3 RECOMMENDED SPOTS FOR A ONE-DAY TOUR AROUND SUN MOON LAKE (NANTOU,TAIWAN)

by JH - Monday, July 04, 2016

Sun Moon Lake ( SML)

Sun Moon Lake is a gorgeous and fun place I wished I had more time to explore when I was there last July. I had only a night's stay, but would strongly recommend 2 nights' stay to fully explore at your own leisure.
With so much to see, one day is too much of a hurry to enjoy really.

Air, Land And Water Travels

Travelling around the SML is easy with plenty of choices — air, land, water. You have it all. With the SML Nantou Pass, you can enjoy exclusive round-island bus ride, hop on and off on ferry and a round-trip on the cable car! Or even better, as the locals recommend, cycle round the island along those designated cycling pathways — which I missed — to take in the sights of the lovely lake 360 degrees.

You can simply rent a bicycle but from what I observed not everywhere has a cycle-way. You might still need to cycle on the main roads along certain parts of the journey.

Other Alternatives from Kkday a travel service provider from Taiwan:
(To maximise your time, hire a private driver in Sun Moon Lake)
( 1 Day guided Tour around Sun Moon Lake in English)
(Cycle around Sun Moon Lake )

Round-Island Bus

I missed the chance to hop on and off the bus but here's the schedule. Seriously, 2 nights might have been sufficient to visit all the other attractions. Unfortunately, I do not have time to try out this bus. Taking the round-island bus is great because it brings you to certain locations like Ci En Pagoda, Wenyu temple, for which ferries don't reach.

Board a Ferry

From what I understand, accommodations are spread across Shui She Pier 水社码头 or Ita Thao Pier 伊达召码头. As for me, I stayed in Shui She Pier. Before I could board the ferry I had my pass ferry coupon exchanged for one of the operator's ferry ticket. There are in fact many ferry operators so I guess whoever gets the coupons en-cash for money too.
With the buses, you have to note the timings, the ferries, however, come regularly and you only have to note the last ferry from your destination to whichever pier your accommodation is located. Just don't miss that!
Below is how the SML Nantou pass looks like.
(Get your 1 Day Ferry ticket with Kkday)

On the road towards Shui She Pier where you board the ferry.

Shui She Pier is just down the steps when you spot the signage.

And yes, it's a bustling sea of activities going on—what with the mass of China Chinese visitors.

Another symbolic stand stone bearing the name of the pier. Here, find your operator as per whatever ticket you are carrying. If you are clueless, just ask around~~

1. Xuan Guan Temple 玄光寺

It was a tight timeline and Xuan Guan Si was the first place to be. Clear bright skies at the Xuan Guan Pier.

Perched atop a mini hill (?), the temple is within walking distance—obviously—via some flights of steps. Can you see at the highest point? Partially covered by trees though.

Step It Up, Step It Up

Looks like a serene, peaceful place? Anything but. The place was fully overflowing with China visitors. The scenic was indeed tranquil. If you can stop by to appreciate the greens without being jutted out of the way by them.

I was foreseeing long flights up, but thankfully, it was quite manageable and elderly should do just fine too. In about 5-10 minutes, you should be able to reach the main hall of the temple.

Considered to be much faster than climbing up to Hong Kong's Big Buddha in Lantau Island.

The Temple

As mentioned, there were so many tourists and the China Chinese were all vying to take photos. Even ridiculously in front of the stone engraved with the temple's name.

I could not take a proper shot without someone flashing in front of me. They came in tour groups- huge and were "unbelievably" loud and I am sorry, really barbaric, pushing around and hogging every photo spots.

It's a mini temple, simple and well maintained with devotees praying, but the serenity and peaceful was missing.
The premises surrounding the temple was not huge.

I would have loved to stick around and appreciate the architecture and scenic longer if the crowd was not as intense — on taking photos!

From atop, you can spot this symbol of SML

To Try: Ah Ma's Tea-leaf Eggs

It's almost mandatory that anyone on the island must not leave without having these eggs. There is only 1 such stall there right near the pier. You will not miss it. The queue though long, was fast moving. 'Ah Ma' simply means Grandma and this stall is famous for their Grandma-recipe tealeaf boiled eggs.

Use the plastic bag to peel off the shell. However sadly, I don't think I tasted any sense fragrances or senses of mushroom or Assam tea leave. Perhaps the senses were faint but with the noisy crowd bustling, there was no quiet spot to appreciate.

So in all, pretty much an ordinary boiled braised egg.

So a selfie with the landmark before I leave. Too many people hogging the stones. Phew.

2. Ita Thao Pier

This pier is the most happening of all, with plenty of food snacks along the street. I would strongly recommend you to spend up to half a day or more.

This is also the pier to be if you want to catch the cable car up to the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village 九族文化村. It was raining cats and dogs when I was there and thus I was not able to take many photos but you can always trust the snack street if you are hungry. Plenty of food there and it's just a short walk to the pier. At this pier, there's also a Tourism Centre, help is available.

It was quite a walk to reach the cable car station so don't arrive too late for the ride. Budget about 15 mins.

Fill Up Your Stomach

《劉山哥石板烤肉》
This is the first store at the corner and there's a huge Jay Chou face pasted on the banners. They sell a variety of pork sausages, hotplate pork and the Red tea bamboo half spring chicken ( the last 2 respectively at NT100 each).
Closed on Weds and Thurs.10am–7pm.

《啊布莎梦安》

I apologise for not being able to capture the appearance of the store because it was really pouring and there were no shelters in the middle of the road. Even an umbrella cannot prevent the drench.

Basically, this stall sells barbeque meat sticks too and the mochi appearance is quite catching, to say the least.

The mochi were skillfully toasted by the bosses on the fire grill repeatedly till crisp and golden on the outside, before chopped up into blocks in a bag. You may then choose from a range of flavors from original, seaweed, curry, peanut etc.

Really tangy-chewy and not overly sweet when coated with the flavorings of your choice.

3. Formosan Aboriginal Village (FBV)

九族文化村

After alighting at Ita Thao Pier in the afternoon, I made a quick walk towards the cable car terminal located at the further end of the pier, for FBV which sadly closes very early in the evenings. FBV is an amusement theme park but not just fun rides, but is also a highly educational site whereby visitors can learn about the origins and lifestyles of Taiwan's nine aboriginal tribes and enjoy tribal, traditional performances.
Note: The cable car's operating hours are 1600 and 1630 on weekdays and weekends respectively. So you can imagine, it will be rushing unless you reach there early in the morning, which I strongly recommend you to do so. But because I had only planned for a day in Sun Moon Lake, I had to cramp all the visits unfortunately.

Upon alight at the pier, look out for this blue and white building and there you will spot the long line of skyline cable cars. Walk around the perimeter and look out for directional signs which will lead you to the terminal. The walk takes about 20mins.

Aboriginal Villages and Performances

Make time for the live performances of songs and dances, A must-watch. It was enchanting, fasincating and entertaining for someone who loves culture appreciation like me.

The village well curated in terms of the individual 9 aboriginal's introdcution and replicas of their earlier lifestlye and living conditions.

Performance timings.

Around the village

well curated in terms of the individual race's segmentation.

Names of the various tribes for exaple this shows the exhibition lifestyle area for the Atayal tribe in Taiwan. All these 9 aboriginal tribes are still in exsistence in present-day Taiwan.