Taiwan top 10 places to visit during your holidays

Taiwan is a small but densely populated country island in East Asia. It is located in between East and South China Sea, to the East of China and Hong Kong and to the West of Okinawa island of Japan. In recent years, again, thanks to Air Asia, the best budget airline in the world that encourages people flying with spearheading cheap fares, Taiwan has emerged as one of the hottest tourist spots among Malaysian. Since people love Taiwan and are eagerly planning for a vacation there, Travel Feeder is glad to share here the Taiwan top 10 places to visit during your upcoming holidays.

I visited Taiwan a couple of months ago. We traveled with an action packed itinerary to explore the whole of Taiwan island in just 10 days. Even though it was tiring and I will not recommend that to every traveler, many popular tourist or local places were covered. Most importantly, of all places that I visited in Taiwan, after slashing out some of the secondary destinations, these top 10 places won my wholehearted recommendation, which a tour to Taiwan would not be complete without visiting them.

Here is the Taiwan top 10 places to visit, in no specific order.

1) Taipei

Taipei is Taiwan capital city in Northern region and is the 4th largest administrative area in Taiwan with 12 districts featuring countless travel attractions. It is also the only city in Taiwan that travelers can stay for their entire travel period but still able to experience enough attractions that Taiwan has to offer. From foods and beverages, historic architecture and museums, shopping and entertainments, cultural and religious sites, Taipei is the single “Must-visit” city of Taiwan. Tourist spots in Taipei include Taipei 101, Shilin night market, Ximending shopping district, National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, National Palace Museum, Raohe night market and many more.

2) New Taipei

New Taipei, as its name implies, is located in the outer region of and surrounding the Taipei city. It is the most populated suburb in the world. In addition to Taipei, New Taipei offers equally thrilling top spots for travelers visiting Taiwan for the first time. Among others, Jiufen village is famous for its beef noodles, braised pork rice, Sweet potato yam bean curd desert and Ginger tea. Yehliu Geopark is also a “Must-Visit” destination. Tamsui Fisherman’s Wharf should not be missed either. The Lin Ben Yuan Family Mansion and Garden (林本源園邸) in Banqiao District is Taiwan’s most complete surviving example of traditional Chinese garden architecture.

3) Agricultural leisure farms, Yilan

The development of leisure agriculture emphasized the use of farm lands for leisure purposes. Farms changed from production to leisure. Important leisure items on the farm include tourism, exercise, education, resting, providing food and beverages, and providing living quarters. Consumers enjoy their leisure objectives through practicing these items and related activities. There were over thousand of leisure farms found in the whole of Taiwan, and Yilan has relatively more leisure farms than other counties. Shangri-La, Bei Guan, Dian Song Pi, and Yulan leisure farms are some of the popular leisure areas in Yilan with individual themes.

4) Taroko National Park, Hualien

For travelers especially photography hobbyists, Hualien  is definitely a “Must-visit” destination in Eastern coast of Taiwan, featuring spectacular mountains and ocean views that you can’t find in any other area in Taiwan, or even the world. The key travel destination of Hualien is Taroko Gorge (太魯閣: Tàilǔgé), an impressive 19-km-long canyon, situated near Taiwan’s east coast. The area of the gorge is also identified as Taroko Gorge National Park. Coming down by coach from Yilan, along the only coastal Su-Hua Highway connecting Yilan and Hualien, you will see the huge Qingshui coastal Cliff. It stretches more than 21km and rises vertically from the Pacific Ocean, with an average height of over 800m. The site of the Qingshui Cliff was designated as one of Taiwan’s “Eight Wonders.”

5) Jhiben Hot Spring, Taitung

The Jhiben Hot Spring (知本溫泉) is a hot spring in Beinan, Taitung County, Taiwan. It is one of the most famous Taiwanese hot springs. Unlike Beitou hot spring with sulphurous smell, hot springs in Taitung comes from the centuries-old underground spring, which is composed of sodium bicarbonate, clear and non-smell. The original spring’s highest temperature can reach over 100 degrees Celsius, and it is good to drink and bathe. I’ve tried the hot spring in Luminous Hotel in Luye, a town not far from Jhiben. With individual hot spring bath in guest rooms, it was actually not bad at all. It reminded me of my Mount Fuji Onsen bath experience in Japan. You should try one of the hot spring in Taiwan if it is your favorite relaxing activities.

6) Cingjing Farm, Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County

Nantou county is located right at the centre of Taiwan island. With its landlocked nature with mountains surrounding it, Nantou offers some of the best travel experience you can get in Taiwan. Located in the middle of native forests and surrounded by mountain ranges, Cingjing Farm  in Taiwan is a popular getaway destination among Taiwanese as well as foreigners. Sitting on top of a highland, you can immerse yourself in the fresh air and enjoy the scenic wild greenery 360° view from the farm. Another great tourist destination in Nantou county is Sun Moon Lake (日月潭), the largest lake in Taiwan. Situated in Yuchi, Nantou, the area around the Sun Moon Lake is home to the Thao tribe, one of aboriginal tribes in Taiwan. For those who love snowy mountains, Hehuanshan mountain rising 3416 m from sea level, offer some great and unique snowy peak view during Winter months.

7) Fo Guang Shan Buddha Memorial Center, Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung is the second most populous city in Taiwan and the capital of Southern region with international airport and harbor. It seems to me as the Busan of Taiwan, as opposed to Taipei being the Seoul of Taiwan. Among all tourists destinations, Fo Guang Shan (佛光山), an international Chinese Mahayana Buddhist monastic order based in Taiwan, is the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan.

8) Night market

Taiwan is famous for its night markets. Night markets in Taiwan are street markets in Taiwan that operate in urban or suburban areas. There are over dozen of such night markets in every large city in Taiwan. Being one of the Taiwan top 10 places to visit, night market can let travelers experience the local nightlife culture, and off course able to taste Taiwanese local foods and shopping. Each night market has its own specialty items, so exploring all night markets you can spot will definitely not let you feel bored. Fengjia Night Market (逢甲夜市), located in Taichung, is arguably the largest night market in whole of Taiwan. It is famous for its snacks such as fried chicken, braised meat soup, sweet potato balls, and is also the paradise of sports fans with major brand names setting branches along the street. Notable night markets across Taiwan include Shilin and Raohe night market in Taipei, Tainan Flower night market, Liuhe night market in Kaohsiung.

9) Ten Drum Culture village and Anping Old Street, Tainan

Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan and was the capital during imperial times. It is famous for its temples, historic buildings and snack food. The city is currently the fifth largest city on the island after New Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung and Taipei with a population of over 1.8 million. One of the most popular destinations in the Tainan area is the Anping District (安平區). The Anping District is the historical heart of Tainan, the original capital of Taiwan. Anping is home to the Anping Old Fort , the Anping Tree House, and numerous restaurants and food stalls. Ten Drum Culture Village is relatively new to travelers. It is an unique cultural village to spread the spirit of local drum music art of Taiwan to the world. Established by Ten Drum Percussion Group, the Grammy Award winner that being invited to participate in international presentation for many times, including the 2000 Sydney Olympic performance, 2002 World Cup Soccer Festival of Korea Daejeon and many overseas festivals. Travelers can stay overnight in the village and learn the history and construction of drums as well as the basic technique to play the drum music.

10) Love Hotel stay, Taichung

I include it as one of the Taiwan top 10 places to visit is because Love Hotels in Taiwan definitely worth a visit. The love hotel culture of Taiwan is quite similar to those of Korea and Japan, except that they are generally bigger with individual private garage for each room where couples can drive into their garage without exposing themselves to others. So Taiwanese refer love hotels as car motels. Similarly, each room has its own themes, from royal, classic, Balinese, Fantasy, Comic, sexual, wild to jail and even Batman room. As in Japan, many young Taiwanese can’t afford their own apartments. Well into their 20s, they may still live with mom and dad — making sex logistically difficult. Nowadays, Taiwan’s romance shacks aren’t just for young lovers or older philanderers. They are increasingly aimed at fashionable young women, privacy-conscious playboys, and groups looking for a party room with a difference. Wego Motel is popular in Taipei while Taichung is regarded as love hotels capital in Taiwan. We stayed in Amani Motel in Taichung which is great experience for couple.

Many people asked, so I answered. Plan around these top 10 places to visit in Taiwan and you will never regret. If you think these are not enough, and you have more days in Taiwan, read other top tourist attraction in Taiwan as listed on Wikitravel. – Travel Feeder, your travel photo blog

About The Author

Cecil Lee

The author is an avid traveler and photography hobbyist who loves to share with others his travel and photo-taking experience in many popular tourist destinations around Europe, Asia and Australasia. Read the exciting stories with many photos captured on his journeys.