Yehliu Geopark: What It Costs, How to Get There, and How Long the Queen's Head Has Left
Yehliu Geopark is a 1,700-metre sandstone cape in Wanli District, New Taipei, covered in mushroom rocks that the sea has been carving for millions of years. Entry is NT$120, the gate opens at 08:00, and most visitors arrive on a guided day trip from Taipei that allows 70 minutes here. This page covers the ticket, the buses, and how much of the cape you can realistically walk.
Quick answer
Yehliu Geopark charges NT$120 for adults and NT$60 for students, children aged 6 to 12 and visitors over 65, with under-6s free. It opens 08:00 to 17:00 year round and until 18:00 in summer, and the last ticket goes on sale at closing time. From Taipei the direct option is Kuo-Kuang bus 1815 from Taipei Main Station, roughly 90 minutes each way. Guided day trips from Taipei cost $39 to $120 and two of them include the entry ticket.
Key takeaways
- NT$120 adult, NT$60 concession, free under 6, NT$96 a head for groups of 30 or more
- Open 08:00 to 17:00, extended to 18:00 in summer, last ticket sold at closing
- Bus 1815 from Taipei Main Station is the direct run; 716 and 862 come from MRT Tamsui
- Guided tours allow 70 minutes, which covers the walk out to the Queen's Head and back
- Two shared day trips include the ticket in the price, at $45 and about $80
- A typhoon warning closes the park outright and operators reroute or refund
Why the Rocks Look Like That
Sandstone, seawater and 25 million years
The cape is layered sandstone laid down on an ancient seabed and pushed above the waterline by tectonic movement. Some layers hold hard calcareous nodules, others are soft. Salt spray, wind and rain wear the soft rock away and leave the hard cores standing on thin necks, which is how you get a field of mushroom rocks with heads too heavy for their stems.
The park runs the length of the cape in three areas. Area one holds the ginger rocks and the sea candles, cones with a ring carved around each base. Area two has the Queen's Head, the fairy shoe and the beehive rocks. Area three, furthest out, has the sea-eroded caves and the pot holes, and almost nobody on the coach tours gets that far.
The Queen's Head, on a clock
The formation everyone queues for is a mushroom rock whose profile reads as a woman with an updo. Its neck measures 125 cm around and thins by 0.2 to 0.5 cm a year. That figure is why the rope line went up, why touching it has been banned for years, and why the park made a replica nearby for photographs.
Nobody can put a date on the collapse. The park's own estimate has moved around as conservation coatings were trialled and abandoned. What is certain is the direction of travel, so if you are choosing between the Queen's Head and the outer caves, the Queen's Head is the one on a deadline.
Tickets, and What Each One Covers
Prices are set by the park, not by the tour operators, and are the same whether you buy at the gate or online.
| Ticket | Price | Who it is for | Book |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full | NT$120 | General visitors | |
| Concession | NT$60 | Students with Taiwanese ID, children 6 to 12, anyone over 65 of any nationality | |
| Group | NT$96 | 30 or more general visitors, booked together | |
| Student group | NT$48 | 30 or more students with Taiwanese student ID | |
| Free | NT$0 | Under 6, Wanli district residents, disabled visitors plus one carer, licensed guides |
Concession and over-65 tickets are counted separately from the general group total, so a mixed party of 30 does not automatically qualify.
Getting to Yehliu from Taipei
The bus, route by route
Yehliu sits about 50 km northeast of Taipei on the north coast road. There is no train station; every public route ends with a bus.
- Kuo-Kuang bus 1815 from Taipei Main Station, the direct run and the one most travellers take, roughly 90 minutes each way depending on traffic.
- Bus 716 from MRT Tamsui, the Crown Northern Coast Shuttle, which runs the scenic coast road.
- Bus 862 from MRT Tamsui, the same corridor with more stops.
- Bus 953 from Xinyi Market near MRT Daan Park, a Keelung Bus service.
- Bus 1068 from MRT Gongguan, also Keelung Bus, low-floor throughout.
- From Keelung, bus 790 connects from the railway station.
Why most people end up on a tour anyway
The bus is cheap and reliable, and the problem is the rest of the day. Yehliu on its own is a two-hour stop at the end of a 90-minute ride, so travellers pair it with Jiufen and Shifen, and that chain by public transport means a bus back toward Keelung or Taipei, a train to Ruifang, the Pingxi branch line, and another bus up the hill to Jiufen. The connections work on paper. The last one of the day is where plans break.
A guided day trip from Taipei removes four transfers and puts the three places in one loop. The trade is the clock: you get 70 minutes at Yehliu rather than an open-ended afternoon.
Day Trips from Taipei That Stop at Yehliu
Four of the tours on this site come here. Two include the entry ticket, which is worth NT$120 a head when you compare the prices.
from $45 From Taipei: Shifen, Jiufen, and Yehliu Guided Day Trip
The full northeast-coast circuit: Shifen Old Street and waterfall, two hours in Jiufen, then Yehliu Geopark. Meets at Taipei Main Station exit M3.
- Yehliu Geopark ticket included on the shared tour
- Sky lantern release at Shifen (lantern paid separately)
- Two hours in Jiufen, the longest stop of the day
- Guides in English, Chinese and Japanese
from $80.38 From Taipei: Yehliu, Jiufen, Shifen Day Tour & Sky Lantern
Same four stops as the classic circuit, but the sky lantern is included in the price and one lantern is shared between three or four people.
- Sky lantern experience included, not an add-on
- Yehliu Geopark entry ticket included
- Meets at MRT Zhongxiao Xinsheng exit 2
- Japanese-guided departures Thursdays and Sundays
from $120 Full-Day Private Northern Taiwan Tour from Taipei
The Yehliu-Jiufen-Shifen route with no group to wait for. Eight hours, hotel pickup, and stops you can lengthen or drop on the spot.
- Yehliu Geopark, Jiufen Old Street, Shifen Waterfall
- Private car, route changed on the day if you want
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Taipei
- Rated 4.9 from 867 reviews
from $39 Taipei: Jiufen View and Shifen Day Tour
The cheapest way onto the coast: Shifen Waterfall and Old Street, then two and a half hours in Jiufen timed for the lanterns coming on at dusk. No Yehliu.
- Two and a half hours in Jiufen, timed for dusk
- Shifen Waterfall and sky lantern release
- Drop-off at Raohe Street Night Market
- Shared or private, licensed guide either way
The $39 tour does not visit Yehliu at all. It is here because it covers the other two stops on the same coast and is the option to take if the geopark is closed for weather.
How Long to Allow
Seventy minutes, and what fits inside it
Coach tours allow 70 minutes from the car park. That covers the walk through area one, the queue at the Queen's Head in area two, and the walk back. It does not cover area three, the sea caves at the far end of the cape, which need another 40 minutes there and back.
Independently, two and a half hours is comfortable and three is generous. The walkways are flat and paved, and the only climb is the short flight up to the viewing pavilion above the cape, which is where the photograph of the whole rock field comes from.
- Arrive at opening or after 15:00 to miss the coach block between 10:00 and 14:00.
- The Queen's Head queue runs 15 to 30 minutes at peak and near zero at either end of the day.
- There is no shade on the platform. In July and August the rock radiates heat and the walk feels twice as long.
- Wear grippy shoes: the honeycombed surface is uneven and slick after rain.
- The park closes the seaward walkways when the swell is high, even without a typhoon warning.
Is Yehliu Geopark worth it
For a first visit to northern Taiwan, yes, with one caveat. The geology is genuinely unusual, the setting is a working fishing coast rather than a manicured park, and NT$120 for two hours is cheap. The caveat is crowds. Between ten and two the Queen's Head has a queue and the walkway to it moves at shuffle pace, and if that is your entire impression, the visit underwhelms.
Go early, walk past area two first and come back to the Queen's Head on your way out, and the same park reads completely differently.
Where Yehliu Is
The park sits at the tip of the cape in Wanli District, New Taipei, on the north coast road between Tamsui and Keelung, about 50 km from Taipei Main Station.
How much is the Yehliu Geopark entrance fee?
NT$120 for adults and NT$60 for students, children aged 6 to 12 and anyone over 65 of any nationality. Under-6s are free. Groups of 30 or more pay NT$96 a head, and student groups NT$48. Two of the guided day trips from Taipei include the ticket in their price.
How long is it from Taipei to Yehliu Geopark?
About 50 km, or roughly 90 minutes by Kuo-Kuang bus 1815 from Taipei Main Station. Buses 716 and 862 from MRT Tamsui take a similar time along the coast road. By car it is around an hour without traffic, and considerably more on a summer weekend.
Is it worth going to Yehliu Geopark?
Yes, if you avoid the coach window between 10:00 and 14:00. The mushroom rocks are unlike anything else within reach of Taipei and two hours costs NT$120. Arrive at opening or after 15:00 and the Queen's Head queue mostly disappears.
What is special about Yehliu Geopark?
The cape runs 1,700 metres into the sea and its sandstone erodes at different rates, leaving hard nodules perched on thin necks. That produces mushroom rocks, candle rocks with carved rings at the base, ginger rocks, pot holes and sea caves in one continuous walk.
Can you touch the Queen's Head?
No. It sits behind a rope line and touching it has been banned for years. The neck is 125 cm around and loses 0.2 to 0.5 cm a year, so the park has also built a replica nearby for the photograph everyone wants.
How long should I spend at Yehliu Geopark?
Two to two and a half hours independently. Guided tours allow 70 minutes, which covers areas one and two but not the sea caves at the far end of the cape.
What are the opening hours?
08:00 to 17:00 all year, extended to 18:00 in summer. The last ticket is sold at closing time, so a late arrival still gets in but not for long.