National Parks in Taiwan

Taroko National Park is the reason most people go to the east coast. The Liwu River has cut a gorge through marble walls hundreds of metres high, and the old Central Cross-Island Highway threads through it in tunnels and ledges. The classic stops are the Eternal Spring Shrine over its waterfall, the Shakadang Trail along a turquoise side stream, and the narrows at Swallow Grotto, though all three were still closed in 2026.

The April 2024 Hualien earthquake caused large rockfalls, and much of the gorge road and many trails were closed for repairs. Sections have reopened in stages, and the gorge road opens to traffic only in set time windows, so check the park’s website for which trails and road segments are open before you go, and expect closures after heavy rain. Entry is free. The gateway is Hualien, about two to two and a half hours from Taipei by express train, then 30 minutes by bus, taxi or scooter to the park entrance. Further up, Highway 14A crosses the Wuling pass on Hehuanshan at about 3,275 m, the highest road in Taiwan.

Yushan, or Jade Mountain, is Taiwan’s highest peak and the most sought-after hike on the island. The standard route starts at Tataka near Alishan, climbs to Paiyun Lodge, and leaves before dawn for the summit, a two-day trip that needs no technical skill but does need fitness and acclimatisation. You need a national park entry permit, and lodge beds are allocated by online lottery, so apply weeks ahead and have backup dates.

Shei-Pa National Park protects Xueshan (Snow Mountain), the second-highest peak, usually climbed from Wuling Farm over two or three days, with a glacial cirque below the summit. Both parks are cold above 3,000 m even in summer, and snow is possible from December to March. See our best time to visit guide for the drier windows.

Yangmingshan covers the extinct Tatun volcanoes on Taipei’s northern edge. Take bus 260 or R5 from the city and you are on hiking trails within an hour. The short climb up Qixing Mountain (1,120 m), the highest point in the park, takes two to three hours from Xiaoyoukeng, where sulphur vents steam beside the path. Qingtiangang is an open grassland ridge with grazing water buffalo, and the Zhuzihu valley fills with calla lilies in spring.

Entry is free. Weekends are busy, and the summit is often in cloud, so go early on a clear weekday. Finish in Beitou at the foot of the hills for a hot spring soak.

Kenting National Park covers the Hengchun peninsula at Taiwan’s southern tip, the only tropical part of the main island. It mixes raised coral reef forest, white-sand bays, the windswept cliffs at Maobitou and the Eluanbi lighthouse, with a busy night market strip in Kenting town. The Kenting Express bus runs from Zuoying high-speed rail station in Kaohsiung in about two and a half hours; a scooter or car makes the coast loop easy. Weekends and Chinese New Year are crowded. For swimming beaches, see our islands and beaches guide.

Alishan is a cool mountain area of red cypress forest, tea plantations and old logging trails at about 2,200 m. The famous sight is sunrise over a sea of clouds from Zhushan, reached by a short train or walk before dawn. Buses run from Chiayi in about two and a half hours, and the Alishan Forest Railway from Chiayi has reopened to the top after years of repairs. There is an entry fee to the forest recreation area.

Sun Moon Lake, in the hills of Nantou about 90 minutes by bus from Taichung high-speed rail station, is Taiwan’s largest lake. Rent a bike for the lakeshore path, take the boat between the piers, and look out at Lalu Island, sacred to the Thao people.

Taijiang National Park protects the lagoons and mangroves on the coast north of Tainan. Small boats run through the Sicao green tunnel, an arch of mangrove branches, and black-faced spoonbills winter here from about October to March. Kinmen National Park sits on an island a few kilometres off Xiamen in China, with tunnels, bunkers and old stone villages from the Cold War front line; flights from Taipei take about an hour.

South Penghu Marine National Park protects basalt islets reached by boat from Penghu in summer. Dongsha Atoll National Park, far out in the South China Sea, is closed to tourists.

Most national parks are free to enter, and you only need permits for high-mountain routes and some ecological protection areas. Mountain permits are applied for online through each park, and some routes also need a separate police mountain permit; apply early and carry your passport. Visitor centres open roughly 8.30am to 5pm and often close one day a month.

You do not need a guide for the popular trails, but hire one for multi-day routes if you have no mountain experience. Typhoons from July to October close mountain roads and trails, sometimes for days, so leave slack in your plans. Our getting around guide covers the buses and trains to each gateway, and the itineraries show how to fit them into a trip.