Maokong Gondola 貓空纜車

I was so looking forward to ride the Maokong Gondola since it's launch. The Maokong Gondola (貓空纜車) is a gondola lift transportation system in Taipei. The construction of the Maokong Gondola began on November 10, 2005, and the system began operation in July 2007. It is Taipei City's first high-altitude gondola. The Gondola is operated by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) and is part of the Taipei Rapid Transit System. It runs between Taipei Zoo and Maokong.


STATIONS
The Maokong Gondola has 4 stations total:
Taipei Zoo (動物園站), outside Taipei Zoo
Taipei Zoo South (動物園內站), inside Taipei Zoo
Zhinan Temple (指南宮站)
Maokong (貓空站)


GONDOLA SYSTEM INFO
The ride one-way from beginning to end (all 4 stations) took about 30 minutes however the brochure said 20 minutes. I went on a Thursday morning to avoid the weekend crowd. We started the ride at Taipei Zoo Station. It was for once, a beautiful sunny day, perfect for the gondola ride. The ride was very smooth since the weather was so nice but there was some wind that did effect the ride as we got to a higher level so the gondola did swing a little.

FARES
The fare varies depending on which station you want to get off:
1 Station NT$30
2 Stations NT$40
3 Stations NT$50

Length : 4.03 km
One-way Journey : About 20 min. (it's actually 30, I timed it!)
Maximum Capacity : About 2000 People/hr.
Maximum Passengers in Each Car : 8 People
Speed : 3-5 m/sec.
The 8-seat monocable gondola runs in a counterclockwise direction.
The diameter of the cable is 52mm; the pitch of the cable is 6.1m.
The view around was spectacular! I bet it's prettier during the night. You can hear the animals (monkeys to be exact) when you pass over the zoo. Next time I hope to visit the Taipei Zoo that's 165 hectares, including 90 hectares open to the public.


We had plan on getting off at the famous Zhinan Temple but the temple was a short walk from the stop and we only had 2 hours to spare before a lunch date with my cousin back in downtown Taipei so we had to skip it. Instead we went to the Maokong Station and took a bus tour and visited a tea museum and grabbed some late morning snacks in the restaurants that's within the Maokong Station. Plus the temple, built in 1890, has a staircase of 1200 steps before you can get to the front doors, just thinking about it is exhausting!


WHAT'S IN A NAME?
How did Maokong (which translates literally as "No Cat" in Chinese) get its name? One joking explanation is that it is called "No Cat" because there are no cats in the area. In fact, its name is derived from the Taiwanese "Niaokang," which refers to the topography of surrounding mountains, which has been scoured and pitted by the runoff from springs. "Niaokang" is a reference to this pitted surface, but it is also a homophone for "cat scratched," which was rendered as "maokong" in Mandarin. To preserve the unique scenery of Maokong, please do not litter. Let us preserve the lush greenery of this greenbelt.
Maokong Gondola