Nantou County

Taiwan's second-largest county is a vacationer's heaven, with beautiful rolling hills, dozens of soaring mountains over 3000m high, and gorgeous lakes. From these natural gifts have sprouted relaxing lakeside resorts such as Sun Moon Lake, sublime mountain retreats like Cingjing, and quaint towns with scenic railroads such as Jiji and Checheng. Nantou offers plenty of breath-taking forests of various climes in which to hike, or simply to enjoy cherry blossoms in spring or maple in cooler months; Shanlinxi and Hehuanshan are examples. Indigenous tribes were the earliest settlers in the mountainous areas here, and you can still get a taste of their culture in Nantou, such as at the Aowanda Forest Recreation Area. Tea grows extremely well in Nantou, and if you love tea, the flavours of fine, high-altitude oolong will likely infuse your memories of your travels here for a long time to come.