Taiwan Hiking Permits: 4 Major Peaks with Guaranteed Foreigner Quotas (2026)

4 famous Hundred Peaks I've climbed myself, with foreigner quotas, application windows and every booking explained.

Every time there's a thread about climbing Yushan, I see foreign hikers saying the hut lottery is impossible to win. For locals like us, that's true. But if you hold a foreign passport, Taiwan's hiking permits work very differently: several of the major Hundred Peaks hold reserved quotas just for foreign hikers!

These four are all ones I've climbed myself. I think they're some of the most representative mountains in Taiwan, and the scenery is stunning. The best part: the huts let you order meals and rent sleeping bags, and every one of them holds reserved spots for non locals.

Here's the whole picture in one table, then the details for each mountain.

Taiwan Hiking Permits for Foreigners:

The Four Peaks at a Glance

Peak	Why it's special	Reserved for foreigners	Apply	Full guide
Yushan (Mt. Jade ) (3,952m)	Taiwan's highest	24 beds per weekday night at Paiyun Lodge, first come first served	4 months to 35 days before	Yushan guide → Here
Xueshan (3,886m)	The glacial cirque	24 beds per weekday night	4 months to 65 days before	Xueshan guide → Here
Jiaming Lake (3,310m)	Taiwan's most beautiful alpine lake	18 spots per day, rest by lottery	150 to 61 days before	Guide coming
Qilai Nanhua (3,358m)	Two peaks, one trip, the "five star" hut	12 priority spots per day	4 months to 2 months before	Guide coming

Last verified: JUL. 15. 2026

Yushan (Jade Mountain, 3,952m)

Taiwan's highest! Locals have to enter the Paiyun Lodge (Páiyún Shānzhuāng) lottery, but there are 24 beds reserved for foreign applicants every weekday night, first come first served.

Yushan of path

Apply 4 months to 35 days before your climb. If it's your first Taiwan peak, start here: the trail is clear the whole way, and the full logistics, from the Chiayi bus to ordering dinner at the lodge, are in my Full guide -> Here

Xueshan (3,886m)

Taiwan's second highest! Application window is 4 months to 65 days before. 24 reserved beds.

A heads up: Sanliujiu Hut (Sānliùjiǔ Shānzhuāng) is under renovation right now, so your Full guide -> Here

Xueshan Glacial Cirque

base will be the lower Qika Hut (Qīkǎ Shānzhuāng), which makes summit day very long. Plan three days.

Having actually walked both, Xueshan is steeper than Yushan. The cirque view from the top is worth it, but really don't underestimate it. The 65 day deadline is also a month earlier than Yushan's, so if Xueshan is on your list, book it first.

Jiaming Lake (3,310m)

Jiaming Lake

Taiwan's most beautiful alpine lake, also called the Angel's Tear (Jiāmíng Hú)!

Foreign applicants apply 150 to 61 days ahead. 18 reserved spots per day. The rest go through the general lottery.

Qilai Nanhua (3,358m)

Two Hundred Peaks in one trip, with a 360 degree sunrise over a sea of clouds. The base, Tianchi Lodge (Tiānchí Shānzhuāng), is Taiwan's famous "five star" hut.

Foreigners get a priority quota, 12 per day. Apply 4 months to 2 months before your stay. That 2 month cutoff is the earliest on this page, so this is the mountain you book

Sunrise at Qilai South Peak

before anything else.

A heads up: a typhoon destroyed the original trailhead, and the new one adds 3km each way, so the overall difficulty went up a bit.

The Details That Matter

• Reserved quotas are weekday nights only, Sunday to Thursday. National holidays never count.

• Every foreign team member must upload a passport scan.

• The Yushan advance quota is once per person per year, so pick your dates and commit.

  
  

Before You Book Anything, This Order

• Lock your dates first. The quotas live on weekday nights, so the calendar decides everything.

• Apply on hike.taiwan.gov.tw (full English version). If you're staying overnight, park entry and the hut come in one application.

• Transport comes after the permit clears, not before.

  
  

Getting There

For Jiaming Lake and Qilai Nanhua, the last stretch needs a shuttle, but the guesthouses nearby all arrange this. The other two you can do entirely by public transport!

One Last Thing

Hope this helps anyone who loves hiking and wants to explore Taiwan's high mountains!

Stuck somewhere in the process? Maybe the portal is fighting you, or you're not sure how a three day climb fits into the rest of your Taiwan trip. Email me your travel dates and where you're stuck, and I'll point you in the right direction: [contact@braveontw.com]（mailto，Mountain trip question）

And if you'd rather hand me the whole thing, from picking the peak to the bus that sells out first: [see how we can work together → Here ]