Travellers’ tales: cycle touring in Taiwan
Where: Taiwan
Who: Crispin Dunne
When: March 2025
The Portuguese named Taiwan Ilha Formosa (‘Beautiful Island’). A young country with a mix of Chinese, Japanese and Western influences, Taiwan produces most of the world’s bicycles and semiconductors.
It is a land of forested mountains, volcanic springs, billiard-table-smooth roads, delicious food, Daoist temples and friendly people.
Sue and I departed with five friends for a guided trip of the island. Stephen Chen, our local ride leader, took us on a bike tour of Taipei, which included the National Palace Museum and dumplings at Din Tai Fung.
Next day our cycling began in earnest with an ascent up the magnificent Taroko Marble Gorge and later ending at AnTong hot springs. The pothole-free roads down the coast were quiet and had bike lanes. Drivers were very considerate. We cycled through paddy fields down the east Rift Valley.
Joining the coast road, we enjoyed a Taiwanese tea ceremony before reaching the southern tip of the island in Kenting National Park. There we explored the botanical gardens and swam in the Strait of Taiwan, before visiting the ancient capital, Tainan.
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