Taiwan Attractions

I have to be honest, my expectations before travelling to Taiwan were pretty low.. Knew little or nothing about the country but Taipei and its iconic skyscraper the Taipei 101. Perhaps that’s why I LOVED IT?! Warm and polite people, clean streets and avenues, old and new monuments and the best of all.. FOOD and more delicious FOOD! Not convinced yet, don’t worry, I was there too, just sit and relax, the journey is just about to start! These are the best Taiwan attractions!

Shifen and Jiufen

With no doubt, both were the biggest (and pleasant) surprises of my visit. Didn’t ever think that just few hours far from the city we would be able to find such a unique and picturesque environment.

Starting with Shifen, in order to get to the waterfall we had to take a two hours bus from Muzha station. Once there, we moved pretty much by cab or walking since some of the places weren’t too distant from each other. Apart from the waterfall, Shifen is widely known thanks to its old street and the train rail; which on the contrary to what many people think, it is still being used! So better watch out while taking pictures and don’t forget that the train may come in any moment!

One of the most popular Taiwan attractions, flying a lantern is here too, in Shifen. For few dollars you can write your dream in one of the many colourful lanterns and wish that it will come true while the “balloon” is getting lost in the sky. The “package” include a local photographer so don’t worry, you can get your couple photo while holding the lantern 😉

After Shifen, we continued our trip to Jiufen. Jiufen is known for the narrow alleyways of its old town, packed with teahouses, street-food shacks and souvenir shops. The teahouse below these lines is one of the most requested places in the area. It is said that its similarity to Yubaba, the bath house from the Japanese anime “Spirited away”, is the reason behind why countless of tourists keep coming here. Whether this is true or not, Jiufen is said to have contributed much of the inspiration behind the depiction of the spirit world, with many scenes from the film apparently very similar to the town.

Yangmingshan National Park and the Elephant Mountain

Yes, I know I know, these two locations are far from being close to each other, but if you are into trekking and nature you must visit both.

Yangmingshan National Park is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan, located between Taipei and New Taipei City. To get there we took a bus from Jiantan station to Lengshuikeng. Beautiful landscapes such as ridges, valleys, lakes, waterfalls and basins are abundant which made it looks like if we were in Switzerland!

The Elephant mountain is with no doubt the place to go to get the BEST PICTURE of Taipei. Also known as the Nangang District Hiking Trail and Xiangshan, the hiking trail is located close to the Xinyi Shopping District and Taipei 101.

You can go at anytime but it is better to go early morning to catch the sunrise or later on to be able to see the city with light and the beautiful sunset. We went there around 10 in the morning and the view was stunning. The half an hour hike session and hundreds of stairs are definitely worth. To get to the landing area with facilities and the best view remember to take the left turn at the fork or you may end somewhere else!

TAIPEI 101

It wouldn’t be a post about Taiwan attractions without the most iconic building in the entire country, the Taipei 101. Formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, the building was officially classified as the world’s tallest from its opening in 2004 until the 2010 completion of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Its elevators, capable of 60.6 km/h (37.7 mph) to transport passengers from the 5th to 89th floor in 37 seconds, set new records. In 2011 Taipei 101 received a Platinum rating under the LEED certification system to become the tallest and largest green building in the world. The structure regularly appears as an icon of Taipei in international media, and its fireworks displays are a regular feature of New Year’s Eve broadcasts. [More info here]

However, everyone can go inside the 101, in fact we did, but not many people can take a photo in a rooftop besides the iconic construction. Those are the perks of having a friend living there, someone who is willing to let you inside her aunty’s condo just for you to enjoy the magnificent views!