Alishan
A narrow-gauge railway climbing into cypress cloud forest, where you wake before dawn to watch the sun come up over a sea of cloud.
Alishan is the most beloved mountain retreat in Taiwan, a high forest area in the ranges above Chiayi in the centre-south of the island. Its fame rests on three things: the antique Forest Railway that switchbacks up from the plains, the ancient groves of giant red cypress wrapped in mist, and the celebrated sunrise — on a clear morning the peaks rise out of a vast white sea of cloud, with the silhouette of Yushan, Taiwan’s highest mountain, beyond. At around 2,200 metres the air is cool and pine-scented, the slopes are terraced with some of the world’s finest high-mountain oolong tea, and in March the area fills with pink and white cherry blossom. It is a place built for slow mornings and early nights.
What to do in Alishan
The ritual is the sunrise. Long before dawn you board the little red sunrise train up to Zhushan station, join the crowd at the viewing platform, and watch the light break over the cloud sea — it is touristy, and it is genuinely worth the alarm clock. By day, walk the well-made forest trails through the giant cypress grove, past the millennia-old “sacred tree” stumps, the twin Sisters Ponds, and small shrines half-hidden in the fog. Visit a tea plantation to taste the local Alishan oolong at the source, and if you come in mid-to-late March, time it for the cherry blossom that lines the village and railway.
- Sunrise at Zhushan — the pre-dawn train to the sea-of-clouds viewpoint.
- Forest Railway — the historic narrow-gauge line up from Chiayi.
- Giant cypress trail — boardwalks through ancient red-cypress forest.
- High-mountain oolong — tasting Alishan tea on the terraced slopes.
- Cherry blossom (March) — pink and white blooms along the village.
How to get to Alishan
The gateway is Chiayi, on the west-coast plain. Take the High-Speed Rail to Chiayi station — well under two hours from Taipei — then the Alishan bus up the mountain, a winding two-to-three-hour climb. The historic Forest Railway is the romantic alternative, though sections have been prone to closure after typhoons and landslides over the years, so check which stretches are running before counting on it. Because the sunrise is the whole point, plan to stay overnight in the village rather than visit on a day trip.
Combine it with the rest of the centre and south: the lakeside cycling at Sun Moon Lake in neighbouring Nantou, and the old capital of Tainan down on the coast.