Places to visit in Taiwan

Renowned for its 2,000-year-old cypress trees, the Alishan National Park is situated at the foot of Jade Mountain (3,952m), the highest point in northeast Asia. A metalled road runs all the way to Alishan itself, but a more atmospheric way…

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The northeastern outskirts of Kaohsiung City are home to the country’s largest monastery complex, Fo Guang Shan. Comprising a huge assemblage of ornately decorated prayer halls, gardens and shrines interconnected by bougainvillea-lined walk…

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Usually combined in the same day trip as Yehliu is the village of Jiufen (or ‘Chiufen’). Nestled at the foot of a green sugar-loaf mountain, its higgledy-piggledy cluster of buildings date mostly from the late-Qing era and Japanese occupati…

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Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s second city, is a popular stop on tours around the south of the island. Known in Dutch times as ‘Tancoya’, it expanded rapidly during the Japanese era to become one of the world’s largest container ports, and now boasts…

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Encircled on three sides by the ocean, Kenting National Park occupies the windswept Hengchun Peninsula in Taiwan’s far south – a promontory famous, above all, for its wonderful golden sand beaches and clear, coral-fringed seas. You can dri…

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Immediately inland from Taitung, the Maolin National Scenic Area occupies a nexus of deep river valleys, surrounded by dramatic, wooded mountains that are rich in wildlife and flora. In 2009 this idyllic region was devastated by a typhoon.…

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‘Orchid’ (‘Lanyu’) Island, off Taitung City, is a beautiful volcanic outcrop edged by sparkling blue seas – think the Scottish Hebrides, only with a tropical climate. Separated from the mainland by the choppy waters of the Bashi Channel, it…

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Numerous hiking and biking trails thread through and around the forested shoreline of Sun Moon Lake, where hotels, restaurants, temples and shrines vie with each other for the best views of the mountains. Tiny Lalu Island, in the centre of…

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With a history of international trade dating back more than four centuries, Tainan, in the southwest of the island, has retained more of a period patina than other Taiwanese cities. It was founded in 1624, when the Dutch East India Company…

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On the northern side of the island, Taiwan’s high-rise capital is a pulsating, modern metropolis of 2.7 million, but one still very much in touch with its natural and spiritual hinterland. Ridges of green mountains surround the city, provid…

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A deep trench between snow-capped mountains, the Taroko Gorge will come as a big surprise to anyone who comes to Taiwan expecting wall-to-wall skyscrapers. You can drive up it via a route carved along the foot of the mighty marble crags by…

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On the far northeastern side of the island, the Yehliu Promontory extends 1,700m (5,577ft) into the Pacific – a giant layer cake of sedimentary rocks which the waves, wind and rain have eroded into a phantasmagoria of weird shapes. Outcrops…

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