Maokong Gondola

Itinerary > Maokong Gondola

We headed off to Maokong Gondola early in the morning, alighting at the Taipei Zoo MRT Station. It was a 10-15 minute walk to the Gondola (left turn from the Taipei Zoo MRT Station) but the heat was blistering. Good thing we were armed with an umbrella! On the way we spotted some interesting sights.

Taipei Zoo MRT Station
Towards Maokong Gondola from Taipei Zoo MRT Station

On our way to the Gondola, we stopped by a bat exhibition (to temporarily escape the heat) where there were displays (photos and artworks) and the history of bats. Admission was free and the bat exhibition is open from Tuesdays to Sundays (0900 – 1600).

Bat Exhibition next to Maokong Gondola
Bat Exhibition next to Maokong Gondola

The Maokong Gondola provides a bird's eye view of the area where the zoo is located. A one way trip from the MRT Taipei Station costs NT$30 per person, but there was a promotion so we only paid NT$25 per person. When we reached the Maokong Gondola, there was not much of a queue and having the Easy Card (悠遊卡), we did not have to queue.

Originally we wanted to take the crystal cabin, but the wait would have been at least 40 minutes. So we went for the regular cabin instead. There's no air-conditioning within the cable car, so the ride was a little stuffy in the summer's heat, but manageable. It took about 25 minutes to reach the Taipei Zoo Cable Car Station.

Maokong Gondola

The ride took longer than expected and after a somewhat warm ride in the regular cable car, we finally arrived at the Taipei Zoo Cable Car Station. I don’t think we would have survived the ride all the way up to Maokong in the summer heat and no air-conditioning. Perhaps the next time when the weather was cooler, we would sit the cable car all the way up to Maokong.

Maokong Gondola Taipei Zoo Cable Car Station

From the Taipei Zoo Cable Car Station we proceeded to take the shuttle into the zoo. From there it was a 5 minute drive into the zoo and from there it was off to view the animals!

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