Why Taiwan ?

This was a pilgrimage ! The small subtropical island is a titan of bicycle production, and home to the world's biggest cycle manufacturer (Giant).

We were keen to tackle Taiwan Cycling Route No 1: a waymarked 968km loop around the whole island. 

Above: Charlie smashing his "cycling proficiency" at Sun Moon Lake, panniers and all !! 👏

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Cycling Taiwan: Our Route

Part 1: From Taoyuan Airport in the north, we headed down Taiwan's east coast on Cycling Route No.1. 

Part 2: To complete the loop, we skirted inland to avoid most of the west coast's urban areas, and to tour Sun-Moon Lake.

Total miles pedalled in Taiwan: 1170.

Cycling Taiwan:

The Journey

From the little we'd read about Cycling Route Number 1: we gathered the east coast was less industrialised. So we headed that way.

It was a surprise to still find ourselves mostly on busy urban roads, albeit interspersed by short stretches on cycle paths away from the traffic.

Above: A dedicated bike path on Cycling Route No.1, alongside the main highway - but many other sections were on busy roads (below).

The January weather was chillier and wetter than we'd expected, especially in the north.

We soon decided against diverting into Taiwan's spectacular central Alps, as we had neither the cold weather gear nor the legs for it.

Above: Nice weather for ducks !! 🐥

Exploring off Cycling Route No.1 was usually a good move. Early examples were Heping Island Geopark and Jiufen Old Street.

Above: Heping Island Geopark, a scenic must-visit for its unusual rock formations.

Below: We ate our way along bustling Jiufen Old Street, after the steep climb up there.

Approaching Xiulin in the south of Yilan County, we faced a series of busy tunnels. There was no safe space for cyclists (below). 

The fellow touring cyclist we met on this dangerous section was so frazzled that she ended up taking a train instead.

Above: "Bum-twitching" overtakes in the tunnels near Xiulin.

And yet, we'd been treated to a dream tunnel experience just north of Yilan County !

Old Caoling Tunnel (below) was a 2km traffic-free delight for the senses, not to be missed.

Below: A psychedelic moment for Charlie in Old Caoling Tunnel.

The coastal views were spectacular along east Taiwan, where jagged green mountains meet a turquoise sea.

Above - A roadside viewing point in Yilan County.

Characterful local fishing harbours were tucked away all around the coast (above & below).

Taiwan sees a LOT of seismic activity, being located on a boundary of the Eurasian and Phillipine tectonic plates.

The biggest earthquake we experienced was in Hualien, where we were woken up because our hotel room was shaking vigorously. The emergency siren went off, as we watched the lampposts swaying in the street below. 

It was a magnitude 6 earthquake, which lasted for about 15 scary seconds.

Above: Earthquake alerts appeared via our Taiwanese SIM cards.

Below: This unique old bridge in Yuli spans tectonic plates. When its Eurasian section was forced ~2 metres downwards following a plate collision, it was rebuilt to incorporate a ramp !

Continuing south from Hualien: we headed inland over the Seaboard Mountain Range (towards Guangfu), searching out quieter routes using Google Maps.

We weren't disappointed. It was peaceful and scenic riding through Danongdafu Forest Park (above), Ruisi Township Cycle Path, and the paddy fields around Chisang.

Below: A drone spraying rice crops near Chisang.

We skirted Dulan Forest on Highway 197, a beautiful quiet track. It got increasingly rough.

Trusting in the Google Maps bike route, we jumped the roadblock at 26km (below) ....

..... which was in place because of an impassable landslide further along !

We guessed this was a result of the major earthquake in April 2024, which had also kept Taroko Gorge closed to us.

Charlie was itching to carry the bikes & bags over the landslide, so we climbed it to survey the road beyond.

It looked like a disaster movie - just short sections of mangled tarmac, punctuated by deep crevasses. No way through !

The view of Highway 197 from the top of this landslip (above) was one of utter destruction, as seen below:

Rural Taiwan is dotted with mountains, forests, temples, natural hot springs, small-scale farming, old graveyards and aboriginal villages which all make for interesting touring. 

AMAZING fact: Taiwan's indigenous people are thought to have colonised many other Pacific islands, reaching as far as New Zealand !

Above: Aboriginal tableau in a remote mountain village on Highway 200, within Kenting National Park

Nearing Taiwan's southern tip, we rejoined the coastal highway.

Surfy South Bay was a relaxing stopover (the ocean was even warm enough for a swim!), before heading up the island's west side.

Above: The Dragon and Tiger Pagodas at Kaohsiung's Lotus Park Scenic Area. Entry and exit is via their mouths !

In the major southwestern city of Kaohsiung we were back onto urban roads, swarming with noisy mopeds, trucks and their fumes.

We resolved to steer clear of the urban west coast, finding quieter inland routes instead.

Single-lane tarmac through the jungle (above), with steep climbs and switchbacks, led us to Caoshan Badlands (below).

Above: The strange moonscape of Caoshan (with Charlie at the end of the track, for scale)

Below: Continung north on scenic rural highways, a lookout over Nantou Reservoir

"Good Old Google Maps" gave us a glitchy bike route to Yuchi - our affordable base for touring Sun Moon Lake.

Early on: there was a "tunnel of death" just before Xiangbishan Observation Deck (good decision to bear left off Chanyeyushu Blvd instead).

Later: one heck of a detour. A super-tough mountain trail eventually led us to a complete dead-end in the jungle. It would only have been 1km further to reach the highway we needed, but: no way through !

A race against the clock ensued. Darkness was falling as we reached the hotel, full of lactic acid.

Above: Grinding towards Yuchi, oblivious to the dead end ahead.

The magnificent Wen Wu Temple was a particular highlight of the Sun Moon Lake loop.

Well worth taking the long staircase.

Above: The view over Sun Moon Lake from Wen Wu Temple.

The Sun Moon Lake loop had some dedicated bike paths, but a lot of it was on-road. It actually diverted well away from the lake for a few kilometres.

Below: Looping Sun Moon Lake anticlockwise, THIS tunnel is the turn-off to return to the lakeside from the road section - easy to miss!

The 921 Earthquake Museum in Taichung City was an impactful must-visit, complete with an earthquake simulation experience. Highly recommended.

Above: A collapsed 3-storey school building (pictured"before" in the foreground), preserved on the site of the 921 Earthquake Museum.

Heading back into the mountains, east of Taichung: we took a day out to hike Mount Tang Madan trail.

This was a serious 6-hour rope scramble (below), resulting in jelly legs for a few days after. A proper challenge !

Below: A scenic coffee stop on the Tang Madan trail. Charlie experienced another waterfall when an overhead monkey sprayed him with urine ! 🙊

The pedal from Sanyi to Tongluo was another good challenge, starting with a big scenic climb up Highway 130 around Guandao Mountain.

The bikeway past Dahu's strawberry fields was a nice respite.

The last few km on Youngfu Agricultural Road became a very rough track, with some "pedal or push" sections. Thankfully no dead end this time !

Above: At the top of the Guandao climb, the view and the hot food were equally glorious !

Below: Strawberry farms in Dahu 

Taiwan is a foodie's paradise.

Good food is valued highly there. It was fresh, varied, cheap (apart from the pricey but delicious fresh fruit), flavoursome, and sometimes challenging (especially for a vegetarian) !

Every city had a VAST array of eateries, as well as a vibrant "night market" packed with street food vendors and hungry customers.

Yum !!

Above: The sumptuous breakfast at Mr.Fang's B&B included home-grown guava, and a delicious mystery topping later identified as "pork floss" 🐷

Above: The amazing variety, and crowds, at the night markets could be overwhelming.

Below: Charlie was partial to a chicken heart skewer, but wasn't tempted by the "chicken butts" or chicken feet that were also on sale ...

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Above: Noodle broths, full of garden-fresh veg, became a brunch favourite  ....

.... pungent stinky tofu, which arrived swimming with rare liver chunks in a pig blood soup (below): not so much !! 

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Above: Taiwan's food takes influence from Chinese and Japanese cuisine. At this tiny teppanyaki restaurant, our table was right in front of the chef.

Below: Squid and pork sausages were expertly barbecued to order at this quiet fishing harbour.

Below: There was no shortage of quirky snacks in Taiwan !

Budget accommodation in Taiwan was a mixed bag. Agoda and Booking.com were our mainstays.

"Homestays" (=what we would call guest houses) and basic hotels cost between £25 and £50 per night, sometimes including a breakfast. 

Beds tended to be firm - sometimes the presence of a mattress was questioned ! Most bathrooms were Asian-style wet rooms, so flipflops / crocs came in handy.

Above & below: "love hotels" were great value with their spacious rooms, jacuzzi baths and private ground-floor garages (ideal for easy bike storage).

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Below: This poky hostel room cost about the same as the love hotels. Note the tiny bathroom squeezed into the corner !

Below: A typical urban "homestay" building. Most places let us store the bikes somewhere inside.

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Above & below: The hospitable farmer at this rural homestay showed us his antiques collection, after brewing us home-grown ginger tea.

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Taiwan - Ups and Downs !

In short, Taiwan was a terrific touring destination: scenic, varied, exotic, safe, affordable, interesting and tasty ! 

* RURAL ROADS: diverting off Cycling Route No.1 is a must. There are plenty of quiet, smooth rural roads. And so much to see !

Above: "The Eternal Adventurer": a quirky surprise in the rural backwaters.

* CONVENIENCE STORES (7-11, also FamilyMart) are an incredible resource for touring cyclists in Taiwan:

clean loos, hot drinks, lovely staff, ATMs, quality ready-meals and in-store microwaves, indoor seating, good snacks, toiletries, hot food ovens, cold beer.... we visited them EVERY DAY.

Often more than once  !!

Above: Molly could spot a 7-11 from miles away. Especially when hungry.

* TAIWANESE PEOPLE were reserved but friendly, kind and polite. Very little English was spoken outside the main cities, no matter - Google Translate and a smile got us there.

Everywhere felt safe and we were never ripped off, in fact quite the opposite....

Below: Always a smile from locals, whatever form of transport is used 😊

.... One fateful day, Molly left the wallet behind at a 7-11 store 🤦‍♀️. We only realised this after reaching our hotel that evening, and finding ourselves unable to pay 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️ 

The kind hotel owner in Fangliao offered us food and said we could stay for free💞

Still, it was a stressful 20km sprint pedal back to the 7-11, where our wallet was being kept safe by the staff - complete with all credit cards and a wedge of cash. They even refused to take a tip. AMAZING !!💗

Above: Lovely Addie Li befriended us in Keelung, giving us an impromptu tour and our first taste of bubble tea. She even helped us to organise bike boxes at the end of our trip💞

🤦‍♂️ URBAN ROADS in Taiwan were very busy with LOTS of noise, fumes and weaving mopeds. Vehicles often passed too close for comfort !

Still, there were saving graces: most drivers had good bike awareness; there was often a marked inside lane for two-wheelers; and everything flowed, with zero aggression.

Above: Cycling through a maze of 'scooter shoppers' is a treat for the senses and a good test of your balance and reactions!! 

Below: The deep drains made an edgy drop-off on many roads, especially when traffic overtook close (as we cycled Taiwan in a clockwise direction, these drains were often on our side of the road 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️).

🤦‍♀️ WEATHER-wise: Jan/Feb probably wasn't the best time to pedal Taiwan.

We endured a fair bit of cold wet weather, heightened by Taiwan's high humidity and the lack of heating in some rooms. At times, EVERYTHING felt damp !

Although there were also some lovely blue-sky days, and we did catch the start of the cherry blossom season (below).

🤦‍♂️ CHINESE LUNAR NEW YEAR (which fell mid-trip for us, in late January) is also best avoided.

Although it sounds exciting, there was nothing much to see - it's very much a family affair in Taiwan. Just a massive hike in accommodation prices for the week !

🤦‍♀️ DOGS were roaming EVERYWHERE in Taiwan.

They were commendably docile in the urban areas, but we  had a few nasty barks/chases on rural roads.

SLOWING right down (so nothing to chase after),

SHOUTING back at the b*****s (usually scaring ourselves most of all!),

and SHOOTING (from Molly's trusty water pistol),

usually did the trick.

Above: "Look out, cyclist-chasing dog ! My shark friend will eat you alive!!" (I wish!) - Taiwanese humour at its best! 🚴

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Cycling Taiwan:

Practical Pointers

* Google Maps Bike usually worked great, but dead-ends came up now and again on the remote tracks (the fix being to switch to a "two-wheeler" or "car" route instead).

Above: Google Maps bike routes were usually spot-on ....

* Do carry some cash: many rural accommodations, and even Px Mart supermarket, did not accept Visa !

* Domestic tourism is BIG in Taiwan: at weekends, out-of-town places got busier and hotel prices went up.

We noticed a huge difference around Sun Moon Lake between Sunday and Monday.

* Taiwan's Met Office website (www.cwa.gov.tw) was excellent, not just for weather forecasts but also "cold surge", dense fog and wind warnings.

Molly's guilty pleasure: geeking out on their earthquake data🤓