Central East Coast
For spectacular views looking down across Dulan towards the ocean and horizon-silhouette of Green Island, you can't beat the upper balcony of this little…
Must-see attractions in Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Green Island's windswept northeast corner was completely out of bounds for much of the 20th century, occupied by a large prison camp. Here, political…
Hualien
Built in 2000, this gigantic temple-cum-performance venue has a simple yet striking, white-and-grey exterior. At its tallest point, the building is…
Taroko National Park
This 18km marble-walled gorge is Taroko National Park's crown jewel. It's a must-see attraction whether you're hiking its trails, peering at its…
Taroko National Park
Nearing completion at the time of research, a breathtaking new suspension footbridge at Bulowan will soon cross the gorge, dizzyingly high above the river…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
The area known as the Gaotai is a hill which rises fairly abruptly above Luye, surveying the surrounding green mountain ridges in all directions. For most…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
At 952m, Sixty Stone Mountain offers one of the east coast's most mesmerising landscapes. Zigzag up eight kilometres through subtropical foliage to the…
Fuyuan Forest Recreational Area
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Fuyuan takes an area of serene natural beauty and tames it just enough to make accessible the abundant birdlife and multitudinous butterflies that flit…
Central East Coast
One of Taiwan's most beautiful areas of unspoilt coastline runs south from Fengbin, culminating at a headland beyond Shitigang fishing harbour, known as…
Taroko National Park
Very steep rock-and-forest mountainsides north of Taroko descend directly into the sea from several hundred metres' altitude. That means that roads and…
Chenggong
The best-known icon of the whole east coast is the eight-humped pedestrian bridge that leads from a windswept headland to this craggy little offshore…
Hualien
Qixingtan (Chihsingtan) is a former fishing hamlet whose few remaining, old, tin-roofed shacks are outnumbered by a gaggle of small but fanciful hotels…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
An attractively set 'cultural village' and tour bus magnet, Lintianshan was founded in 1918 as a Japanese-era logging village. At its 1960 peak, it housed…
Taroko National Park
Picturesque for its setting, backed by toweringly steep mountainsides, this small shrine sits above a gushing spring that pours out onto the rocks below,…
Taitung
A spur line once brought trains to the centre of Taitung. That line was decommissioned in 2001 and has since been turned into an excellent cycle path. The…
Central East Coast
This short but memorable seascape experience includes a cliff-ledge walk where a 40m section is along a glass-floored protruding shelf above the Pacific…
Taroko National Park
This half-kilometre slice of gorge-side old road twists and turns between rock-cut pillars and minitunnels, reminding visitors of how the Taroko route…
Chihpen Forest Recreation Area
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
The core of this forest park is a 45-minute walk to a bamboo grove past a botanic garden, herb garden and a 'forest fun' area for children. Longer trails…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
One of the most beautiful viewpoints on Green Island is reached by walking a 300m path along a precipitous high promontory called Little Great Wall. This…
Hualien
Designed like an antique Chinese palace, this colourfully gabled 1980s complex is set amid lush foliage on a small rise overlooking Hualien's single most…
Taitung
This hi-tech and engaging if occasionally disorientating museum charts Taiwan’s geological birth and human prehistory as well as introducing the island's…
Central East Coast
On a convex grassy hillside amid trees both young and wizened, a series of contemporary outdoor sculptures add to wide sweeps of sea view. Down a stairway…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
This dramatic rock formation resembling two lions lying face to face rises from the coral beach at the northeastern tip of the island. At high tide it…
Central East Coast
One of the east coast's most appealing concentrations of craft shops, artists' workshops and quirky cafes is clustered around the former sugar refinery…
Taroko National Park
Falling a total of around 200m, this waterfall is in fact a pair of cascades, only parts of which are visible from the viewing bridge. To get there, you…
Central East Coast
This family-oriented theme park combines Disney-style 'castle', cable car, Ferris wheel, log flume, rollercoaster and pirate ship along with some ocean…
Hualien
Climb through a dragon's mouth into one of two spiral staircases that front this gigantic Matsu temple – the biggest in Hualien. There is particularly…
Central East Coast
On a bend of Hwy 11, this small roadside rest stop has what is arguably the most beautiful panorama of the whole east coast. Leafy branches frame the…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
This roadside rock formation has gone through various Chinese names over the years – Virgin Rock, Maiden Rock, Couple Rock, Torch Rock – all reflecting…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
This is a series of large roadside caves. Visitors can walk through one U-shaped interconnected pair with a white cross at one end. Other entrances are…
Taroko National Park
Driving beyond Tianxiang, the zigzagging road climbs steadily up through the forested mountainsides, with many appealing vistas. One of the best that also…
Hualien
An ambitious little gallery that showcases edgy and experimental works by Taiwanese, Asian and Western artists. Fogstand also has an artists-as-resident…
Taitung
If you've got your own wheels, Taimali offers a pleasantly low-key alternative to Taitung as a travel base with long beaches, flower-patched mountains,…
Taitung
A pleasant place to smell the sea air, this park's signature feature is known immodestly as the Taitung International Landmark (台東國際地標; Táidōng Guójì…
Taitung
The seafront rocks within this coastal park are geological curiosities, many forming cuesta structures: angled geological sandwiches with alternating soft…
Temple to the Lords of the Three Mountains
Hualien
This temple may look quite ordinary, but it is the hub of Hakka religious life in Hualien. When the Hakkas migrated to Taiwan in the Qing dynasty, they…
Central East Coast
This eccentric if unpolished beachfront complex attracts visitors with its comically naive collection of driftwood art formed into gruesome faces beneath…
Taitung
If you've got an hour to wait for a train, a fine way to spend it is strolling through this landscaped park. It features a significant Neolithic site, but…
Central East Coast
Busloads of visitors stop at Km69.8, where a tall, white monolith marks the Tropic of Cancer, though probably, before seeing it, few had ever stopped to…
Central East Coast
The indigenous Kavalan people migrated to Patarongen (新社; Xīnshè) from Yilan, settling on a nearly flat headland which they converted into terraced rice…
