Location: Northern Taiwan, straddling Taipei City and New Taipei City

Established: 1985

If you are based in Taipei and want to understand what lies directly beneath the city — literally — Yangmingshan is the place to go. The park sits on the Tatun Volcanic Group, a cluster of volcanoes formed roughly 700,000 years ago. The volcanism here is not merely geological history. Datunshan is classified as an active volcano, and the park’s fumaroles, sulphur vents, and hot springs are ongoing reminders that Taipei is built adjacent to geothermal activity of real consequence. Qixing Mountain（七星山）, the highest peak at 1,120 metres, is a dormant volcanic cone with a well-maintained trail to the summit that rewards hikers with panoramic views of the Taipei Basin.

The park is unique among Taiwan’s nine for being embedded within a metropolitan area. You can reach it from central Taipei by bus in under an hour, which makes it one of the most visited national parks in the country. Paradoxically, this accessibility has not destroyed it. The terrain is varied enough — volcanic craters, grassland plateaux, caldera lakes, waterfalls, and hot-spring valleys — that it absorbs large numbers of visitors without feeling depleted.

What to look for:

The Xiaoyoukeng area offers the most dramatic volcanic scenery: sulphur crystals encrust the vents, the air carries a sharp smell of hydrogen sulphide, and clouds of steam rise from fissures in the hillside. Qingtiangang is a wide, flat grassland formed by ancient lava flows, where water buffalo graze freely — an unusual sight twenty minutes from one of Asia’s major cities. For hot springs, Lengshuikeng offers a free, mixed-gender foot-bath fed by bicarbonate springs; more elaborate bathing is available commercially in Beitou, just below the park boundary.

In spring, the park fills with cherry blossoms and calla lilies; in autumn, silver grass blankets the higher ridges. Both seasons draw significant crowds, particularly at weekends. If tranquillity is a priority, weekday visits or less-frequented trails such as the Jinbaoli Trail（魚路古道）, an old fish-porter’s route between the mountains and the coast, offer a different pace entirely.

Who it suits: Those with limited time, families, city-based travellers, and anyone interested in volcanology or accessible day hiking.