Today marked my first visit to "Monkey Mountain," as it is colloquially known by my fellow foreigners, or as the locals call it "Shoushan Mountain" or "Gushan Mountain" (many maps say different names).

If you ever visit Kaohsiung, Taiwan, you definitely should check out this place, especially if you like hiking and/ or monkeys!

But be prepared to spend at least an hour or two; "Monkey Mountain" is quite large. There are a few different entry points and many hiking trails for you to discover. We spent at least a good three hours up there and we didn't even cover half of the map.

How to Get There

To get to the area you can walk, scooter, taxi or bus to it. If you decide to bus, take the "Shoushan Zoo" bus # 56. It goes right by the park.

My boyfriend and I took our scooter up to the park entrance right by the "Shoushan Zoo" and started our hike from there.

If you aren't sure if you are going in the right direction, just look out for the giant yellow banana signs with arrows and a monkey (they're about 6ft tall). I'm sure you'll figure it out even though it has writing in Chinese.

It bears mentioning: going in December was great!

The weather stayed cool, so I didn't sweat too much, even though I covered a lot of ground walking on many of the mountain's trails.

Here are some of the things you might see before the hike. If you spot these, you'll know you're in the right direction.

If you come up from the north, you'll most-likely see these sights!

A great spot to see the city on higher grounds.

The road up to the park.

A panorama of the road up to "Monkey Mountain"

If you come up from the south side you'll see signs about the "Martyr's Shrine." You're in the right direction. Keep going up!

Stairs up to the "Martyr's Shrine"

"Martyr's Shrine"

Here are some of the sights I saw while exploring "Monkey Mountain."

Twisted tree roots

"Bamboo Sanctuary"

An intricate path to a great 'vista' of Kaohsiung.

Chairs for sitting on.

Wild flowers and plants.

And of course, the MONKEYS!

A monkey in hiding.

Just sittin' around.

Monkey getting it's daily check up.

Don't forget to dress according to the weather and bring some water!

There are bathrooms and people selling food and beverages by the main entrance, in case you forget.

Happy Monkey Spotting!