Alishan.
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Overview

Alishan National Scenic Area (阿里山國家風景區 Ālǐshān guójiā fēngjǐng qū) is a national park in Chiayi County, southern Taiwan. Located high up in Taiwan's mountainous spine, Alishan — "Mount Ali" — is Taiwan's most-visited national park. The historic Alishan Forest Railway brings passengers from the lowlands through the mountain village of Fenqihu (just before the park), alongside groves of ancient cypress trees, and to a sunrise over the iconic Yushan piercing through a sea of clouds.

Understand

History The area has been settled by Taiwanese Aboriginal people since time immemorial, but ethnic Chinese began settling only in the 19th century. Development really took off only when the Japanese completed the Alishan Forest Railway (1912), a remarkable narrow-gauge train that was built for logging the area's giant cedars. The area's beauty was so convincing that the Japanese government designated it as a National Park in 1937. By the 1970s, logging had pretty much ended and tourism had become the area's primary earner, and the entire area was declared a "national scenic area" in 2001.

Landscape Alishan is not a single mountain, but a range on Taiwan's spine, averaging 2,500 m high, and with the highest peak Datashan (大塔山) reaching 2,663 m. Taiwan's highest mountain, Yushan (3,952 m) is easily visible from Alishan.

Flora and fauna Due to its elevation, Alishan's flora are more temperate/alpine than tropical, and the slow transition from bananas and palms to evergreens on the way up is interesting to watch.

The dominant feature are giant Taiwanese red cypresses (Chamaecyparis formosensis), some of which have been growing in the area for well over 2,000 years. Although most of the area was logged and is now managed forests, the loggers left behind the most irregularly-shaped giants, as well as trees that grew fused together, which are now the most striking monuments in these forests.

In spring, crowds flock to view cherry blossoms, while in summer the mountainsides are blanketed with orange montbretia blossoms.

In summer, Alishan is a cool escape from the steamy coastal cities. Due to its elevation, Alishan is considerably cooler than the coast, with daytime highs averaging 14-24°C in summer and 5-16°C in winter.

Even for a mountain, Alishan's weather is extraordinarily rapidly changing: an average day starts with a cloudless morning, theatrically dense clouds of rolling mist by noon and ends with a lightning storm and torrents of rain before repeating all over the next day. Humidity is always very high, and indeed most surfaces in the park seem to be covered with a layer of luxuriant green moss. Snow is rare, but does fall during the winter every few years.

Get in

Take the famous Alishan Forest Railway (阿里山森林鐵路) narrow-gauge train from Chiayi TRA station (not the new HSR station at Taibao). The train passes through the scenic village of (奮起湖, sometimes Fencihu or Fenchihu) halfway up and the village of Ruili (瑞里) is also accessible (several km away) from Jiaoliping (交力坪) station. Don't miss this trip, especially if you're a train or architecture buff, as the line is largely the same as it was before World War II — but you might want to consider a bus for the way back (it takes about 4½ hours for the return trip).

As of 2024, there is one train from Chiayi all the way to Alishan at 10:00, and one train leaving Alishan at 11:50. An additional train goes only as far as Fenqihu at 09:00. The railway will sell standing room tickets and during peak periods like summer and the cherry blossom season trains can get very crowded, so book ahead by calling operator TRA at (05)225-6918, preferably in Chinese, and show up at least 30 min before departure to collect your tickets. In Chiayi station, the Alishan ticket counter is on the outside of the building, separate from the ordinary TRA counters.

From Chiayi Buses (some large and luxurious, some more cramped minibus styles) from Chiayi to Alishan leave regularly and take between two and three hours. The route isn't quite as scenic as the train, featuring more tea plantations and small villages than cliffs and mountains. The combination of a somewhat bumpy and very winding road with aggressive driving can make this trip vomit inducing if you are prone to motion sickness. The ride back is not as bad.

Route 7329/7329A: THSR Chiayi station to Alishan. The bus stop is immediately outside the station and is well-marked. As of October 2024, buses leave Chiayi at 09:30, 10:10, 11:00 (with a Fenqihu detour), and 13:10. Buses leave Alishan at 10:10 (with a Fenqihu detour), 13:30, 14:40 and 16:40. A "combo ticket" that gets you 25% off a THSR return to Chiayi plus a return bus ticket is also available. Route 7322/7322A/7322B/7322D: Chiayi TRA station to Alishan. Ignore the touting old ladies greeting you as you exit the train station and head straight for the bus station, just outside and to the right of the TRA station. The ticket counter is inside the bus station. Buses leave from Chiayi at 06:10, 07:40, 08:10, 08:40, 09:10, 10:10, 10:40, 11:10, 12:10 and 14:10. The return buses leave from Alishan at 09:10, 11:10, 12:10, 12:40, 13:10, 14:10, 15:10, 15:40, 16:10 and 17:10. Each bus takes one of several slightly different routes, so look carefully if you need to stop along the way.

Reservations must be made at least one day in advance, or in person at the Shuishe visitors center. Ticket can be purchased the day before or driver will accept exact change. The up-to-5-hr journey along winding mountain roads includes brief stops at a sour plum speciality store and the romantic Tataka Couple Tree.

Fees and permits

Fees are collected on arrival at an entrance booth. The ticket comes with a map and a form that you can fill in and hand in to have free insurance while in the park.

Get around

The Alishan Forest Railway has three popular local services within the park.

The Mianyue Line (眠月線) closed in 1999 due to earthquake damage and is unlikely to reopen. The Shuishan Line (水山線) closed in 2008 after typhoon damage. Both lines are partially accessible as hiking trails.

By mini-bus There are minibuses operating on the roads within Alishan, with stations at the major sites. These are especially important if you want to avoid having to hike back after 16:00, when the last trains run. Prices are the same as trains, but the tickets don't seem to be interchangeable with the trains. These are also a bit faster than the trains.

On foot The village around Alishan station, with most of the hotels, shops, restaurants, is compact but on a hill that is steep in places.

All the attractions inside the park are connected by walking paths. All the main routes are well-maintained boardwalks or paved walkways, with stairs for steep sections and guard rails for exposed sections. Trails are ridiculously well signposted: every intersection of two paths not only has signs in Chinese and English, but a map pinpointing your exact location and all possible routes. You can also pick up an English map from the tourist office.

From the village, it's about a 1 km (20 minute) walk to Zhaoping Station, the gateway to the most popular areas of the park. A loop from the village to Zhaoping, Sister Ponds, Shouzhen Temple, Shermuh, and back can be easily walked within one day.

See

Sights around Alishan are signposted in Chinese, English and Japanese, though they are anglicized inconsistently. As you walk around the trails you'll find that nearly every tree of size, age or unusual shape has been dubbed with a fanciful moniker like "Elephant Trunk" or "Three Generation Tree".

Jhushan. The top attraction in Alishan, everybody crowds aboard the predawn trains for the half-hour trip to this peak on the east side of Alishan, where you can see the sunrise over Yushan. If you're an early riser, you can also walk (the whole way is lit, albeit weakly), it's a not overly strenuous one hour from the 7-Eleven - this also allows you to go early before the crowds and enjoy the amazing pre-dawn twilight colours and tranquility, which you will miss if you take the train. There's a viewing platform right next to the station, but it's worth it to hike an extra 15-20 minutes past the helicopter pad to the very top, where the crowds are a little thinner. On the way back, skip the train and walk back instead, it's a pleasant 3-4 km downhill hike.

Giant Trees Trail. There are in fact two of these, both near Shermuh station, and they can be walked in a pleasant half-hour loop. The 36 featured cypresses here are giant indeed, and many have been growing for well over a millennium. The original Sacred Tree fell in 1998 to become a massive nurse log, passing the sacred designation to the Xianglin Giant Tree. The small Cihyun Temple, which was built by the Japanese, and the Tree Spirit Pagoda are along the way. The trail is particularly magical when the mist rolls in (in October, this tends to happen in the early to mid afternoon).

Two Sister Ponds. Two scenic little ponds in the forest. The Elder Sister Pond, the larger of the two, has a much-photographed octagonal little pavilion in the middle.

Do

The hardcore hiker or sports enthusiast will likely find Alishan's offerings rather too tame, and might do better to go conquer Yushan next door instead.

If you stay overnight in Alishan, you can avoid crowds of tourists who do day trips. You should pretty much have the place to yourself by late afternoon. Wear comfortable shoes with good traction as the steps can be wet and mossy.

Greater Tashan Trail. The Greater Tashan is the highest of the Tashan peaks, at 2663 m. Depending on the weather, you will either have a wide vista from the observation platform at the top, or will admire a sea of clouds. A good trail leads up to the peak and takes about 1½-2 hours going up from its entry point nearby the Two Sisters Pond, a bit less going down again. The trail is blissfully free of tour groups due to its medium difficulty, with some quite steep stairs on the way, but it should be doable for anyone in decent walking shape. Bring something to drink and appropriate sun protection, as even if Alishan village is cloudy, the peak can still bask in full sun due to its higher altitude.

Fenrui Historic Trail. About 4 hours one way, connects Fenqihu and Ruili through a scenic bamboo forest straight out of a kung-fu movie.

Shizhuo Trail System. Six connected trails, totaling , through tea gardens, bamboo forests, cedar forests, and sunset lookout platforms.

Buy

Alishan is famous for all sorts of mountain produce, notably tea (see Drink) and wasabi, as well as carvings and handicrafts made from red cypress. Souvenir shops also sell tasty cookies and pastries flavored with ashitaba (明日葉), a medicinal herb reputed to give long life. The name is Japanese for "tomorrow leaf", as (according to legend) if you pluck a leaf early in the morning, a new one will replace it by the next day.

Stores are clustered around the main village, though there are also a few vendors near Shouzhen Temple and Jhushan Station.

Eat

Budget For a meal on the train, don't miss the Fenqihu lunch box (奮起湖便當 fenqihu biendang), which has a deep-fried cutlet, Taiwanese sausage and a selection of mountain veggies on rice.

Stalls selling noodles, rice dishes and basic street food can be found at the Alishan main square, at Jhushan and the Jhoushen Temple.

Naromafei Food Court. A hall of several vendor stalls serving soups and stir-fries.

While you are waiting for the sun to rise, a hot drink from the vendor will warm your hands. Also try the egg crepe, scallion pancakes and French toast. Hot Clear soup with blood rice cake is also available. Hot Sakura flavoured honey in the early morning is great too.

Mid-range Alishan's main square has half a dozen largely identical restaurants specializing in hotpot (火鍋), using mountain vegetables and mountain game like deer and wild boar. Most cater mostly to groups and thus offer vast spreads (e.g.

Juh Shan Yuan Restaurant. One of Alishan's many hotpot restaurants. English menu (well, kinda), reasonably priced and tasty.

Drink

Alishan is famous for High Mountain Oolong (高山烏龍 Gau-shan wulong) tea and you'll see plenty of plantations on the way up. They will also let you try a number of teas for sale, and this is a good way to pass the evening. But this is with the expectation that you will buy something.

Nightlife in any sense is virtually nonexistent, but all restaurants are happy to sell you a beer and you can pick your own poison at the convenience stores.

Sleep

Lodging Most accommodation at Alishan comes from about a dozen hotels clustered in the Hotel Area, downhill from Alishan Station. The stairs down can be found just to the left of the visitor center. The Hotel Area is convenient for eating and shopping, but means a 1- to 2-km hike (or short train ride) for visiting the park.

While touts meet incoming trains, it is best to reserve the hotels ahead of time, since on weekends (Friday, Saturday) and holidays most rooms will be booked almost every day of the summer.

Dafeng Hotel. Complimentary Wi-Fi in the lobby, and also reaches most nearby rooms, for those traveling with laptops. The rooms don't have heat unless it gets very cold, although the beds have electric blankets. Also there was no hot water, this may be par for the course at the cheaper hotels in the area.

Catholic Hostel. It's better to call to make reservation or to send an email. The owners don't speak English, but they will understand your email if it's written in simple English (the answer will be in Chinese). Hot water and warm blankets. Bring your own towel, they don't provide!

Shermuh House. Renovated 5-story hotel. Rooms are pleasant enough, but they're stingy with the heating, which is only turned on when temperature in the rooms falls below 7°C! 5 min on foot downhill from the railway station.

A few hotels can be found elsewhere in the park.

Alishan House. The grand old lady of Alishan's hotels, with both a traditional Chinese wing and a very modern, slick new wing. The best views in Alishan and well-located for venturing into the park. Free shuttle bus from railway station. Breakfast and dinner included, but watch out for the dinner, as it is not very good.

Alishan Gou Hotel. Free shuttle bus from the train station.

Lodging outside the park is available around the towns of Fenqihu and Shizhuo. These towns are in the Alishan tea-growing region, and many farmers provide homestays nestled in the hillside tea fields.

Fenchihu Hotel. Also known as Fancylake Hotel, this is the only larger hotel in Fenqihu, a stone's throw from the train station.

Green Incense Homestay. Several rooms hosted by a fifth-generation tea farming family, with tea fields right outside the window. Host doesn't speak English, but is exceptionally adept at Google Translate. Sit for a tasting session of the house tea.

Camping Camping is not permitted anywhere within the Alishan Scenic Area. If you have your own car, there are a few campgrounds within striking distance outside the park, notably at Dinghu (頂湖).