Alishan Mountain (Asia Ly Son) and Nhat Nguyet Lake are two beautiful destinations not to be missed in the journey to discover the natural beauty of Taiwan. In particular, Alishan is extremely suitable for the "Nature Lover". With beautiful pristine scenery like a place of cradle together with the ancient red ship through the beautiful forest, visitors to Alishan will surely be attracted to forget the way back.
Normally Alishan (Asia Ly Son) and Nhat Nguyet Lake are two destinations that are often mentioned together on a journey to explore Taiwan because the distance between the two places is only about 144 km, about 2 hours and 55 minutes. These are places with wild and beautiful scenery like the place of cradling - the pride of people on Taiwan island. However, because the information is too much, within this article will share the entire experience of visiting Alishan. In the following article, we will share our experience visiting Ho Nhat Nguyet.
About Alishan mountain (Asia Ly Son)
Alishan, also known as Á Li Son (Mount Asia) is a National Scenic Area of Taiwan. This is a mountain located in the majestic mountains of Eastern Chiayi Province (Gia Nghia Province), between Taichung and Tainan of the Pearl island of Taiwan.
With an average altitude of 2500 meters above sea level, in the winter, Alishan has cool air and temperatures as low as 5 degrees Celsius when you are aloft. In summer, the air is humid with a temperature of 14 - 24 degrees C.
Alishan National Scenic Area covers an area of approximately 415 km2, is home to a variety of rich flora and fauna and wonderful scenery. The most impressive in Alishan is probably the sunrise and sunset, the sea of clouds, the starry sky, the cherry blossom forest in spring ... and the legendary red jungle train.
In particular, Alishan is also a famous alishan mountain production place with unique fresh wasabi, which makes Alishan one of the most popular places in Taiwan for domestic and international tourists. .
Alishan is the ancestral homeland of the Tsou Aborigines. In the past, this place used to be called Aboriginal "Jarissang".
The scenery of sunrise on Alishan mountain is beautiful
Experience in visiting Alishan mountain (Asia Ly Son)
Stunning Alishan and many interesting things to explore, visitors to Taiwan can not help but arrange a tour, the Alishan town entry!
What's in Alishan?
Railway through the forest and the most beautiful red train in Taiwan, Sisters' Pond, Sacred Tree, Tse Yung Temple, Fenchihu, beautiful trekking path to Alishan mountain, Alishan dawn ... interesting things in Alishan.
Dawn in Alishan
Alishan is an impressive place for visitors to come here. In particular, the best moment is the time to catch the sunrise in Alishan. The whole region is a sea of clouds and the sun's rays are gradually revealing, showing a dreamlike fantasy. Many people who come to Alishan in addition to experiencing the legendary ancient train ride, just watch the moment to see this moment.
Railway and the most beautiful ancient train in Taiwan
Alishan is famous for its iconic extremely beautiful railway line. This is an ancient route (under the Japanese occupation) built to transport timber. It has now been converted to travel purposes.
The route passes through beautiful natural landscapes with trees on both sides of the green road, different vegetation in the path. In spring, one side of the route will be thousands of cherry blossoms blooming in a whole sky. On the other side, there will be a green color of the tea hills. There are times when this place is full of mist, the ship in the middle of the mist is like stepping out of the fairy world.
It can be said that your luck is the best if you wander Alishan trekking at the right time and accidentally capture a landscape image of a ship wrecking in the midst of the sunset. In a deserted, solitary setting amid a majestic natural space. Actually, just with the image of the ship appearing in the middle of the frame is the photo that has become a masterpiece.
The interesting thing about experiencing this ancient train line is that from the train ticket, the ticket press, the train head and the wagons have been preserved from the previous century, giving you the feeling of traveling back to time immemorial.
Railway and the most beautiful ancient train in Taiwan
Alishan beautiful trekking road
Alishan has a beautiful forest path that leads to Alishan Shenmu, a sacred tree (struck by lightning) that is 2,300 years old and 45 meters high. Along the way are ancient trees tens of meters high, vines entwine on the side of the road and the vegetation interwoven among the beautiful clouds on the way to the top of the mountain.
The trekking path will cross the Alishan National Park area, the Sage Sage and the Three Generation Tree. Nature here can be considered as a true ecological forest and very carefully cared for.
Sage dress
The Sisters is a blue lake with a small hut in the middle of the lake. Legend has it that the former was invaded by the enemy. In the village, two sisters voluntarily jumped into the lake so that when the enemy came to the country, they raised themselves and surrounded them, protecting the villagers from the invaders.
The lagoon is quite deserted, only a few sporadic tourists visit. The space is very open, the scenery is extremely charming.
Alishan Tea
Around the Alishan area, you will witness the beautiful scenery along the road with the vast tea hills. This is the place to nurture the wonderful tea of the tea brand - one of the most famous specialties in Taiwan - Alishan tea.
Alishan Tea
Attractions near the Alishan national landscape
Fenchihu Old Town
When taking the train to Fenchihu and alighting, you can stop here to visit before heading on to Alishan Station.
Located in Chiayi District, Fenchihu is located 1,400 meters above sea level and used to be a refueling stop between Alishan old jungle trains. This is a stop for visitors to rest on the way to Alishan Forest.
Fenchihu houses were built in accordance with the hillside with a 500 meter long road under the train station. With the popularity of the Alishan forest railway and tourists coming more and more, many shops have been established and built right here. Fenchihu is considered an old town with many interesting restaurants and souvenir shops.
To the southwest of Fenchihu Station is a very beautiful landscape. In addition, there are hundreds of bats living, very lively.
Due to the prosperity of tourism in Fenchihu, this old town with the highest height in Taiwan has become one of the must-see sights when traveling to Alishan.
Fenchihu Old Town
Yuyupas Cultural Park
This is an indigenous cultural park on the Tsou Tribe located in Alishan, Chiayi (Chiayi). The name Yuyupas means rich and safe. After the 2009 typhoon Morakot hit the mountains making life more difficult, many locals left the tribe. In order to maintain their lifestyle and culture, the head of the tribe organized the place into a cultural park that attracts many tourists to visit and pull the returning people back. Currently, this is a great place to experience the indigenous culture in Alishan.
Yuyupas Cultural Park
Nhat Nguyet Lake
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, Sun Moon Lake (Sun Moon Lake) is a beautiful landscape often mentioned with Alishan, you can take advantage of the combination of exploring these two points on the same trip.
Nhat Nguyet Lake has this name because it comes from its physical characteristics. At Nhat Nguyet Lake, the most interesting experiences besides sailing on the lake are cycling around the lake and taking a cable car to admire the beautiful view of the sky and clouds from here.
Address: Yuchi, Comté de Nantou, Taïwan 555
When should Alishan go?
To go Alishan, visitors can go any season of the year, but because of the 2500m high position, it is often cold in winter.
Mount Alishan is a famous scenic spot and a frequent destination for Taiwanese tourists, so holidays and weekends will be very crowded. If you want to get less crowded, you should go early or midweek.
One of the experiences not to be missed here is watching the sunrise, so many people often take the bus from Taipei (Taipei) and arrive at Alishan Station at 3:30 am, buy a train ticket through the forest at 5am and take 20 minutes to get to the rattan hunt. However, note the train schedule to make the time to return correctly.
Some people will choose to stay overnight to enjoy the atmosphere and watching the sunrise more comfortably is also a good choice.
Eat and drink in Alishan
7-eleven convenience store:
On the way to Alishan, there are many 7-eleven shops, so you can buy food and drinks here along the way (at the bus station, train station).
Wasabi:
In Fenchihu village, you can take advantage of dishes with fresh mustard (wasabi) extracted directly from wasabi plants. This is a unique specialty unique to Fenchihu.
Bento at Fenchihu train station:
Another dish not to be missed when coming to Alishan is A bento box. This is exactly a lunch box and in Taiwan. Bento boxes will usually have rice, Taiwanese cabbage, chicken or pork, and possibly an egg. Bento is Japanese (meaning lunch box). Bento boxes are often sold at train stations so guests wait for the train to have lunch.
This dish originated during the Japanese occupation and when Fenchihu was a stop for Japanese workers to stop and eat a lunchbox for lunch.
Enjoy delicious Bento
In addition, if there is a need to eat and drink at the area near the train station to take the railway through the forest, visitors can find some of the following restaurant addresses:
You can also find some street food around the main area of Alishan. Onion pancakes, Taiwanese sausages and hot soups ... Besides, there are many hot drink stalls, hot chocolate, coffee, and oolong tea.
Where when coming to Alishan (Ásishan)?
Coming to Alishan, some tourists who want to watch the sunrise as well as enjoy the night of Alishan will choose to move up to Alishan and stay overnight. Therefore, it is necessary to book a hotel right in the area around Alishan train station, where the ancient train originates from the forest. Due to the demand of tourists, there are many high-class and expensive hotels and villas around.
If you choose a hotel, cheap motels often in the room will not have a fireplace.
Directions to Alishan
Directions to Alishan
The move to Alishan from other places is also quite easy if you learn in advance and grasp the necessary information.
From Nhat Nguyet lake to Alishan:
If anyone on the schedule has to go to Sun Moon Lake (Sun Moon Lake), from Nhat Nguyet lake you can take Yuanlin bus number 6739 to Alishan, the fare is NT $ 307 / person. Taking the bus will have the opportunity to see many beautiful scenery along the way such as Tataja, Zhizhong Sacred Tree, Husband & Wife Tree, Xinyimei Village.
From Taipei to Alishan:
From Taipei (Alishan) to Alishan (Alishan): You must move to Chiayi (Chiayi) then from Chiayi to move to Alishan.
From Taipei to Chiayi (Chiayi) there are 3 ways:
- High speed train (HSR): Travel time is about 1 hour 30 minutes. This is the fastest but most expensive means. It costs about NT $ 1080.
- By bus: From Taipei Bus Station, you take the bus of Kingbus, Aloha or United. Especially, the bus of King Bus only runs from Friday to Sunday, the car departs from 10pm, arrives at about 3-4am, priced at NT $ 625.
- By train: The total time is about 3 hours 30 minutes. It costs around NT $ 600. Usually the train is quite crowded and often has no seats and has to stand.
Note: If you go HSR to Chiayi, HSR Chiayi Station and Chiayi Train Station / Bus Station are not in the same place. Therefore you need to take the transfer bus there. This car is free, but if you get off the bus halfway you have to pay. Every 10 minutes there will be 1 car depart. Vehicles operate from 6 am - 8 am. Travel time takes about 30 minutes.
From Chiayi to Alishan (there are 2 ways):
- Take the direct bus to Alishan:
Bus # 7322 goes directly from Central Fountain Stop Station. This vehicle departs every 20 minutes and operates from morning to afternoon. You can buy tickets right in the station. With this car, you can turn to Fenchihu to visit. The bus to Alishan has a striking neon green color.
- Take a train from Chiayi to Fenchihu + take a bus from Fenchihu to Alishan
The schedule is as follows:
+) Chiayi - Fenchihu: 45.8km
+) Fenchihu - Alishan: 25.6km (only accessible by bus)
The train has 1 trip and 1 return trip during the day. On Sunday there are 3 flights, on Saturdays and holidays there will be 2 trips and 2 return trips.
This is a part of the train with a history of more than 100 years with the characteristic red color. In the past, the train went straight to Alishan but now due to many landslides due to the effects of storms, only the route from Chiayi to Fenchihu is operating.This railway is considered one of the most beautiful railway lines in the world, so you should take advantage of the experience if you have the opportunity to go to Alishan. Tickets to buy here are very rare and difficult to buy, so make sure to go and buy in advance, at least 5-15 days.This is a narrow railway line left over from the Japanese occupation to serve the purpose of transporting timber. Currently it is converted to tourism. The old locomotive is still kept at Fenchihu station
Note, from here continue on the bus:
Taking a bus from Fenchihu you will take the bus from Fenchihu Terminal Station, you take the bus 7322A and stop at Alishan Park Drop Off Area Station. From there, it's about a 120m walk to Forest Railway / Alishan Station.
Important note when exploring Alishan
- Need to research before the time and arrange the tour, book the appropriate accommodation. If you want to see the sunrise without staying overnight, you need to take the overnight bus to Alishan.
- It is important to distinguish the train route from Chiayi Station (Gia Nghia) to Fenchihu Station - a normal train - and a train through the forest is a departure from Alishan Station to Zhaoping or Sacred Tree (Sacred Tree).
- It is possible to combine to visit Nhat Nguyet lake - another famous landscape near Alishan (144km away).
- The temperature in Alishan (at an altitude of more than 2000m) is very cold, about 10 degrees Celsius, so you need to prepare a warm coat if you want to stay or move early here.
- The trails through the forest are very beautiful, so take advantage of walking to enjoy the wonderful scenery here.
- Going to Alishan, if taking the bus, when about to arrive, the driver will give you a map of Alishan National Scenic Area. Don't forget to ask for the map in English.
- To get to the checkpoint area of Alishan National Forest, you need to buy a ticket to enter the gate. The fare is NT $ 150 (take the bus) and NT $ 200 (by car). For holidays, the ticket is increased by NT $ 50.