Alishan Tea Region
**This district has the most itineraries, and nearly all of them run two days.** Ruili, Ruifeng, Taixing and Taihe in Meishan are threaded together by old trails, bamboo, waterfalls and suspension bridges, and the guesthouses are the tea growers themselves. Further up are Zhuqi, Shizhuo and the Tsou villages. Every month of the year has its own crop.
Itineraries6
- Two days at Ruili: old trails and firefliesTwo days possibleDay 1: arrive and eat → the green tunnel → a century-old house → a coffee plantation → persimmon orchards → Yuanxing Temple → sunset → a mountain dinner → a guided firefly walk → tea and the night view. Day 2: first light → the Ruitai old trail, with its moso bamboo, the Couple Trees, Forget-Sorrow Wood, the giant camphor, the Seven-Step Echo Valley, Moyoukeng, Hero Slope and Huitou Ridge → lunch → homeA variant swaps day one for the fish reserve, the thousand-year bat cave, Swallow Cliff and the Lovers’ Bridge.
- Two days at Taixing: making tea and the forest railwayTwo days possibleDay 1: the Taixingyan visitor centre → lunch → picking and making tea → watching the forest train from Jiangantai → the Longshen rest area → aquatic fireflies at the Ruixing Lovers’ Bridge → dinner → tea. Day 2, choose one: the Ruitai trail and the three-tier Yuntan falls; or the Alishan forest train from Liyuanliao and Jiaoliping to Shusheliao, plus the bat cave; or the Cukeng nature area and the gorgeAquatic fireflies glow in the stream during their larval stage — not the ones you see flying over grass.
- Two days at Ruifeng: sunrise and the charcoal trailTwo days possibleDay 1: tea on arrival → choose one of the bamboo trail with the Yuntan falls, the Xinxingliao old trail with Wild Ginger Stream, or the Chailong old trail and Shenxianju → a local dinner → fireflies and stars → tea. Day 2: sunrise on Haishu mountain → choose one of the Ruitai trail, the Wufengshan trail, the green tunnel, or the charcoal trail with its ten suspension bridges → lunch → making aiyu jellyHaishu mountain sits where Nantou, Yunlin and Chiayi meet — the high point for Alishan sunrise and the tea gardens below.
- Two days at Taihe: tea study and natureTwo days possibleDay 1: meet at Zhangshuhu → the Huashi stream fish reserve → a country lunch → learning about high-mountain tea and tea practice → a night under the stars. Day 2: blossom on the Meiling old trail → the Qingshui stream nature area → Huanglong cave → the thousand-year bishopwood → the green tunnel → the rural heritage museum → lunch → making aiyu → the Longzaiwei forest trail → Fenqihu old streetFenqihu is a stop on the forest railway, and its lunchboxes are the thing to eat.
- Zhuqi and Alishan, two to three daysTwo days possibleChiayi → the Tianchang Diju bridges at Chukou → the Danayigu fish conservation park at Shanmei → overnight at Shizhuo → sunrise and cloud at Dinghu → the Datongshan national trail → Fenqihu old street → back to Chiayi. The longer version adds Dabang, Tefuye, Lijia, Laiji and Fengshan, or turns off towards Caoling or Ruifeng and RuiliDanayigu is a stream the Tsou restored themselves, one of the earliest community conservation efforts in Taiwan.
- Into the Tsou villagesTwo days possibleThe Alishan highway → Danayigu → lunch in the fields → the village of Cayamavana, known as Chashan: the *hufu* meeting huts, aiyu, leaf weaving, old games → dinner → a night in a wooden cabin → a campfire or a night walk for shrimp and fireflies. Day 2: a hunter’s breakfast → the Tsou hunting ground → the great rock wall at Chashan → the Cayamavana suspension bridge → lunchA village is somewhere people live, not an attraction. Go with a local guide, and ask before you photograph anyone.
Sights and trails
A national trail through moso bamboo, past the Couple Trees, Forget-Sorrow Wood, the giant camphor, the Seven-Step Echo Valley, Moyoukeng and Hero Slope, with Jade Mountain’s main peak in view on a clear day.
About 1,350 m along the Zhukeng stream through bamboo and old forest, crossing ten suspension bridges no two of which are alike, with boardwalks, falls and plunge pools.
Up the Kezilin stream,青stones scattered along the bank. The ginger lilies flower July to September and the whole path smells of them.
Honeycombed rock faces and a cliff that juts like an eaves — water working on sandstone over a very long time.
Themed on martial-arts fiction. Firefly ecology and specimens upstairs, and a third-floor deck looking across the Alishan range.
Things you can do yourself
Most guesthouses around Taixing, Ruifeng and Taihe grow their own and can arrange picking and processing. Book ahead; spring and winter are easiest.
Rub aiyu seeds in water to release the pectin and it sets on standing. Hands must be clean and free of oil or it will not set. The most common hands-on activity up here.