Maokong, the famous tea-producing area in southeast Taipei, is best reached by a ride on the Maokong Gondola.
We rode the Gondola during a late-April visit to Taiwan.
To reach the Maokong Gondola, we took the MKT Brown Line (#1) from the Jiannan Road station near our Taipei Marriott hotel to the Taipei Zoo Station at the end of the line.
Cute animal art greets you at the Taipei Zoo MKT Station, which serves both the zoo and the Gondola.
Follow the signs to the Maokong Gondola at the Taipei MRT Zoo Station.
It is about a quarter of a mile walk from the Taipei Zoo Station to the Maokong Gondola Service Center.
As you can see on the route map pictured above, the Maokong Gondola makes three stops. Most folks ride the entire route to the Maokong Station near the Erge Mountain Range.
After waiting in line for your turn, it’s easy to board the Maokong Gondola, as the cars slow to pick up passengers. Cars hold up to 6-8 people, but since we were there on a weekday, we were given a car to ourselves.
There are two kinds of gondola cars and two different lines to wait for them. The “Crystal” cars (with clear glass bottoms) require a longer wait. We found the views outstanding from a regular car.
It’s warm in the gondola cars; they have air vents but are not air conditioned. The scenic and thrilling ride seemed to take about 40 minutes each way.
As you get closer to Maokong Station, you have a bird’s eye view of tea plantations from the Maokong Gondola. Tea cultivation in Taiwan dates to the 18th century.
The gondola ride ends at the Maokong Station. This area is home to 50 to 60 tea houses and restaurants serving “tea cuisine.”
You will see these cat statues near the Maokong Gondola Station. The name “Maokong” means “cat’s hollows” but has nothing to do with an actual cat. Instead, the name refers to the potholes in the stream running through the area. The boulders and stones in the stream bed are comprised of rocks of varying hardness; over time the stream’s waters have carved potholes in them. Local inhabitants named the place “niao kang” in their native Taiwanese dialect, which became the Mandarin name “maokong” used today, in reference to the “cat’s hollows” in the stream’s rocks.
As we walked along the winding Zhi Nan Road towards the Taipei Tea Promotion Center, we got a close-up view of tea plants growing near the Maokong Station.
This area is full of restaurants, tea houses and shops offering tea. You can also see tea leaves drying outside of the shops.
We stopped in the Red Wood House restaurant and tea house. It offers great views, Wi-Fi, and all things green tea including ice cream.
Due to the heat and humidity, we opted for a cold Taiwan beer instead of hot tea.
The Maokong Gondola does not operate on Mondays. It runs 9 am to 7 pm Tuesdays – Thursdays with slightly longer hours on weekends and holidays. The cost was NT$120 each way. (About $3.75 US dollars, making the 40-minute gondola ride a great bargain.) The easiest way to pay is by using a Taipei Easy Card, which you just tap in and out with.
Have you ridden on the Maokong Gondola in Taipei? What was your impression?
Planning a visit to Taipei, Taiwan? Check out these other posts:
- Visiting the Raohe Street Night Market in Taipei, Taiwan
- A Cheers Bar in Taipei, Taiwan
- A Peek Inside Suite 829 at the Taipei Marriott Hotel
- A Peek Inside Room 1824 at the Taipei Marriott
- A Look Around the Taipei Marriott Hotel in Taiwan
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