How To Get To The Maokong Cable Car From Taipei Main Station (And Everywhere Else)

The Maokong Gondola starts at Taipei Zoo Station on the southeastern edge of the city, which sounds remote until you realise the Taipei MRT drops you a 350-metre walk from the boarding gate. The operator, Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation, publishes clear directions from every major origin, and the whole journey from central Taipei costs less than a coffee. The details that trip people up are small ones: which MRT line actually reaches the zoo, what happens if you are starting on the Bannan Line instead, and why parking on a Sunday costs six times what it costs on a Tuesday.

This page collects every route in one place: Taipei Main Station, Ximending, Taipei 101, the Bannan Line, direct buses, driving with the weekend parking rate explained, and YouBike. The fares and schedules below come from the operator's own pages and from Taipei Metro. The Maokong Gondola homepage carries the ticket itself.

How Do You Get From Taipei Main Station To The Maokong Cable Car?

Take the MRT from Taipei Main Station to Taipei Zoo Station on the Wenhu (Brown) Line, roughly 40 minutes with one transfer, for an adult single fare of NT$35. Taipei Zoo Station is the line's terminus, and the gondola's own Taipei Zoo Station is a 350-metre walk southwest along Xinguang Road Section 2, about four to six minutes on foot.

The Wenhu Line is the driverless brown line, and Taipei Zoo Station (BR01) is its southern terminus, so you cannot overshoot. From Taipei Main Station you will transfer once, typically onto the Brown Line partway along the journey; the trip runs about 40 minutes end to end. The operator's own getting-there page confirms the connection and the walking route along Xinguang Road Section 2, past the zoo entrance, to the gondola base station at No. 8, Sec. 2, Xinguang Rd.

The walk is flat and signposted, and it passes the main gate of Taipei Zoo, which is worth noting if you are pairing the two attractions. If you are, the zoo combo options bundle zoo entry with the gondola pass and a ride on the zoo's own shuttle train, which works out cheaper than buying both separately.

A few practical points for the Main Station route. The adult single fare from Taipei Zoo Station back to Taipei Main Station is NT$35, and the same fare applies to Ximen, so budget NT$70 per person for the round trip if you are paying per ride. An EasyCard works on the MRT and on the gondola itself, though the card's non-refundable issuance fee is NT$100, so it only pays for itself if you will use it across several days of transit. If you are mainly here for the ride up the mountain, the ticket and fare options page has the full breakdown, including the NT$300 one-day pass that covers unlimited rides all day.

How Do You Get There From Ximending?

From Ximending, take the MRT one stop on the Bannan (Blue) Line to Taipei Main Station, then follow the Wenhu Line route to Taipei Zoo Station. The adult single fare from Ximen to Taipei Zoo Station is NT$35, and the total journey takes roughly 45 minutes including the transfer and the 350-metre walk to the gondola.

Ximending sits on the Bannan Line at Ximen Station, which is one stop from Taipei Main Station. Because the fare from Ximen to Taipei Zoo Station is the same NT$35 as from Taipei Main Station, there is no cost penalty for starting further west; you simply ride the Blue Line to the interchange and pick up the Brown Line south. The transfer adds only a few minutes to the journey.

Visitors staying in the Ximending hostels and hotels often ask whether a bus is simpler. It is not: the direct bus routes to the zoo area run from other parts of the city, and the MRT is faster and more frequent from this part of town. Treat the MRT as the default from anywhere on the Bannan or Wenhu lines.

For a day built around the gondola rather than a single ride, the pass options below are worth a look before you travel, since they can be activated on any day within their validity window.

Coming From Taipei 101 Or The Bannan Line?

From Taipei 101, take the Tamsui-Xinyi Line one stop to Daan, transfer to the Wenhu Line, and ride to Taipei Zoo Station, about 30 minutes in total. From anywhere on the Bannan Line, the operator's own advice is to get off at Taipei City Hall Station and take bus G1, BR18 or BR21 direct to the zoo.

The Bannan Line does not intersect the Wenhu Line at a convenient single point for this trip, which is why Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation publishes a specific workaround: alight at Taipei City Hall Station and switch to surface buses. Routes G1 (the Nanhuan Metro Bus), BR18 and BR21 run toward the Taipei Zoo area, and the operator's full bus list for the gondola's base station also includes routes 66, 236 Shuttle, 237, 282, 294, 295, 611, 676, 679, 793, 933, 1558, S12, Brown 3, Brown 6, Brown 11, Brown 15, Brown 18, Brown 21 and the Roosevelt Road Main Line.

If you are coming from Taipei 101 itself, the MRT is the cleaner answer. One stop on the Tamsui-Xinyi Line to Daan Station puts you on the Wenhu Line, and from there it is a straight run to the terminus. The 101-to-Maokong pairing is popular enough that we cover it in its own piece, Maokong to Taipei 101, including how the two skyline views compare at sunset.

One thing worth deciding before you leave central Taipei is what ticket you will hold when you arrive. The queue at the base station is for ticket machines as much as cabins on busy weekends, and a pre-purchased pass lets you walk straight to the gates.

Can You Take A Bus All The Way Instead Of The MRT?

Yes. More than twenty bus routes stop at or near the gondola's Taipei Zoo Station, including 66, 236 Shuttle, 237, 282, Brown 15, Brown 18, Brown 21, the Nanhuan Metro Bus and the Roosevelt Road Main Line, and buses BR15, S10 and the Maokong Tour Bus Left Line continue up the mountain to Maokong itself, useful when the gondola is shut for maintenance.

The bus is the fallback that locals actually use. When the gondola closes for its annual overhaul, the operator itself directs visitors to routes BR15 (Brown 15), S10 (Small 10, including short-turn runs) and the Maokong Tour Bus Left Line from Taipei Zoo, all of which climb the mountain road to Maokong. That makes the bus the only public transport answer on maintenance Mondays and during the June overhaul window, dates we track on the hours and best time to visit page.

There is also a free bus worth knowing about once you are up there. Gondola passengers can ride the Maokong Tour Bus, both the Right Line and the Left Line, for free on the same day as their gondola ticket, tapping the same EasyCard, a benefit extended to all riders since 3 March 2025 as part of the Greater Three-Cat Park scheme. The Right Line loops from Maokong Station past Tianliao Bridge, the Camphor Tree Trail entrances, Zhangshan Temple and the Apricot Grove. It runs weekdays 09:00-20:00 roughly every 10-15 minutes and weekends from 08:30 every 7-10 minutes, but note that after 19:00 there are only three departures: 19:00, 19:30 and 20:00.

Should You Drive, And What Does Parking Cost?

Driving works, but the Taipei Zoo Station underground car park charges NT$10 per hour on weekdays and NT$60 per hour on weekends and holidays between 06:00 and 22:00, six times the weekday rate, with 150 car spaces and 200 motorcycle spaces. By car, exit National Freeway 3 at the Wanfang Interchange towards Muzha and follow Xinguang Road to the station.

The weekend rate is the single biggest cost trap in this whole topic. A family arriving at 11:00 on a Sunday and leaving at 17:00 pays six times what the same hours cost midweek, before anyone has ridden anything. Night rates drop back to NT$10 per hour between 22:00 and 06:00 even on holidays, and motorcycles pay NT$20 per entry per day. Disabled drivers park free for four hours, then at half rate. The rates are published by Taipei Metro on its parking page.

Two further car parks exist: the Taipei Zoo riverbank car park, and the Muzha Depot car park, which opens only on holidays. The operator's directions page lists all three. The driving route from National Freeway 1 runs via the Jianguo North elevated road and Xinhai Road to the National Highway 3 Taipei link, exiting at Wanfang Interchange towards Muzha, then left into Muzha Road, right over Wanfu Bridge and right onto Xinguang Road.

The arithmetic usually settles the question. For a group of two or more, the MRT round trip costs NT$70 per person versus a weekend parking bill that can run to several times the midweek price for an afternoon, and the MRT ride also spares you the narrow farm roads around Maokong, which the city's own Public Transportation Office describes as narrow tracks with severely insufficient parking.

Can You Cycle Or Use YouBike To Get There?

Yes, with a caveat. YouBike share bikes can be returned at the docking station by the MRT Taipei Zoo Station exit, but YouBike is a city-bike system for the flat approach, not for the mountain itself: cycling up to Maokong means sharing those narrow farm roads with tour buses, and the gondola does not carry bicycles. YouBike works best as a last-mile link from the MRT to the gondola station or the zoo.

The operator's pages confirm YouBike returns near the MRT station exits, though the English and Chinese pages name different exit numbers, so treat it as "by the MRT station" rather than a specific gate. For most visitors the 350-metre walk from the MRT to the gondola is short enough that the bike adds little, but it earns its keep if you are combining the zoo's outer grounds, the riverside paths or a stay further down Xinguang Road.

Cyclists with their own bikes should know the cabin rules before planning a ride-and-ride day: prams and wheelchairs are allowed in cabins if locked immobile and within 140 x 70 x 170 cm, but there is no provision for carrying bicycles. Riders heading up the mountain under their own power use the road the buses take, BR15 and S10 territory, not a dedicated bike lane.

What If The Gondola Is Closed When You Arrive?

Check the closure calendar before you travel: the gondola shuts on most Mondays for maintenance, with the exact dates varying month to month, and it closed 8-28 June 2026 for its annual overhaul, reopening 29 June. If it shuts while you are up the mountain, free shuttle buses take stranded passengers back down, and buses BR15, S10 and the Maokong Tour Bus Left Line are the standing alternatives from Taipei Zoo.

This is where the "getting there" question overlaps with the "getting back" question. The operator publishes a dated suspension calendar, and it does not match the simplified English-language rule about first Mondays, so the calendar is the thing to check. Weather matters too: service suspends when gusts reach 16 m/s sustained for more than three seconds, when lightning strikes along the route, or when a typhoon land warning covers Taipei. Typhoon Bavi closed the system on 10 and 11 July 2026 before it reopened on the 12th.

The reassuring part is the operator's published stranding policy. Passengers already in cabins are set down at the nearest safe station, and passengers left at the upper stations are taken back down the mountain by free shuttle buses. For a fuller treatment of wind, lightning and typhoon rules, see weather and suspensions.

Which Route Is Best For Your Trip?

For almost everyone, the answer is the MRT to Taipei Zoo Station: NT$35 from Taipei Main Station or Ximen, about 40 minutes, and a 350-metre walk. Drive only on a weekday, when parking is NT$10 per hour. Use the bus from Taipei City Hall if you are on the Bannan Line, and use BR15, S10 or the Left Line bus whenever the gondola itself is shut.

The one decision left once transport is settled is the ticket. A single journey is NT$180 flat, but a one-day pass at NT$300 covers unlimited rides all day across all four passenger stations, which pays for itself on the second ride. The pass sold through the live listing is open-dated, valid 180 days from purchase, and confirmed instantly, so it can be bought weeks ahead and activated on whatever day the weather cooperates.

For planning the day itself, the station order and what waits at each stop are covered in the stations and route map guide, and the tea-house decision is its own subject once you are up top. Whatever ticket you land on, the transport half of the trip is now settled: one MRT ride, one short walk, and you are at the boarding gate.

Whichever way you arrive, the ticket choice comes down to how much of the mountain you plan to use. A single ride up and back suits a quick sunset visit; a day pass suits a loop that takes in Zhinan Temple, the tea houses and the trails; a zoo combo suits families arriving with children in tow. The three options below cover those three travel styles, and all of them are confirmed instantly on the live listing.

The fastest route is the MRT Wenhu Line to Taipei Zoo Station, about 40 minutes from Taipei Main Station for NT$35, followed by a 350-metre walk to the gondola gate. Buses cover the Bannan Line and maintenance closures, weekday parking costs NT$10 per hour against NT$60 on weekends, and YouBike fills the last-mile gaps. The questions below cover the details.

Common Questions About Getting To The Maokong Cable Car