4ever Discovering
Alishan
Okay. So usually when Danielle and I ask people: “Where are the tops places we should go in Taiwan?” Number one response is the Taroko Gorge but in second place, competing for first is Alishan!
This place took my breath away for the multiple time here in Taiwan. WOW. You can legit be surrounded in a sea of clouds. There are many places you can hike to catch the sunrise or sunset. We left for Alishan on Saturday morning, and arrived around 1 PM.
The first day:
Getting to Alishan.
Danielle and I took the High speed Train to Chiayi station and then transferred onto a bus. Luckily, we had a Taiwanese friend join us at the Chiayi station to find the right bus, or else we would not have known where to get on or where to get off this bus. When we got off the bus, we went to our Airbnb to put away our clothes. In Alishan, there aren’t many hotels and accommodations available. There is nothing on hostelworld. We booked an airbnb but once we arrived we found more sleeping options. There were these cool tents and cabins on this strawberry farm. There were a few other accommodations but I would not know how to book them unless going to Alishan! So we found a few Airbnbs close to the area.
Danielle and I stayed on the outskirts of Alishan. Alishan is actually a mountain that is situated inside of Alishan Forest Recreation Area. The first day we went to Fenchihu, we actually hitchhiked there. Since the bus does not run often, it was a good choice to put our thumb out. We spend a few hours exploring the old street of Fenchihu where we got a bite to eat and some ice cream. In Fenchihu, you can discover how important this old town train station was to the people of Taiwan. This is because it was once the only way to reach Alishan. This is where you can bike up the famous Alishan lunchbox, because it was once a rest stop on the way. It is sometimes known as the “Jiufen of the South”. (check out our Jiufen blog here)
Then we got into a tour van to go back to our Airbnb. Luckily, our Airbnb was close to this amazing hiking trail. We hiked the beautiful Eryenping trail. First, we walked up the road to reach a set of stairs. Then we walked up the stairs onto another road. We were surrounding by tea fields. Once we got up, a couple in a truck told us to hurry up and get to viewpoint. We ran but we just missed the sea of clouds……. So we had to wait in a cloud until this one past and new ones came. It was pretty fun because you were surrounded by mist and we were pretending to be in scary movies. Then all of sudden, the mist went away and the sea of clouds rose.
This was one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. (It deserves a beautiful font)
This made the whole trip worth it. It stayed like that for 30 minutes or even more. I felt like the time stopped and just stared at the landscape without even talking. Just enjoying life, maybe doing some deep thinking. After the sunset, we walked down through the tea fields. We told ourselves we would get up for 5 to walk back up for the sunrise, we also set our alarms and woke up, but unfortunately it was pouring rain and cloudy. So we decided to stay in bed for a few more hours.
Second Day: Wet, rainy day at Alishan National Recreational Area.
OKAY. I am so happy we got to hike the Eryenping in great weather because the next day was b-r-u-t-a-l. It was pouring rain, my shoes were soaked. We explored the region by walking on the wooden stairs and wooden floors. Luckily, for the wooden path, it was not too slippery or muddy. We got to see trees, so many old cool looking trees. One was around 2000 years ago. We walked around and explore the natural area. We even got to see some cherry blossoms and calla lilies. (sunflowers are my favourite flowers but calla lilies are a hard second) The main reason we came to Alishan was for the beautiful sunrise (sunset), the amazing landscape, and the cherry blossoms. Unfortunately, it was really rainy right before we arrived so some of the cherry blossoms were gone.
Alishan was beautiful, and I would recommend going to everyone. We really wanted to go on the Alishan Forest Train…. However, just like the high speed rail, or even more, these tickets are also impossible to get. People go crazy over them because the scenery on the way up to Alishan is beautiful, especially during cherry blossoms season.
I am truly so grateful that we had a Taiwanese “guide” to help us get to Alishan. This place is not very tourist friendly because of the difficulty to reach. You almost need a car to go and if you want to book the Alishan Railway, you need to book 2 weeks ahead as soon as the tickets go on sale. Before you go, please do your research because you can get stuck or stranded very easily…
