TAIWAN: BEST DRIVES AND HIKES AND MORE...
- Darewrecks415 .
- Aug 6, 2022
- 18 min read
Updated: Nov 25, 2022
Favorite drives-
最喜歡的開車路線-
There are a few drives that really stood out for me. Before breaking specific ones down, any driving in the higher reaches of Nantou and Chiayi are gold. Super green, rivers, and waterfalls.
有一些開車路線是我很喜歡的。在分享這些點之前，任何一段開往南投跟嘉義的路線都很棒。很多綠色，河流，跟瀑布。
The whole east coast if you start from the south and head north is beautiful. Coastal towns and beaches. When leaving from Kenting and driving up the east coast, driving as much as possible and as close to the coast as possible is really nice, but takes longer. Start at the “Coastal Cut” below, and go through all of that, through Kenting to highway 26, then 200, back to 26, 199, then 9 or 9 with the Chinese character, 11, back to 9, 9 Chinese character, and take 2 all the way through the north coast. If you want to be more inland, (nothing wrong with that!) from Taitung stay on 9, and or 197, and 193. You can also stay on the coast then cut inland on 23, 30, and or 11 Chinese character. It really depends on how much time you have and are willing to invest, there is no right or wrong way, just different ways to see different things. You can mix and match. As I write this July 20th, 2022, at 7am, I regret not having time to go around the island ONE MORE TIME. I still have 10 days left, and it is quite possible that I can do it, if I rush it. We shall see, but I doubt it as I have specific projects I want to work on.
如果你開車由南往北，整個東部海岸都很美。海邊的小鎮跟海灘。離開墾丁開往東海岸，盡可能的開在靠近海邊的路，雖然會花比較多時間，但很棒。從下面的海邊秘境開始，沿著這些路線，從墾丁到26號公路，然後200，再回到26，199，然後台九線，台11，最後回到台九線，然後沿著台二線往北。如果想要多一點內陸路線，從台東，走台九線，然後197，193。你也可以一直在海邊然後在23，30切進內陸，或是台11線。看你想要花多少時間，沒有絕對對錯。不同的路線就會看到不同的風景。你也可以互相搭配。當我在2022，七月二十寫這個的時候，我很後悔沒有時間再環島一次。在離開台灣前，我還有十天，其實我是可以做到的如果我趕一點。我們看看吧，我懷疑可行性，特別是我有一些計劃想要做時。
The whole north coast is beautiful. Green mountains and coast line, and cool looking fishing villages. Stay on highway 2.
個北海岸都很美麗。綠色的山跟海岸線，很酷的漁村，走台二線。
The Taichung Dip- Start at Taichung Taichung and finish here 太平苗圃落羽松. It's a short little 40 minute dip. On the way there are some suspension bridges to stop, some dope temples, and the Bat Caves. I had a nice little journey on this trip.
從台中，到太平苗圃落羽松。大概開40分鐘，很短。途中有一些吊橋可以停下來，有一些很酷的寺廟跟蝙蝠洞。這趟路程中我覺得開得很愉快。
The Nantou/Chiayi Connection- This was probably my favorite drive. Granted, it was summer 2022 and it was raining hard during this time. I saw like 8 or so waterfalls while driving, green mountains, just breathtaking! You are going to hit a few waterfall stops. There are also signs for other waterfalls on the way and other locations, you can add to this drive. NOTE: Lot’s of waterfalls have narrow roads, please be careful!
南投/嘉義連接道: 這大概是我最愛的路。保證! 2022夏天，那時正在下大雨。我看到八個或更多的瀑布。綠色的山，令人嘆為觀止。你會道一些瀑布。也有路標指向其他瀑布或其他地點。你可以視情況增加。注意: 通往瀑布的路很多都很窄，要小心。
Again, start in Taichung, Taichung, go to Dexing Falls, Dexing Falls, backtrack and go here if you like Vietnamese food. It was just very Vietnamese to me. 越南小吃(阿琛). If not, skip and go to Ruilong Waterfall, Ruilong Waterfall, Then go to Jiao Lung Waterfall, Jiao Lung Waterfall VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: I did not make it to Jiao Lung Waterfall. The link I sent you is faulty. It will take you up in the mountains on a very narrow road on a cliff, and well, just don’t do it. Look at the reviews. The first one states to go somewhere else. When I typed that in, it showed nothing. I missed this fall. You can skip it. Finally, for the final destination, you should rent a hotel in Alishan National Park and see the sunrise or do a trail.
一樣，從台中出發，往德興瀑布，如果你喜歡越南料理，往回走，然後來這個越南小吃。如果不要，就跳過然後走到瑞龍瀑布，然後再到蛟龍瀑布。我提供的聯結有瑕疵，他會帶你上山，走一條很窄的路，旁邊是懸崖。不要這樣做。看評論，第一個評論讓你去別的地方。我試著打這些字，但沒有顯示結果。所以我錯過這個瀑布。你也可以跳過。最後，終點，你可以住在阿里山國家公園的旅館內，然後看日出走步道。
The OG Drive- This was told to me by an OG Taiwanese photographer while at Erliao Sunrise Pavilion. Start there, Erliao Sunrise Pavilion for a beautiful sunrise and then drive maybe 40 minutes to another beautiful destination, here- 牛埔泥岩水土保持教學園區. It wasn’t a spectacular drive, but this is a drive that has a great beginning and end.
老行家路線:這是一個資深攝影師告訴我的，當我在二寮拍日出時。從二寮觀日亭開始，可以拍美麗的日出，四十分鐘後到另一個點，牛埔泥岩水土教學園區。這並不是一段很壯觀的路線。但是起點跟終點都很棒。
The Coastal Cut- Start here, 落山風藝術季 and drive to here 大光沙灘. This is in South Taiwan. The start is slightly before the Aquarium. Make sure you stay on the road that is closest to the coast. You will find beaches, small fishing villages, and other interesting places to explore. You can also explore a bit inland which is also cool.
海岸秘境路線: 從落山風藝術節開始，開到大光海灘，這還在南台灣。起點在水族館之前，確定你都開在近海的道路。你會看到海灘，小漁村，跟其他有趣的點。你也可以看一點內陸的點，也很酷。
When leaving from Kenting and driving up the east coast, driving as much as possible and as close to the coast as possible is really nice, but takes longer.
從墾丁離開，往上開往東海岸，也是開在近海的道路，很棒，但會繞比較遠。
Old Street Holy Road- In New Taipei City there is a road that has a bunch of gold statues of abbots and buddhas. I first drove on this road centuries ago when I did my first road trip. I loved it. Then I randomly found it again. Finally, at the end of July, 2022, I discovered it yet again and it will be entered into my best drives. It is called Old Street because you will visit several old streets, and Holy because part of it will take you through the road with the statues. It finishes in Yilan.
老街神聖之道: 在新北市，有一條路有很多金色，有一條路有很多金色的住持和佛陀的雕像。第一次我開車經過時是在我第一次的旅行。我愛這裡。無意間發現的。最後，在2022年七月，我又找到了。這也是最棒的開車路線。叫做老街是因為你會經過很多老街。神聖是因為路邊都是佛像，終點在宜蘭。
Start at Shenkeng Old Street, https://g.page/SKOStreet?share , eat some stinky tofu and walk around. Next, drive to Shiding Old Street Shiding Old Street. Then you are going to take the road 106 Chinese character (Z looking), all the way to Pinglin Old Street. Pinglin Old Street Road 106Z is the Holy part of the road. Then you are going to take highway 9 all the way to Yilan. This gives you a view of Yilan county from up high and it's impressive to say the least.
從深坑老街出發，吃一些臭豆腐，走一走老街，然後開往石碇老街，你會開106道路，一直到坪林老街。106Z的某段就是神聖之路。然後你走國道九號，到宜蘭。這段會會讓你看到宜蘭的某部分景色，然後往高處走，你會讚嘆不已。
Favorite hikes:
Hikes in general in Taiwan have all been touched by humans in some way. I’m going to have to say every hike I did had some sort of path, steps, or something that humans made. It made things easier, but also took away from nature. It’s not that big of a deal, but I’ve done backpacking in California where I saw no one for weeks, took shits in holes and buried them, bathed nude in lakes as well as washed my clothes in them. Not saying there aren’t completely untampered trails, but you’d have to ask the hardcore hikers. I am not one of them.
健行在台灣某種程度而言，已被人為開發了。我會分享我去過的每個健行，路徑，階梯，或是人造物。這讓事情變得簡單，但是就不像大自然。並不是個大問題，我在加州當過背包客，好幾個禮拜都沒看到一個人，在洞裡大便，埋起來，在湖裡洗澡，洗衣服。不是說這些都沒被走過，但你必須問高級的玩家。我並不是。
These were my favorite hikes.
這些都是我愛的健行
Shengmu Hiking trail- This is a popular trail that has many stairs one must ascend. It’s pretty tiring if you haven’t prepared for it, like me. With that said, all types of people do this hike so it can be a bit crowded. I hiked this trail because I saw amazing pictures at its summit. I didn’t particularly enjoy the hike much. It was all uphill with people on the trail, but I did enjoy photographing the top. There is a Jesus statue at the top, but there are trails that continue on. It's about a 4 to 5 hour hike that will give you a good workout for sure. The lush green fluffy hills were amazing to see and that was my main and only motivation to do this hike. This area was coined the “Matcha Mountains.” It’s doable by most people but it is tiring.
聖母山莊登山步道: 這是一條受歡迎的步道，有很多階梯，一路上升。如果你沒準備好，會滿累的。也就是說各種人都會來，所以有一點擠。我會來這裡是因為我看過山頂的一些照片。我並不喜歡健行本身。都是上坡，步道上都是人。但我滿喜歡在山頂拍照的。山頂有一個耶穌像，也有其他步道通往他處。大概是個四到五小時的路程，給你充足的運動。青蔥翠綠的山很令人讚嘆，也是我來這裡最大的動力。這裡也被稱作抹茶山。很多人都會來，但會很累。
Jiaming Lake- This was the longest trail I hiked. I actually had some weight on my pack for this and I was completely out of shape for it. Despite that, I attempted this hike 3 times. The first two times it was raining so I canceled. The 3rd time was during the Lunar New Year of 2022. You need to get a permit to do this hike and get it way in advance. It was cold and it snowed there. It was super foggy and I was having problems with my camera fogging up and the fog would come in so fast it would completely change the landscape. I missed out on many amazing photos. The lake itself was shrouded in fog, casting an eerie feel to the area. None of those Google images you see with blue skies and sun for me. Fog does give other opportunities to capture some interesting photos however. This hike wasn’t too hard. There were a couple areas where I had to climb up some rocks and I hate that type of hiking. I don’t mind uphills, downhills, and level ground, but anything involving climbing rocks or using ropes is not my thing.
嘉明湖: 這是我走過最長的健行。我真的背了很多東西，也因為這樣我的身體狀態不佳。除此之外，我曾經試著走這裡三次。第一二次都是下雨，所以我取消。第三次在2022年的農曆年。你必須事先申請，獲得許可後才能上山。山上很冷還下雪。超級霧，而我的相機在這樣的環境下也起霧。霧很快就來，也完全改變了整個地貌。我錯過了很多好照片。湖本身也被霧壟罩，創造了一個詭異的氣氛。你google看到的藍天太陽我都沒看到。但霧也給了我另一個機會去拍一些有趣的照片。健行本身不難。有一些區域必須攀爬岩石，我討厭這種的。上坡下坡平路我都可以，只要要攀岩我就超討厭。
Even with the cold and fog it was very beautiful and it did rain on and off a little bit which sucks, especially for me. The first day we hit the lodge and I had the most uncomfortable sleep and just suffered. I got up early and kicked with the locals in the kitchen listening to MC Hammer’s Can't Touch This and other 80 and 90s classics. Around 6AM we left to finish the hike up to the lake and hung out for a couple hours at most. The fog came and went but usually came and didn’t give the best opportunities for photos, but when it left briefly, you had pockets.
即使很冷又起霧，還是很美麗，時雨時停有點討厭。第一天我們就到了山屋，我睡不好，受折磨。我很早起，跟廚房的人一起聽聽MC Hammer和80，90年代的歌曲。大約六點我們離開山屋，到湖邊去，又待了幾小時。霧來了又散，但大部分時間都不利拍照，當霧離開一點，你就有了空檔
We were supposed to stay another night but I didn’t want to. I just didn’t want to sleep another night there, so we traveled 17KMs back to the entrance and that was intense for me since I didn’t physically prepare for this trip. I could barely walk afterwards. Regardless, for the sake of accomplishing a fairly long hike and for the beauty this ends up in my top hikes.
我們應該要待另一晚，但我不想。我不想再睡一晚，所以我們走了17公里回到入口，超級累。因為我沒有鍛鍊好。此後我幾乎走不動。除此之外，因為完成了一段很長的健行，還有美景，所以這可以列入我第一名的健行。
Mount Jade (Yushan Mountain)- Mount Jade can be done in one day, but we did it in two. It is the highest peak in Taiwan. You need a permit to do this one. This might be the dopest hike I did while in Taiwan. It had one of the most amazing sunsets I have ever seen in my life and the most amazing sunrise I have ever seen. The hike is a beautiful path up the mountain. This was a funny one for me, looking back. NY Chen had her boots, and extra leggings, and headlamps and all the prep. I didn’t do shit. I had some cargo pants, a shirt, a sweater, and a jacket. We hit the lodge for an amazing sunset (it's amazing to be above a carpet of clouds watching the sun) and talked to the people there. I was told that it was a 2 hour hike from the lodge. So believing that we got up early, obviously before the sunrise because that's the point. A few people were ahead of us. I quickly passed everyone. I got up to the top in like 45 minutes to an hour. I remember clowning NY Chen before the hike because she's all dressing the part, with all the gear. “I don’t need a headlamp. It’s hot, I don’t need a bunch of clothes!”
玉山：玉山可以當天來回，我們住了一晚。是台灣的最高峰。你必須事先申請許可。這是我在台灣做過最酷的健行。有我這輩子看過最驚人的日落，還有日出。整段上山的路程也很美麗。有個好笑的地方，看向NY CHEN 她穿登山鞋，運動褲，帶頭燈，所有裝備。我甚麼都沒有。我只有休閒褲，T恤，毛衣跟外套。我們抵達山屋看了驚人的日落。(之所以經人是因為有雲海)然後跟那裏的人聊天。據說爬到山頂要兩小時，所以我們必須早起，必須在日出之前，因為才有意義。我們之前有一些人。我很快的超過她們。我到山頂大概是45分到1小時。我記得出發前我還取笑NY CHEN，因為他全副武裝，我說"我不需要頭燈，很熱，我不想穿那麼多衣服
Well, there's a point near the top that is hella windy and there are chains that you need to hold on to. I didn’t have a headlamp, so I had to take out my phone and use one hand to hold my phone for light and the other hand to hold the chain to continue on. It wasn’t the most fun experience. I finally made it to the top and it was CCOOLLDDDDDD!!! I was curled up in a fetus position hiding behind a rock. It was a grueling experience. All alone, at the top of a mountain, windy as hell, freezing my ass off! I tried breathing and meditation, anything to get my mind off the chill. I just suffered. An hour later NY Chen showed up. I got up and cuddled with her for about another 30 to 45 minutes. It helped, but I was still suffering. Now a couple more people showed up and finally light appeared. The clouds were below and the sun began to rise. It was the most amazing sunrise I have ever seen. A blanket of white as far as the eye could see and the yellow orb peeking out then becoming more apparent as time passed. As much as I enjoyed this, I had no desire to spend much more time at the top, considering I arrived an hour before NY Chen and over 1.5 hours before everyone else. I took my pictures, stayed as long as I could, and then told NY, we got to go. We were the first ones to leave. I actually think I took a video in the darkness of my experience there alone. You can’t see anything, but you just hear me whining. I don’t remember what I was saying. If I can find it, I will put it on Youtube.
接近山頂有一個點，風超級大。你必須抓著鐵鍊。我沒有頭燈所以我一手拿著手機一手抓著鐵鍊往上爬。這還不是最好笑的。最後我到山頂了。超超超級冷。我蜷曲著身體像個嬰兒躲在石頭後面。這是很令人無法忍受的經驗。只有我一個，在山頂，風超大，我凍僵了。我試著呼吸跟冥想，做任何可以驅走寒冷的事情。我在受苦。一小時以後NY CHEN 來了，我起來跟他互相抱著取暖，大概30到45分。有點幫助但我覺得還是受不了。現在有更多的人上來了，也有一些光透出來。雲在下面太陽快升上來了。真是我看過最驚人的日出。向毯子一樣的白色，一望無際，黃色的光逐漸透出來，隨著時間過去，越來越明顯。雖然我很享受這一瀉，但我完全不想花更多時間在山頂，你知道，我比NY CHEN 早一小時，比其他人早1.5小時。我拍了照，盡可能的待久一點，然後跟NY CHEN說，我們要走了。我們是第一個離開的人。我覺得在黑暗中我應該有拍影片。你看不到任何東西但你可以聽到我抱怨。我不記得我說了甚麼。如果我可以找到，我會放在Youtube。
眠月石猴- This was a banger! I stayed in a hotel in Alishan park for this hike…I mean walk. You need a permit to do this walk and it continues on. You can camp out here and you probably should. It's beautiful. It was an old railway system made by the Japanese to transport lumber, I believe. It does not function anymore. I went with a group of people and it was fun and easy. It's all level ground involving following the train tracks. There is one scary part where you have to use a rope to climb up and down. It's not too bad, and I hate those things. You are going through tunnels, a cave in and it requires some caution. Walking on tracks that act as bridges. (Taiwan does a good job of making them easy to walk on.) As you continue it gets more and more naturesque. Moss covered rocks and train tracks, less people, and the sounds of nature. I was in heaven. Weather conditions change from sunny to super foggy. It's a very picturesque place. I lost my group and walked way beyond what we were supposed to walk. I finally figured I passed everyone and once I hit an uphill decided to turn back. I was really happy to find out they came looking for me and they were rewarded by the beauty and I felt special. ;) I call it a walk because an old Tawainese couple laughed when we said hike. They said it was a walk. I agree. GO here! You will thank me later.
這裡超超棒的! 為了這次健行...嗯應該是散步，我住在阿里山裡的一個旅館。這個路線必須先申請，核准後才可以進入。你可以露營，我也覺得應該要。很美。這裡是舊鐵道，為日本人所建，以前日本人拿來運送木頭。現在已經不能用了。我是與一群人去的，路線很容易走也很有趣。一路都平路及火車軌道。有一個比較可怕的點，必須要拉繩上攀及下來。也不是太糟。但我恨這種地形。你會穿越隧道，有一個洞穴，必須小心一點。走在像橋的軌道上(台灣維護得很好，所以很容易走)。當你繼續走下去，就越來越原始自然，苔癬覆蓋石頭及軌道，更少人，大自然的聲音讓我覺得在天堂。天氣從晴朗變得超濃霧。使得看起來像在畫裡。我跟團體走散，走得太遠，後來我才發現我已經超過每個人。當我到達一處上坡，然後決定折返時，我很高興發現他們來找我，他們的回報就是這片美景。我覺得很特別。我把它稱為散步是因為一對年紀稍大的夫婦因為我們說這是健行而笑了。他們說這是散步，我同意。一定要來這裡。你一定會感謝我!
Scuba Diving- I didn’t scuba dive as much as I should have. It wasn’t so much that, but I missed out on diving in the islands, and I am not sure why. I am super jaded about many things above water, but the underwater world still fascinates me. I can see one clownfish and I'm happy. With that said, Taiwan is cool for scuba diving, but it's not mind blowing. It will never compare with any diving I’ve done in the Philippines, Indonesia, the Red Sea, some places in the Caribbean, or Thailand, but it is cool to live in a place where the option is available to scuba dive in the place you live.
水肺潛水: 我沒有像我想像中的那麼常潛水。所以沒有很多資訊，但我很想念在那些小島潛水，我不確定為什麼。我很厭倦水面上的很多東西，但水面下的世界很吸引我。我可以看一隻小丑魚並感到很高興。也就是說，台灣，可以來潛水，但不是那麼令人驚艷。這些是沒辦法跟我在菲律賓，印尼，紅海，加勒比海附近，或是泰國相比，但住在一個可以去潛水的地方也是滿酷的。，
North Taiwan- The two dive sites I visited in northern Taiwan were Secret Garden and Bat Cave. I enjoyed both immensely, but it doesn’t take a lot to impress me. The main thing I remember that stood out for me was an interesting school of golden fish swimming about.
北台灣: 我去過兩個潛點，祕密花園跟蝙蝠洞。我很享受但不是很印象深刻。我最有印象的就是一群有趣的金魚
Kenting- Kenting also has scuba diving, and while I don’t remember anything that stood out, I enjoyed my dives here very much. I do not remember which dive sites I explored but there was an annoying one where I had to walk across dead coral for like 100 yards with all my gear, almost falling several times to reach the spot to jump in. I told the diving instructors every time I dove in Kenting that I did not want to do this one again.
墾丁: 墾丁也可以潛水，我不記得有任何東西很特別的。我很享受在那裏潛水。我不記得我去過那些錢點，但有一個不知名的點我必須走過死珊瑚礁大概一百碼，揹著裝備，好幾次都快跌倒才到達我們下前的點。我跟潛導說，只要我來墾丁，我絕對不會再做一次。
Xiaoliuqiu- I did two dives here and this area is famous for its sea turtles. Unfortunately for me, while I still love seeing turtles in their natural habitat, I’ve seen hella sea turtles in many different oceans. Its still a solid place to dive.
小琉球: 我潛了兩次，這個地方以海龜著名。我很喜歡看海龜游泳在它們的棲地。我曾經看過海龜在不同的海域。這裡仍然是個潛水的好地方。
Green Island, Orchid Island, Pengu Island- I heard all 3 of these places have dive sites and are good places, but I will argue, despite never diving in any of these places, while probably solid, not going to compare with other countries in Asia like Indonesia and Philippines. I am a little bitter I never got to scuba dive in these places though.
Actually, NY Chen recently told me we did scuba dive in Green Island. To be honest, I now have a vague thought about it, but I can't really remember anything that stood out.
綠島，蘭嶼，澎湖:我聽過這三個地方有潛點。而且很棒。但我會說，因為我沒來過這裡，也許很棒，但依然比不上那些亞洲國家，菲律賓，印尼。我有點後悔我沒來這些地方潛水。
That's it for diving. I’m sure there are other spots to dive, but locals and outsiders never really mentioned anything other than these areas. I snorkeled in Taitung and found reefs and dozens of amazing fish but never heard about diving there.
潛水就這樣，我確定還有很多地方可以潛，但當地人或外人從來沒有提過其他地方。我在台東浮潛，看到珊瑚礁跟一些美麗的魚。但沒聽過可以潛水。
In Kenting I always dove with DivePro center. I never had any complaints with them.
在墾丁我都跟南青潛水。很棒的服務，沒有抱怨。
In North Taiwan I dove with with Fun Diver’s Taiwan. I really liked Dennis. Born in China and raised in Canada, i got a long with him really well and would recommend diving with him if you are in northern Taiwan.
北台灣我參加瘋潛水。我很喜歡Dennis。在中國出生，加拿大長大。我們很合得來。我超推薦來找北台灣找他潛水。
For you drone flyers, if you’re in Taichung, I recommend seeing Lin at…
空拍機玩家，如果你在台中，我推薦你來這裡找林先生
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