Taipei is full of things to do. You can easily spend days without anything planned and find yourself entertained just walking around. The shopping is particularly fun! To get around the city grab an easy card from the subway. Fill it up with money it will work on the buses and subways in Taipei and in Hualien.
Day 1: Langshan Temple, Peace Park, and Shillin market.
Langshan temple is a really special place. I don’t know if I just came at the right time or a congregation of people are always chanting together. Hopefully you will get the same experience. After you get your spirituality fill, take a stroll around peace park. It is a beautiful place to sit and eat an ice cream cone. Late nights in Taipei are best spent at the night markets. For tonight check out Shillin market. Taiwanese markets have an array of delicious and unique foods to choose from, as well as lots of entertainment. Including shooting balloons with beebee guns, or using the old fashion bow and arrow methods. I promise you that you will never leave a night market not entertained.
Langshan Temple
Shihlin Night Market
If your shooting skills are up to par you can even win a prize 😉
Day 2: Taipei Zoo, Makong gondola, Elephant hike, beautiful views of Taipei 101, and finish it up with Raohe street market.
Makong Gondola
Take the subway straight to the Taipei zoo exit, it’s the last exit on the Wenhu (brown line). Then take the Maokong Gondola up to Maokong station for a view. There are a few spots to eat here. If you are feeling up to it take a walk from the top to Zhinan temple. There are some great hiking trails to take advantage of (I chose the healthy trail). From there you can take the gondola to the zoo. The gondola offers those three stops. So if you are just interested in the zoo then get off at that stop and ignore the others. After that I took the train to Xiangshan. There you can hike the elephant trail and get amazing photos of the sunset over Taipei. At night go check out the Raohe market.
Interactive Art Stop at the top
Healthy Trail
Climbed the Elephant Trail
Raohe Street Market
Day 3: Take the MTR to shongsan station and then hop on the 1062 bus to Juifen. Walk the old street and have tea at Amei tea house. This teahouse inspired the movie spirited away. If the weather is not too hot then hike the Keelung mountain trail. After you had your fill of this beautiful seaside city head back on the 1062 bus and get off at Sijiaoting station. Walk for about 20 minutes from there and check out starry paradise. This is a beautiful instillation of starry night using recycled bottles. Then take the train to Keelung for the night market. Finally take the train back to Taipei.
Amei Tea House
Day 4: Transit day to Hualien city to get to Taroko park. Take the train from Tapei Main Station to Hualien. You will want to book a hotel near the train station. Make sure to buy the ticket and don’t use your easy card like we did or you will pay a hearty fine. When you buy your ticket it will also reserve you a seat on the train. Spend the first day at Qixingtan beach and maybe rent a bike there and enjoy the bike trails. You can reach the beach by local bus 1132A. At night head to the Dongdamen night market. Have fun playing games and trying interesting foods from the endless stalls. No I never got sick of the night markets.
Day 5: Take the same bus 1132A to the Shakadang trail. You can hop on the same bus to go further north to explore other trails after this. If you rented a car or bike you can check out the Chingshu cliff. It’s a place right off the highway where you can view three different colors of water. Unfortunately no buses stop there.
Shakadang Trail
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