TEA, TRAINS, TREES AND TEA: SUNRISE IN ALISHAN NATIONAL PARK
- higgsfiona
- Nov 28, 2015
- 1 min read
Back in August I was fortunate to be host to my Aunt who was visiting Taiwan for the birth of her fourth grandchild. During her visit we went on a little trip to the infamous and beautiful Alishan National Scenic Park in search of cooler temperatures. August was hot, but the altitude of the mountains meant that we were able to enjoy some respite from the peak summer temps in Taoyuan. Oh, and there was a sensational sunrise, and equally sensational and noteworthy in Alishan is the tea.
Our hotel was a charming Swiss chalet style house (The Seasonstar) balanced halway up a mountain overlooking another flat-topped mountain (the owner called this elephant mountain). The view from the dining room was spectaular, even despite the commonly misty weather during the daytime. We were treated to homemade meas prepared using the hotel-owner's organic tea, which was grown and prepared in the area.
Our sunrise experience started at around 2 am in the morning with a taxi ride to the first stop on the Alishan Forest Railway. We lined up in the dark among the crowds, wrapped up in uncharacteristicly warm clothing and waited to board a train. We made it up the mountain just in time to see the orange sunlight seeping up into the dark blue of the night sky over the tops of the mountain ranges. The viewpoint looks East so that the silouette of Jade Mountain (or Yushan mountain) is imposed infront of the rising sun. It was breath-taking!
I posted a video on youtube of view from the lookout at sunrise - to check it out click here.
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