My Alishan Adventure: Mianyue Trail, Forests & Auntie Wisdom
Last year during Thanksgiving, I returned to Taiwan for round two of my love affair with this incredible island. After conquering the east coast on my previous trip, we decided to venture west this time. Our itinerary included 3 enchanting days in the Alishan/Chiayi area, 2 days savoring Tainan’s culinary treasures, 3 days learning freediving in Hengchun, and 2 final days unwinding in Taipei. The perfect balance of mountain mystique, cultural immersion, and pure adventure. This post dives deep into our magical Alishan experience – complete with forest walks, abandoned railway adventures (Mianyue trail), and enough Taiwanese auntie encounters to warm your heart for years.
Itinerary Snapshot
- Day 1: Hired car to Alishan; 2-hour Shizhuo trail (石棹步道) hike; lunch in Fenqihu (奮起湖); Giant Tree Cluster Trail (巨木群步道); sunset viewing
- Day 2: Mianyue Trail (眠月線) adventure; snack at Alishan Station; sunset round two
- Day 3: Alishan sunrise experience; scenic train ride back down
Day 1: The Perfect Mountain Date (With Professional Driver Included)
High-Speed Train Magic
My red-eye from SF touched down around 5am. After navigating from Taoyuan Airport to the High Speed Train station, I reunited with my partner for the 90-minute bullet train journey to Chiayi (嘉義). Taiwan’s railway system continues to impress – it’s Japan-level efficient with that signature Taiwanese warmth.
My partner (being the smart Taiwanese local she is) had pre-booked a driver through a ride-sharing app. This turned out to be one of our best decisions.
Our Driver: The Unsung Hero
I’ll be honest – hired drivers usually stress me out. But this experience completely changed my perspective. Our driver was professional, friendly, and genuinely helpful. Since we had him for the entire day, we collaboratively planned our route during the scenic drive up. We settled on two essential stops: Shizhuo Trail (which had incredible online reviews) and Fenqihu for lunch. He even shared local intel – like how another nearby town had an amazing restaurant that was unfortunately closed on Tuesdays.
Shizhuo Trail: Tea Fields and Forest Magic
Shizhuo Trail isn’t on most tourists’ radar, so we had to guide our driver to the trailhead. (I’ll include exact GPS coordinates in my detailed itinerary guide!)
The trail immediately led us through working tea fields. As someone who’d never seen tea cultivation up close, I was genuinely surprised by how thick and substantial the fresh leaves were, and how tall the tea trees grew. It’s fascinating compared to the delicate dried leaves we’re used to seeing.
Beyond the tea fields, the trail transformed into proper forest hiking. The network includes several smaller trails – Tea Trail, Cloud Trail, Mist Trail, and Sakura Trail – all well-maintained and ranging from easy to moderate difficulty. We underestimated our photo-taking enthusiasm and had to hustle through the final section to meet our 2-hour commitment to our driver. But even rushing through, the bamboo and cedar forest was absolutely gorgeous. As a certified tree lover, hiking through that canopy gave me pure joy.
Fenqihu: Millet Donuts and Train Nostalgia
Fenqihu was just a short, increasingly foggy drive away. Our driver briefed us on the famous millet donut shop (小米甜甜圈) and other local highlights before dropping us off. The donut shop sits right at the town entrance, already sporting an impressive queue.
Here’s where our driver went above and beyond: he offered to wait in line for donuts (he wanted some for his son anyway) while we explored the town. This kind of thoughtfulness made our day so much smoother.
Fenqihu is essentially one charming main alley. Even with my notoriously terrible sense of direction (though I’m excellent at reading maps!), navigation was effortless. We found the most popular area – busy but not overwhelming like Jiufen – and settled into a local bento shop. Just as we finished lunch, our driver appeared with our millet donuts. Perfect timing for dessert!
These mini donuts were perfectly Asian-bakery sweet (just a hint) and beautifully crafted. If the line hadn’t been so long, I would’ve bought a dozen more.
Post-lunch wandering led us to an incredibly photogenic spot: an old house ice cream shop with a retired train car inside. We spent considerable time posing with the railway and vintage train – the aesthetic was too good to pass up.
Hotel Check-in: Shuttle Rides and Auntie Wisdom
The drive continued getting foggier as we climbed higher. By the time we reached the drop-off point, the temperature had dropped noticeably, requiring extra layers.
Since our car couldn’t access the final destination, we bid farewell to our amazing driver and joined the hotel shuttle queue. While waiting, we struck up conversation with a delightful couple around my parents’ age. Taiwanese aunties are universally funny and warm. This particular auntie asked about our sunrise train reservations, then strongly recommended switching to the bus service instead – apparently the train takes forever. We decided to trust local wisdom, canceled our train tickets, and rebooked the bus through our hotel.
The shuttle ride was brief (maybe 5 minutes) – totally walkable if we hadn’t been hauling luggage. Alishan Hotel‘s location proved unbeatable, situated right inside the park.
Giant Tree Cluster Trail: Evening Forest Therapy
After settling in around 4pm, we immediately headed to the Giant Tree Cluster Trail. With the trailhead literally next to our hotel, the location couldn’t be more convenient. The trail is immaculately maintained and, as advertised, features numerous giant trees. It’s a relaxing walk (though still plenty of stairs) that loops back to the hotel perfectly timed for sunset.
The hotel’s half-board rate includes dinner and breakfast with incredible variety – Taiwanese, Western, and fusion options. There’s even a station where aunties serve fresh soup noodles. I mentioned loving bean sprouts to one auntie, and she loaded my bowl with extra sprouts every subsequent visit.
We reunited with our shuttle-queue auntie at dinner. Learning about our next day’s Mianyue Trail plans, she kept emphasizing caution. Taiwanese aunties radiate such genuine warmth – I wish I’d gotten her contact info so we could’ve updated her on our safe return.
Our hotel room was spacious and clean, perfect for recovery after my SF-to-Taiwan marathon travel day. The hotel’s rooftop viewing area offered stunning sunset views through the fog.
Day 2: Mianyue Trail – Abandoned Railway Adventure
Distance Decoded
Mianyue Trail information online is confusingly inconsistent. I found distance estimates ranging from 5-8km one way. Reality: there’s no official trailhead. Staying inside Alishan, your starting point is typically your hotel. Staying outside the area, most people take the Alishan train to Chaoping Station (沼平) and begin there. From Chaoping, it’s roughly 10 miles round trip. We walked an additional half-mile to reach Chaoping, making our total about 11 miles.
The Journey Begins
We planned for 6 hours and started early after another incredible breakfast (seriously hard to stop eating there). After a bathroom stop at Chaoping Station, we followed signage and double-checked our offline map, turning slightly left. There’s a Sister Ponds detour (we skipped it, but heard it’s beautiful) before the mountain climbing begins.
Here’s a key tip: you don’t actually need to climb much. Mianyue Trail follows an abandoned railway, and once you spot those rusted rails, following them is the easiest (and flattest) route. We didn’t realize this initially and stuck closely to the marked trail, which added mountain variety and made for a fun upward walk without being too strenuous.
After roughly an hour, we reached the railway. GPS became unnecessary from this point forward.
Why This Railway Is Pure Magic
The abandoned railway was originally built for transporting logs from Alishan Mountain, threading through dense forest. This creates an absolutely enchanted atmosphere, especially enhanced by fog. We took constant photo breaks because every angle was spectacular.
Don’t worry about boredom – this trail is anything but monotonous. You’ll navigate through caves (headlamp recommended, though phone flashlight works), step over collapsed sections (the reason operations ceased), enjoy valley viewpoints, and cross suspended sections. Every segment offers prime photo opportunities.
There’s one particularly challenging collapse requiring careful climbing down and back up. We watched a strong woman in her 60s navigate it smoothly (though she’d summited many of Taiwan’s 100 peaks, so perhaps not the average hiker experience).
Pacing and Logistics
During suspended sections, only single-file hiking is possible. You can’t pass other groups or have bidirectional traffic simultaneously, which could slow progress if you’re following a slower group.
Stone Monkey station/lookout marks the trail’s end, where most hikers stop for lunch. While we brought typical American trail snacks, we were definitely envious watching Taiwanese aunties cook instant noodles.
Bathroom situation: Chaoping Station at the start, one clean facility mid-trail, and reportedly less-clean options at the stone monkey station.
Permit requirements: The first half doesn’t require permits, but the full trail needs advance online registration. We encountered two permit checkers. The second half is absolutely worth the permit hassle for the complete experience.
We moved quickly on the return journey, reaching Chaoping Station by 2pm without feeling particularly tired.
Alishan Station Interlude
After resting briefly, we shuttled to Alishan Station for snacks and tea. The local tea was, predictably, outstanding. We couldn’t resist another sunset viewing – even more impressive than the previous night.
Day 3: Sunrise and Railway Romance
Pre-Dawn Adventure
We’d pre-booked the bus to Zhushan for sunrise viewing. The bus arrived punctually in complete darkness, climbing to Zhushan Train Station (祝山車站) – the highest point on Taiwan’s railway network at 2451m. Breakfast vendors were already serving. The chilly morning made tea-flavored eggs perfect hand-warmers. We grabbed hot drinks and asked a vendor auntie for optimal sunrise viewing directions: keep climbing to Xiaoliyuan Shan Lookout (小笠原觀景台).
The well-maintained asphalt road made for easy walking. Within 5 minutes, we encountered a Taiwanese uncle setting up photography equipment. When asked about locations, he suggested continuing upward: “I come here daily and just wanted to try a different angle today.”
Another 5 minutes brought us to a platform with minimal crowds. The sky was lightening, allowing for photos. We initially felt confident about the sunrise direction, then second-guessed ourselves and shifted positions.
Sunrise Reality Check
Alishan is famous for sunrise views through clouds, but we had completely clear skies. When the sun finally rose, it was… honestly, a bit anticlimactic.
We chatted with a group of seasoned Taiwanese aunties who’d visited Alishan multiple times over their years of friendship. They recommended a breakfast spot and suggested a beautiful trail detour on our return to the hotel.
We skipped additional breakfast but spotted two Mikado pheasants near Tea No.35 during our walk.
We also skipped the trail detour (couldn’t locate the trailhead easily) since we needed to catch our train, but the return walk was delightful.
Alishan Forest Railway: Engineering Marvel
We’d booked train tickets weeks in advance when they first became available. To avoid missing our ride (limited daily departures), we checked out early and arrived with time to spare. While my partner grabbed 7-Eleven lunch supplies, another group of Taiwanese aunties discovered I was experiencing Alishan for the first time and hadn’t tried Fenqihu green sticky rice balls. One auntie insisted on sharing two with me. When my partner returned, she was amazed by yet another random auntie encounter.
The train ride took longer than driving but featured fascinating engineering solutions for steep terrain. Multilingual announcements (Chinese, Japanese, English) provided historical context for each station, including naming origins and local stories.
Pro tip: Layer up significantly – the train’s air conditioning is intense.
Journey’s End in Chiayi
Arriving back in Chiayi, we grabbed dinner before continuing to Tainan. Our Alishan adventure was officially a success.
For detailed itinerary planning including exact GPS coordinates, booking links, and day-by-day logistics, check out my comprehensive 3-day Alishan guide in my next post.
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