’ll walk 3.7 kilometers along a gravel path to reach the trailhead at Tongtian Bridge, then hike another 1.6 kilometers uphill along the trail. The round trip is about 11 kilometers, and excluding rest time, it takes roughly 5 to 5.5 hours.

The origin of Our Lady’s Mountain comes from a legend where five hikers crossed over from Pinglin to Triangle Mountain and intended to descend via Jiaoxi but got lost midway. As it grew darker, they prayed to the statue of the Virgin Mary on the mountain. They then saw a figure in white guiding them down. To show their gratitude, they later returned to erect a statue of the Virgin Mary and build a memorial plaque.

Travelers walking from the Five-Flag Peak Waterfall entrance to Tongtian Bridge take about 75 minutes. Along the way, there are wooden shelters set up by the Forestry Bureau for resting and freshening up. Then, following the Dezikou Stream upward, due to the large elevation changes and fast-flowing water, you can see many small waterfalls along the way as the water hits the rocks—a sight that makes you forget the fatigue of hiking.