Taiwan culture and history escorted small group tour

Upon arrival at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport, make your way to our hotel. After checking in, you will have free time until early afternoon when we will have an tour briefing. Following this, we will visit Yanhmingshan Park and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen’s Memorial Hall. This evening we will have a welcome dinner.  

After breakfast we drive to Keelung and Yehliu Geo-Park on the island’s north coast. Here we will view the lunar-like landscape and rock formations. We then have a lunch break and drive up into the hillside villages of Chiufen. The villages of Chiufen were once centres of gold-mining. The gold is now gone but the quaint old villages of closely packed houses clinging to steep mountainsides continue to offer enchanting scenery and fascinating glimpses into past lifestyles. On the way back to our hotel we will visit the Shilin Night Market.

This morning we have a tour of Taipei City, including the Grand Hotel, built on the instructions of Chiang Kai-Shek primarily to house visiting foreign dignitaries. It is the world’s tallest building of classical Chinese design. We will also see the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, with the National Theatre and National Opera House within the grounds. In the afternoon we will drive to Chihu, the final resting place of Chiang Kai-Shek, and then on to Sanhsia, a bustling town with narrow, winding streets and brick buildings at least 100 years old. A short trip further on brings us to Yingko where hand-painted replicas of elegant Ming (1368 – 1644) and Ching (or Qing) (1644 – 1911) vases are produced. This evening, weather permitting, we will go to the top of Taipei 101, one of the world’s tallest buildings.

Driving out of the city after breakfast, we will travel southeast to the Yilan National Centre for Traditional Arts. Here we may also have our lunch of local food. In the afternoon, we continue on to Wulai, the nearest location to Taipei where we can see the aboriginal tribesmen who were once the head hunters of Taiwan. Descendants of this proud tribe of Ataiyals, the present-day Wulai aborigines perform, for the most part, for the benefit of tourists. However, they still offer a glimpse of their past, more traditional lifestyle. On the way home to our hotel we will visit Longshan Temple in the city.

Today’s itinerary takes us first to the Martyrs’ Shrine and then the National Palace Museum, which displays works of 5,000 years of Chinese art. We will have an early breakfast and leave the hotel at 8:30 am, in time to be at the Martyrs’ Shrine for the changing of the guard at 9:00 am. At the National Palace Museum, after an introductory tour with our guide, we can spend a few hours strolling through the exhibits, pausing at our leisure. As there is a restaurant in the complex, we will stay until early afternoon. On the way back to the Riviera Hotel, we will visit the impressive Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial. We will then return to our hotel after a delicious dinner of traditional dumplings.

After breakfast, we say farewell to Taipei and transfer to Hualien by train. The journey will take about 3 hours. On arrival, we will be taken to visit the Taroko National Park and the Taroko Gorge. The Taroko Gorge is a beautiful, narrow ravine created by a river which has cut deep into mountains of solid marble. A road carved into sheer walls of rock snakes its way past forested peaks and cliffs towering about 1,000 metres above it, while below, a river roars past gigantic marble boulders. Peaks in the area reach 3,700 metres above sea level. Stops will be made at the Eternal Spring Shrine, Swallow Grotto, Tunnel of Nine Turns, and Marble Bridge.

This morning we will drive eastwards through the mountains to the coast and then south to the city of Tainan. On the way we will stop for lunch at a restaurant where you may experience aboriginal fare. In the afternoon we stop at a tea plantation.

Before leaving Taitung this morning, we will visit the National Natural History Museum. We then head for Kaohsiung via Kenting National Park to experience the beautiful scenery of the east coast. Kaohsiung is Taiwan’s second largest city and its main seaport.

This morning we will visit the Fo Guang Shan Monastery, considered to be the largest Buddhist monastery on the island. We then head towards Sun Moon Lake, stopping in Tainan for lunch and also at the old Dutch fort and its museum. We then continue on to Sun Moon Lake, its name deriving from its shape – the northern part is in the shape of the sun, while the southern part resembles a crescent moon. It is especially beautiful at dawn, when it looks almost poetic with its veil of mist, and at dusk, when the water reflects the golden light of the setting sun. The lake area is lush with vegetation and vibrant with wildlife, including egrets, president fish, butterflies, fireflies, and more. This area was used by Chiang Kai-shek as a personal retreat, and where he also entertained overseas dignitaries.

As usual, we breakfast at the hotel. We then head off to Puli town and visit Guang Xing Paper Factory to have a hands-on experience of creating our own art with DIY paper. From there, we will continue our day with a visit to the Formosa Nine Village and in the evening have our Farewell Dinner.

This morning we will have free time to stroll along the lake, hire a bicycle, or walk in the nearby town before lunch and checkout. In the afternoon we will take a lake cruise before our 3-hour bus transfer to the airport.