Hiking in Alishan and the best views of Yushan (Jade Mountain), Taiwan's tallest peak

 


Explore the trails and the best viewpoints marked on the map in this post, accompanied by photos to help you decide which offers the most stunning view of Taiwan's highest peak, Yushan (Jade Mountain), and the surrounding ranges. I have my personal favorite, but I won’t reveal it just yet—check my last comment to find out! 


1. Bus station / viewpoint; 2. Settlement; 3. Shouzhen Temple; 4. Cihyoun Temple; 5. Sister Pond; 6. Ecocenter; 7. Duigaoyue Station; 8. Heliport; 9. Zhushan Station; 10. Xiaoliyuanshan Lookout; 11. Shuishan Giant Tree; 12. Sunset Platform. 

I visited most of the viewpoints twice, in the afternoon and the following morning as well. In the afternoon, it was really foggy and you couldn't see anything, but I imagine the sunset is just as beautiful from these places - or even better - than the sunrise, as you are not looking directly in the direction of the sun, and thus you can see more details and the colors are more vivid. All these hikes and viewpoints can be covered in one day, but in an afternoon and a morning it is more relaxed. There are also shuttle buses and trains within the park which you can use to save time. 

Going to Alishan by bus from Sun Moon Lake. The weather wasn't too promising and we hardly saw any of the mountains. There were two stops, one at a farmers' center, and one at a viewpoint. 














The bus station in Alishan with a viewpoint right opposite (1). 








The main settlement (2). 




Shouzhen Temple (3) with shops and restaurants. It's not far, but I took a bus from the settlement to save time for more walks.








One of the boardwalk trails from Shouzhen Temple passes by Cihyoun Temple (4) and other attractions, before reurning to the same place. 













































Another trail starting at Shouzhen Temple leads to Sister Pond (5) and finishes at Zhaoping (Chaoping) station. 



















From Zhaoping (Chaoping) station, passing a small Ecocenter (6), a trail makes a shortcut through the forest and leads to a number of Yushan sunrise viewpoints.















At a train crossing, a wooden path leads to Duigaoyue Station and a viewpoint (7). 


















After returning to the train crossing, the road leads to a viewpoint at a heliport (8). You can go up to another platform on the peak above the heliport, but there isn't much view from it from the vegetation. 























The most popular and most crowded sunrise viewpoint is right next to Zhushan Station (9). 













From Zhushan Station, a road leads to the Xiaoliyuanshan Lookout (10). 






















When you return to Alishan, you could add a little hike to see biggest tree in the forest, the Shuishan Giant Tree (11), and then follow the old rail tracks to the main road. 


































Returning to Alishan settlement. 
















My hotel room. 






There is another viewpoint outside the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, the Sunset Platform (12). At the time of my visit it was too cloudy to see anything. 
















On the way to Chiayi City. 







My favorite viewpoint is at the heliport (8) as you can clearly see the valleys below as well as some beautiful rocky cliffs. You also get similar views from the Duigaoyue Station viewpoint (7). The Xiaoliyuanshan Lookout (10) offers views to more directions, but vegetation limits much of the scenery. In my opinion, the most popular viewpoint at Zhushan Station (9) is the least beautiful. 

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