Blog credits to: GOING AWESOME PLACES
Taiwan is known by many names but perhaps the most memorable one is Formosa. Now that sounds a bit odd but it was in fact coined by Portuguese explorers in the 16th century. Ilha Formosa directly translates to “Beautiful Island” and they sure got it right.
Between the energy of the dynamic urban cities, bustling of the famed night markets, colourful culture, fascinating history, incredibly friendly people, and dramatic landscapes, you’ll be amazed at just how much awesome can be packed in this island.
This 12 day itinerary (just short of two weeks) follows our journey around the entire island of Taiwan and is geared towards those that have the curiosity of a tiger and the adventurous courage of a dragon. Now I will say it is a trip that required a bit of stamina to keep up but for the limited time we were there, I’m so glad we were able to see and do all the things we did. That said, feel free to mix and match as you craft own trip. As with all of our trip guides, I like providing as much detail as possible to make your planning that much easier.
>>Day 1 – Hit The Ground Running In Taipei<<
The perfect way to start your trip and get over your jetlag is to arrive in the heart of Taiwan and start wandering. Go and take in Taipei’s iconic landmarks, feed your hunger at the bustling night markets, and jump right into the colourful culture.
With limited number of days in Taipei, you’ll want to make it count and pick the places that interest you to help decide what you’d like to focus on. You won’t be able to do everything but remember that you’ll have the rest of your trip to make up for it.
For me, since I had been to Taipei before, my focus was on places I hadn’t been to which meant cutting out a lot of the highlights that other guides will take you to (i.e. Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, National Palace Museum, Taipei 101, and Longshan Temple). What you’ll see below are all the places we managed to hit up in the first day before there was nothing left in the tank. The focus for the day was primarily food and also getting set up with things like the pocket wifi and EasyCard.
★ Elephant Mountain
The views from Elephant Mountain or Xiangshan are arguable the best in the city and very easy to get to as long as you have it mapped out ahead of time. The path to it will seem a little obscure but once you come out of the subway, you’ll no doubt see other tourists making their way there.
The hike itself isn’t particularly long but I would recommend preparing yourself for some serious stair-master. The ascent is a sheer 20 minute climb but thankfully there are lots of places to stop, benches to rest, and great views from the forest.
Elephant Mountain is but one of the peaks in a collection of trails that make up the Four Beasts Mountains. That said, if you’re like me and primarily interested in that epic shot of downtown Taipei, just focus on hiking straight up until you reach the Six Giant Rocks to get those iconic photos of you on the rock. There’s also big platform below the final steps up that is great for views.
TIPS:
Sunset is the best time to go as you get the insane explosion of colours if the weather cooperates and past sunset you get the night skyline as well.
To reach the primary viewing point, start at the far left and make your way to Six Giant Rocks
WHERE TO EAT
- LUNCH: Yongkang Beef Noodle
It would be a mistake not to try Taiwan’s famous beef noodle soup. When I arrived, there was a modest line outside the restaurant but turnover is relatively quick here and I was seated within 10 minutes. I ordered the non-spicy version of the beef noodles and spare ribs, both of which were PHENOMENAL. The beef was perfectly cooked in juiciness and fat. The noodles had also just the right amount of bounce. #believethehype
- SNACK: Smoothie House
You can’t miss this when you walk along the famed Yongkang street. This big yellow building at the corner is home to the mango shaved ice that CNN made famous (or at least that’s what the signs tell me). I ordered the mango shaved ice and it was oh-so heavenly. The shavings from the block of mango ice fluff onto a mountain which translates to a wonderfully light and melt-in-your-mouth taste that you can only equate to eating fresh snow off the ground. If that wasn’t enough mango, you get real mangoes drizzled with mango sauce and then panna cotta to top it off
TIPS:
There’s not a whole lot of seating on the ground floor but what isn’t obvious is that there’s inside seating upstairs.
- DINNER: Jing Mei Market
In search of something a little bit more local and off-the-beaten-path, I was recommended to this night market in the southern part of Taipei. I wanted a night market that wasn’t packed with tourists and I wanted to see where real locals ate. I found it in this night market. The streets weren’t overcrowded here, the food especially the octopus, fried sweet potato balls, sponge cake, and oyster omelette were all very good and noticeably cheaper than what you’d find in Shilin night market. It’s not a large market but I quite enjoyed that it wasn’t overwhelming.
We couldn’t have asked for a better hotel to start the trip. Modern, clean, and the most fluffy of beds, it was just the right size and conveniently located.
Walking distance to Yongkang Street and equidistant from Daan Park station on the Red line and Zhongxiao Xinsheng on the Blue/Yellow line, we had no trouble getting to everywhere we wanted to go our first two nights in Taipei.
The buffet breakfast included with our stay was also fabulous with everything from hot dishes like noodles, stir-friend vegetables, dim sum, salad, congee, and miso soup. It was so good that I often regretted eating so much because there was so much other food to eat throughout the day!
TIPS:
If you arrive super early in the morning like we did, I actually booked an extra night’s hotel so we wouldn’t be forced to hit the road right away. Instead, the room was ready for us and I was able to take a nap.
>>Day 2 – Spirited Away<<
After a day getting your fill of a few of Taipei’s highlights, it’s time to shake things up and head north. What’s there you ask? If you’ve ever wanted to launch your own sky lantern, explore the remains of a Japanese gold mine, and walk through streets that inspired Miyazaki’s classic “Spirited Away”, you’re in for a treat. And yes, you get to do ALL of that in a day.
WHAT TO DO
Jiufen and Pingxi Day Tour
One of the things I love about Taiwan is that it isn’t very hard to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city and get a big dose of charm, history, and culture in the northern towns. Choosing MyTaiwanTour was a no-brainer as they made it really easy to book online and is the English speaking tour that we were looking for.
In our spacious van, our group of 7 spent the day exploring these spots:
- Jinguashi Mines: Coming into Taiwan, I had little knowledge of its Japanese occupation past and this was my introduction to what is fascinating history. Front and centre in the Shuinandong area are the remains of a very serious mining operation as you get to see from afar and close up the abandoned buildings, funicular, tunnels, and land-based smoke stacks.
- Golden Waterfalls: Located just a bit further up from the mines, watch the water tumble down what really does look like a gold-laden waterfall.
- Jiufen: Once a prosperous gold mining town, Jiufen is now a popular tourist destination known for being the inspiration of Myazaki’s “Spirited Away”. Spend just a few minutes here and you can see why it has that enchanted quality to it. Adorned with strings of red lanterns, old tea houses, and streets lined with delicious local treats, we were let loose here for lunch. My only regret is that it we easily could’ve spent more time getting lost in its maze of alleyways.
- Shifen Old Street in Pingxi: If you’ve ever wanted to get the FULL experience of building a giant sky lantern from scratch, write your own wishes, and launch them to the heavens, consider your dreams fulfilled. What makes this even more picture perfect is that you get to do this in a small town while standing in between live running train track.
We came out of the tour with a better appreciation for Taiwan’s history, our tummies filled, and our wishes delivered. I would highly recommend this day trip as it’s one that would be very difficult to do on your own and I very much enjoyed the service of our guide and driver, Summer and Tom.
WHERE TO EAT
- LUNCH: Jiufen
Sure, Jiufen does get insanely packed with tourists, but we we didn’t let it bother us too much because we were hungry hippos on a mission. Our guide, Summer, gave us a few tips on what to look out for and then we were unleashed!
Here is what we picked up along the way ( for our favs):
- Stinky tofu
- Fish balls
- Mochi on a stick
- A-Zhu peanut ice cream roll (九份阿珠雪在燒)
- Bubble tea
Total damage? $325 TWD which is equivalent to a $11 USD lunch for two. DEAL!
- DINNER: Shilin Night Market
This is perhaps Taiwan’s most famous and largest night market and with its grid of streets lined with a variety of traditional, western, and local cuisines and merchandise. It’s very much a choose-your-adventure kind of experience where you’ll start off in one corner of the market and slowly make your way to the other side. Just make sure to come with an empty stomach.
MyTaiwanTour was kind enough to give us the option for drop-off after our day trip and mentioned Shilin Night Market as an option. We jumped on the opportunity because it is a bit of a distance from the Taiwan core and you really can’t say no.
TIPS:
Make sure to try fried pork buns, bubble tea, wild boar sausage, and octopus. Beyond food, I highly recommend dropping a few coins on any one of the claw game booths, try your hand at one of the carnival games and the underground floor that is part of the covered section of Shilin.
The Sonnien Hotel (2 nights)
>>Day 3 – Winding Up In Alishan<<
Alishan is one of Taiwan’s most visited national park and for good reason. Located way up above the clouds, it’s here that you’ll find the most magnificent terrain of giant red cypress trees that are more than 2,000 years old, Rivendell-like hiking trails, and trains from a different era. This region is also well-known for its tea because it is grown at such high altitude.
The tricky thing about Alishan though is that it’s quite the journey to get there and one that isn’t necessarily the most clear when it comes to English instructions. When constructing your itinerary, you’ll also quickly realize that you easily need to account for 2 days to make it work. As a result, this day is dedicated to getting to Alishan which is quite the adventure on its own.
There’s so much information about this that it really deserves its own dedicated article so make sure you read the full guide on everything you need to know about Alishan (coming soon).
- Fenqihu
Since we elected to take the bus up to Alishan, we could have easily bypassed the small town of Fenqihu but I’m sure glad we didn’t.
Fenqihu is an old town that used to be a legitimate refuelling stop for the trains heading their way up to Alishan for what used to be a lumbering operation. Today, it is mainly a rest stop for travellers that want to see the fascinating railway museum, the old street which features food specialities, similar to that of Jiufen, and most importantly their famous ‘Fenqihu bento box’.
TIPS:
There are lockers at the train station for $NT 30 for 3 hours which is perfect for your refuelling stop.
- Sunset from Alishan House
Psst…I’ll let you in on a secret. The sunsets from Alishan House are just incredible. Now I probably shouldn’t be telling you this but whether you stay there or not, I would recommend sneaking inside and going up to the 8th floor observation deck. If you’re lucky, you’ll see the sea of cloud that Alishan is known for.
I ended up showing up here towards the end of the sunrise because I wasn’t sure if the rain would dissipate but when I got there it did. I had a mind-blowing 20 minutes filming a timelapse of the waves of clouds climbing the mountainside.
