Taiwan - Alishan

Sunrise over Taiwan's peaks and forests

(photos of July 2007)

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Alishan National Scenic Area

Even though the name Alishan (map) means Mt. Ali, this name only describes a region, rather than a peak. Its highest point is called Da Ta Shan (2,663 m). Alishan National Scenic Area (described at Wikipedia and here) is a major attraction in central Taiwan.

One of the popular activities at Alishan is to view the sunrise over the Chung Yang Shanmo mountain range, the "backbone" of Taiwan which includes Taiwan's highest peak, Yu Shan (3,997 m). One way to get there early enough (in July the sunrise occurs at about 5:26am) is to stay at a hotel in the Alishan resort and take a pre-dawn Alishan Forest Railway train an hour before sunrise to its highest point (2,274 m).

The following (scrollable) panorama shows that the viewing spot (map) is already crowded 20 minutes before sunrise. Everyone asks: where will the sun appear?

Just a few minutes earlier, we had left the train for the short walk up to the observation platform, as daylight slowly dawned in the high-altitude chill.

Was that the magical moment? Unfortunately, all along the crowd was entertained by a blaring megaphone that removed much of the magic of the occasion.

After an opportunity to take an early fast breakfast, it is time to take the narrow-guage train back down the mountain.

A helpful sign provides technical details in relaxed style (the winding refers to a spot where the track makes three climbing circles as it winds three times around a small peak).

Hiking through the forest is also a great attraction at Alishan.

Yushan National Park

A short drive from Alishan is Yushan National Park, which surrounds Yushan, at 3,997 m the top of Taiwan.