ISLAND HOPPING Three Weeks/ Matsu to Lanyu Start with Matsu to get a taste of maritime Fujian culture you can't find in Taiwan pr...
ISLAND HOPPING
Three Weeks/ Matsu to Lanyu
Three Weeks/ Matsu to Lanyu
Start with Matsu to get a taste of maritime Fujian culture you can't find in Taiwan proper. Give yourself at least four days, unless you're only exploring Nangan and Beigan Islands. In any event, definitely spend a night in the traditional houses of Beigan.
From Matsu, fly to Kinmen via Taipei and spend two days exploring the ancient towns and military presence on the main island. Birdwatchers will want to include an extra day for walking around Little Kinmen; the saltwater marshes here are home to a unique mixture of waterbirds.
If the weather's fine, you'll want to spend at least five days getting in some beach-time (or windsurfing) on Penghu via Taipei; and don't miss the opportunity to explore the archipelago's myriad temples.
When moving on from Penghu, we recommend flying to Kaohsiung. If the seas aren't too rough, try the Penghu-Kaohsiung boat. From Kaohsing, take a two-hour train ride across southern Taiwan's flat banana and betel nut growing country to Taiwan's easternmost city, Taitung. From here, you can either boat it (if you have the stomach) or fly to both eastern outposts, Grean Island and Lanyu. Don't miss the seawater hot spring on Green Island. Both islands are worth three days each.
The autumn months offer the most pleasant weather to visit the islands, not to mention a respite from the crowds that can make getting to Penghu and Green Island difficult. But autumn can also bring typhoons, a definite consideration for anyone travelling the islands.
A CROSS-ISLAND TOUR
Two Weeks/ Taichung to Jioshi
Leave Taichung with a full stomach as there's little to satisfy you until you reach the Chung Tai Chan Temple in Puli - and this amazing centre of Buddhist art and research will only help with the spiritual pangs.
After Puli the highway starts to rise into the Central Mountains and it's just one gorgeous landscape after the other begging for a photo from here on in. For a side trip, head down to Aowanda Forest Recreation Area and spend the night in little Beatrix Potter - approved cabins among cherry and plum trees. Keep an eye out for the birds; this is a top-twitching venue.
Returning to Hwy 14, continue to the end to the start of the Nenggao Cross-Island Historic Trail. You don't need to do the whole thing (which takes you all the way down to the east coast) but think about hiking in the spending the night in a cabin.
Retrace your route, and head north up Hwy 14. Prepare for endless windy roads and numerous wash outs. Also prepare for a stunning landscape of receding blue mountain ranges.
After Wuling Pass, the highest point on the road, stop in He-huanshan Forest Recreation Area to photograph (and maybe stroll) the treeless emerald hills. Then head up Hwy 8 to Hwy 7. Follow this north to Wuling Forest Recreation Area for thick forests, high waterfalls, and cool mountain streams, some of which are home to the endangered Formosan landlocked salmon.
Past Wuling Forest Recreation Area, the road winds down past quaint aboriginal villages with their trademark church and steeple, past countless streams just asking to be traced, until it reaches the Lanyang River plains. Continue to Jiaoshi and treat yourself to a hot-spring bath.
Source: Lonely Planet Taiwan
Source: Lonely Planet Taiwan
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