Shiding Yuguiling Cliff 石碇玉桂嶺大峭壁

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Throughout the mountains of Shiding and Pingxi are quite a few sheer cliffs and rock walls, formed from sedimentary rock being thrust upward by tectonic forces. Many of these places are not well known and hard to get to, but they are beautiful features in Taiwan's mountainous terrain. One of the largest of such rock walls is the Yuguiling Rock Wall in Shiding, which is the largest sandstone cliff in Northern Taiwan. 

Background:
The rock formations that form the mountains of Shiding and Pingxi formed as sediment under the ocean millions of years ago and were then uplifted thanks to the collision of the Eurasian and Philippine plates. The rocks are mainly sedimentary and are part of the same formation that forms the special rock formations on the northern coast around Keelung.
The rock wall here is on private property and so can only be enjoyed from the road. Holes in the rock wall also appear to be home to many birds. 
The cliff here is 100 meters high at the middle and nearly 300 meters wide, making it the highest sandstone cliff in northern Taiwan.

Price:
Free

Hours:
24/7

How to get there:
By Car/Scooter: Take highway 106 east through Shiding until you reach the large U shaped bridge before Yongding Village. Do not get on the bridge, and take a right under the bridge up the mountain valley. Keep going straight until you reach the rock walls. 
By Bus: Take bus 795 from Shiding until you reach Tengliaokeng (藤寮坑)  station. From there it is about 4 KM or one hour walk to get to the cliffs, not ideal!

Map:
Pleas see below:

Our Journey:

I have been by the Yuguiling rock walls twice.
​I first saw them on Google Earth and want to get a better look, so I drove out there on a Scooter.

To see the rock walls in perspective, look at the drone footage above. 

There are other rock walls all over Shiding, like this one not far from Shiding Old Street.

The Yuguiling Cliffs are magnificent to look at. They have a vertical drop of about 100 meters.

Looking a the top left of the cliffs. 

Another view of the cliffs from above. 

The cliffs taper off into the forest. Under all that brush is some very steep rock. 

View to the south toward Huangdidian. 

A Taiwan blue magpie perched above the cliff. You can only see this bird in Taiwan. 

I feel like these cliffs would make the perfect rock climbing destination. There are plenty of handholds and footholds. However I do not own the property so I have no say on the matter, but if the owner is reading, please consider opening an outdoor climbing facility here. 

If you go further up the road, you will come to many mountain farms with dogs running unleashed on the road, and abandoned cars like this one. This is what happens when you park your car too long in Taiwan. 

If you have time you should also check out thePudu Changsheng Bridge nearby (full bloghere), which is considered the most beautiful bridge in northern Taiwan. 

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