SUN MOON LAKE 日月潭
Nantou County
08-10.09.2018
located in de mountains of Nantou at de geographic centre of Taiwan, Sun Moon Lake is regarded as Taiwan’s largest natural lake. de east of de lake is round resembles a sun, while de west is long and narrow resembles a crescent moon, hence de name. on de first day when we arrived at Sun Moon Lake, rain welcomed us.
TRANSPORT
Taipei HSR Station - Taichung HSR Station - Nantou Bus - Sun Moon Lake
setting out from Taipei HSR Station.
from Taipei HSR Station to Taichung HSR Station, travel time was approximately 1 hour. there were some benefits to taking business class, including decent legroom (2-2 seater), reclining seats, daily newspapers, moist towels and a bottled water. complimentary drinks and snacks would also be served.
from Taichung HSR Station (Platform 10 Exit 6), transfer via bus to Sun Moon Lake was approximately 1.5 hours.
instead of purchasing just bus tickets, we recommend to get a Sun Moon Lake Pass (you can purchase de pass at Taichung HSR Station). there are a few discount passes to many Sun Moon Lake attractions, including ticket for Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village, Ropeway, boat ride and bike rental vouchers. this saves de hassle to buy a ticket every time but also money (and more money) if you manage to squeeze in all activities into your schedule.
ACCOMMODATION
before we started traveling I was quite worried with de mixed reviews for Sun Moon Lake. some said de lake itself was beautiful, but some said de hotels and things to do in Sun Moon Lake were poorly developed (or there weren't much to do). to take it easy and relax, we decided to spend a lil more on accommodation to secure a positive experience.
we spent two nights at Sun Moon Inn, which did not disappoint. we loved de tasteful room design and de warm hospitality provided by de hosts. individual breakfast was provided everyday (and varied) with fresh local vegetables, fruits and tea (some home-grown). not only delicious, but also healthy and beautifully plated. surprised to see vegetable fern ("Guo Mao" 過貓), which we called "paku", was commonly served in Taiwan. here, Taiwanese either stir-fry or marinate it for cold appetizer. I like it when de fern was served by our hosts as a cold appetizer, and this kept de fern crisp and not slimy. if there was one thing I need to pick on Sun Moon Inn, perhaps was de lacking of a more perfect morning brew?
Sun Moon Inn 日月潭山慕民宿
Deluxe Double Room with Balcony
MYR550++ per night
breakfast inclusive; free wifi
ACTIVITIES
#1 Boat Ride
boats ferry between three piers – Shueishe, Xuanguang, and Ita Thao. most people will be arriving at Shueishe so de journey starts and ends there. there are different companies running boats, so make sure you get in de correct line. with de stamp on hand, boat rides on participation date were unlimited.
Xuanguang Pier 玄光碼頭
de boat took us to Xuanguang Pier from Shueishe Pier. nothing much to see and do here so there wasn't a need to budget much time at Xuanguang Pier. there were paths, temple and a famous stall selling herbal tea egg de only edible stuff.
from Xuanguang Temple, we took de Qinglong Mountain Trail and began our "pilgrim path" ascending to Xuanzang Temple. it was quite a long walk in de rain (it started pouring after a while) and no one seemed to attempt de walk except us. on reaching Xuanzang Temple, we didn't continue our way to Ci En Pagoda and reverted back because of bad weather. with only less than a day allocated to Sun Moon Lake for this trip, we didn't explore Ita Thao (and Ropeway) due to time and weather constraints.
Lalu Island 拉魯島
de boat passed through de middle of de lake and arrived at Lalu Island. this little island once separated de lake into a crescent moon and round sun used to be much bigger with people living in de island. under Japanese rule in de 1930s, they started to build a dam and finally flooding de area. it was mostly submerged nowadays.
view of Ci En Pagoda from our boat ride.
honestly, I felt de boat ride could be more interesting. I think de Chinese-speaking commentator explained in details de point of interests but I wasn't paying attention partly due to de poor sound quality. for those who don't understand de language, you should just enjoy de view.
#2 Maolanshan Trail 猫囒山步道
on de next day, we began our short trail hiking on Maolanshan at 430am in order to catch de best sunrise view in all of Sun Moon Lake according to our hosts. de 2 km trail looked easy at daylight but doing it when it was still dark was quite challenging. it took about 40 minutes for us to hike to de summit but too bad it just wasn't our day.
everything is luminous at sunrise but just... not clear.
de sun was hidden by a thick blanket of clouds and fog.
red leaves scattered along de path from Ceylon olive trees.
I've only remembered to take a picture of these red leaves when we almost reached de ground. you will find a more beautiful red leaves path near upper hill.
#3 Cycling
de bike path surrounding area of Sun Moon Lake is regarded as one of de most breathtaking cycling routes in de world. choosing to squeeze in cycling (and when it wasn't raining) into our schedule was an excellent decision. worry not as de bike path was designed with impressive infrastructure that made it easy for inexperienced cyclists like me. do not miss this amazing experience to bike around de lake perimeter! however, if you come during busy seasons you might need to worry about de place being overly crowded.
#4 Catch a festival (September - October - November)
a 180-second fireworks display for 2018 Taiwan Tribal Tourism Carnival at Xiangshan Visitor Center on de night of September 8.
de event offered a free shuttle service departed from Shuishe and arrived at Xiangshan. only then I did a quick search and read about de annual event series of “Sun Moon Lake International Fireworks-Music and Come! Bikeday Festival” that takes place in autumn every year. this event holds a series of activities combining a number of themes, including culture, tourism, art, sports, and leisure and has become part of tourist attractions in Sun Moon Lake.
FOOD
I bet you might have already heard of Taiwanese aborigines, and "Thao" (邵族) are a small ethnic group who have lived near Sun Moon Lake. stepping into Sun Moon Lake would definitely trigger our food interests in Thao cuisines.
Sun Moon Lake Xin Shan Wei Restaurant 日月潭新山味邵族風味餐廳
this place served from general Taiwanese to local Thao cuisines. it was easy to locate de restaurant from de main road as it was just nearby our place.
(from top left and clockwise)
i. Lingzhi tonic soup 靈芝養生湯
ii. Thao's roasted meat 邵族碳烤肉 ---recommended
iii. Vegetable fern 過貓
iv. Braised bamboo shoots 油悶玉筍 ---recommended
de signature Thao's roasted meat was a salted meat pickled using some traditional spices and salt, presenting de specialty for Thao’s flavour. much similar to waxed meat but de texture was softer and less salty. de taste of fresh and fragrant scent of natural bamboo shoots would probably erase your painful memories on those smelly bamboo shoots.
if time (and money) permits, I definitely want to redo this trip with him again (=
to read more on our Taiwan travel (Taipei/Taicung), visit Taiwan (Taipei/Taichung 6D5N): Qingjing Farm
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