The daylily hill at Taimali, where you drink tea looking at the Pacific. On a clear day the ridge shows you Green Island and Orchid Island. Cherry blossom in winter, fireflies in summer, hot springs at the foot of the hill.
Itineraries3
Jinzhenshan, day route ADay tripVisitor centre → the Sanhe coast → the Millennium Dawn park → an indigenous workshop → the Sunrise garden → the Jinzhenshan farmThe Millennium Dawn park is one of the places where Taiwan’s main island saw the first sunrise of 2000.
Two days: sunrise and hot springsTwo days possibleDay 1: the day route, then a night up here with a tea dinner. Day 2: sunrise and cloud on Jinzhenshan → the Duli mountain walk → the Jinlun hot springsThe firefly path at Qingshan farm runs about 300 m; the ridge trail is around 2 km with pavilions and lookouts.
Luye Gaotai: tea gardens under the balloonsDay tripLuye → the Gaotai plateau at Yong’an → tea gardens and the grass slope → the deck over the rift valley → tasting Fulu tea at a tea house → the Ercengping water bridge → backGaotai is where the balloon festival happens — balloons in summer, and the rest of the year a grass slope with tea gardens on it. Fulu tea comes in early: its spring crop runs more than twenty days ahead of the west coast.
Sights and trails
The ridge trail and lookouts
About two kilometres with pavilions along it. Climb for the Pacific, and on a clear day Green Island and Orchid Island are both there.
The grass slope at Luye Gaotai
A long gentle slope facing the rift valley, and the launch point for paragliders. On days without balloons it is nearly empty — sit on the grass and the whole valley and the Central Range are in front of you.
Jinlun hot springs
Sodium bicarbonate springs at the foot of the hill — exactly what you want after the trail.
What is on, and when
August–SeptemberDaylily season, the same weeks as the valley.
January–MarchCherry blossom, and it opens earlier here than on the west coast.
April–JuneFireflies in the valley, on the Qingshan farm path.
From MarchSpring tea at Luye. Fulu tea runs more than twenty days ahead of the west coast — come here if you want the earliest spring crop there is.
June–AugustThe balloon festival at Luye Gaotai. Rooms and transport need booking a long way ahead in these weeks.
Eat, sleep, travel
EatTaifeng high-mountain tea with a daylily tea meal. Taimali is also roselle and sugar-apple country. Around Luye the tea houses serve food — Fulu tea with Chishang rice.
SleepLeisure farms and guesthouses above Taimali, hot-spring inns at Jinlun. More choice at Luye and in Taitung city. During the balloon festival the whole county fills up.
TravelTaimali: South Link railway or coach to Taimali station. Zhiben to Taimali is about fifteen minutes, Taitung city about twenty-five, and Taimali up to Jinzhenshan about thirty. Luye: Luye TRA station, about fifteen minutes from there to Gaotai; rent a scooter or take the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle’s rift-valley Luye line. Neither hill has a city bus — hire, rent or drive.
