6 DAYS TAITUNG SOJOURN

Arriving into Kaohsiung, we drive 169km or about 3hours into Taitung.

Start at Jialulan Recreation Area, well known for its natural beauty and art installations. Then, we head to Fushan Fish Reserve. The locals made huge conservation efforts by building stone pathways with holes to allow the fishes to swim in and out of the shore easily. Continue to your accommodation in Dulan, where you will find the starry night over your head at night.

Join the Taiwan International Balloon Festival (3 Jul – 16 Aug 2021) to observe colourful hot air balloons soaring above Luye Highland. During non-festival season, we will visit the Dengxian Bridge Recreation Area around the Donghe Bridge and Taiyuan Valey.

Afterwards, we drive to Sanxiantai Arch Bridge where its charming beach is blessed with several islands, sea caves and coral reefs. Continue 62km or around 1½hours to the Brown Boulevard. Reputed as “green paradise road”, it divides the rice fields on both sides into two halves (the harvest season is every Jun and Nov). Finally, drive another 70km or around 1½ hours back to Dulan.

Take a 1-hour ferry from Fugang Fishing Harbour to the Green Island, a small volcanic island with astonishing coastal scenery. Visit the 33-metre-high Lyudao Lighthouse and the Human Rights Memorial which once housed political prisoners. Located in the north eastern corner is Niu Tou Shan with its lush greenery and coastline. Head to the Little Great Wall path overlooking the Haishengping Bay and Sleeping Beauty Rock. If you’d like, you can also enjoy a natural open-air hot spring in Zhaori.

Return to Fugang Fishing Harbour by ferry. Learn about the cultural history of Taiwan’s indigenous people at National Museum of Prehistory (closed on Mon). Keep an eye out for the first piece of jade ornament found in Taiwan. Then visit Tiehua Music Village (closed on Mon & Tue), a creative haven for Taitung’s emerging artists. In the evening, we will visit the Taitung Night Market.

Drive 20km or around ½ hours into your hot spring accommodation in Zhiben. The hot spring is famed for its weak alkaline carbonate spring water, which is colourless and odourless.

Follows the wooden-paved Zhiben forest trail, where swallowtail butterflies dance between white banyan trees, into the Zhiben waterfall. Enjoy a breathtaking view of Day Lily Mountain with a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean (if you visit between late Jul-early Oct, we can detour to Taimali Kinchen Mountain with its golden blossom). On your return, enjoy a coffee stop at Chingshan farm inside the mountain.

This morning, we will drive 180km or about 3hours back to Kaohsiung. Discover the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas Temple with its paintings depicting Ksitigarbha. Continue to the Sanduo Shopping District for souvenirs or pineapple cakes.

Finally, we transfer to Kaohsiung Airport or Kaohsiung high-speed rail station for your onwards journey.