Taitung

Guanshan Township Loop Bike Lane

Taitung has some amazing places for cycling, especially in Guanshan Township. You can rent a bike right beside Guanshan Train Station. I basically just asked the lady to rent me a bike, left my heavy backpack at the shop (the amount of trust I have in Taiwanese people hahah) and off I went! There may be a bit of trouble finding the cycling route at first because it’s pretty deep inside the town.

What will you see in your cycling journey? Palm trees, plantations, mountains, cool breeze, fluffy white clouds, beautiful rivers, the entire package in just 15 km! Plus, NO TRAFFIC, NO VEHICLES, just you and nature! In fact, there were hardly any other humans. Cycling on this trail was like a mini dream come true for me! And despite the light showers and the nagging subtle fear that I might die alone in the wild, this was completely worth it.

2. Taitung Tribe Hilltop Restaurant

Do you know that there are 16 official aboriginal tribes in Taiwan? The restaurant serves 原住民 dishes from the indigenous tribes, giving us a true taste of Taiwanese aboriginal culture!

Recommend to visit Taitung Tribe at night so you can savour the night lights and ambience of Taitung.

3. Deng Xian Bridge

The equivalent of the Ubud Monkey Forest in Bali where you can see harmless and friendly wild monkeys up close!!! They were literally at my feet while I took pictures/videos of their friends, and they were not aggressive at all (I went in 2016 though).

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Taitung is such an underrated attraction in Taiwan, probably because it is highly inaccessible. Taitung (and Hualien) also seems to bear the greatest brunt of any typhoon that comes Taiwan’s way (as a result making it relatively underdeveloped) and it is really quite a pity because I think this county is one of the most beautiful in Taiwan, offering picturesque views of mountains, gorges, valleys and the tri-coloured Pacific Ocean.

Visiting Taitung has made me intrigued about Taiwan’s indigenous culture – highly encourage you to venture out of the cities to discover their aboriginal culture and the beautiful oceans surrounding the island.