Taiwan: Natural & Cultural Riches

Arrive in Taipei, where you are met and transferred to your hotel.

Explore the city, starting at the National Palace Museum, viewing artifacts that span eight centuries. Visit the National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine, and then stop for lunch at a local restaurant. Proceed to Longshan Temple, dedicated to the Bodhisattva Guanyin, and enter the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial before a guided walk of Dihua Street, dotted with tea and tailor shops. This evening at your hotel, attend a welcome dinner highlighted by a talk on regional geopolitics by a local professor.

Journey to Yilan County on Taiwan’s scenic northeast coast. Visit the local Kavalan whiskey distillery and taste a dram or two, and then partake in a hands-on Chef’s Table experience, learning the art of making Yilan’s famous scallion cakes, a delicious national tradition. After lunch at a local restaurant, journey to Taroko National Park, taking in coastal landscapes of rugged beauty en route. On arrival, check in to your hotel, where you dine tonight.

Explore Taroko National Park, home to the soaring, marble-walled Taroko Gorge, where you drive and walk amid magnificent vistas that evoke the images found in Chinese scroll work. Continue to Swallow Grotto, hiking to elegant shrines and glittering waterfalls, and experiencing an almost ethereal ambience. Enjoy lunch before visiting the visually stunning Tunnel of Nine Turns. 

Set out early for Sun Moon Lake, crossing the island’s towering central mountain range. Ascend through cloud and pine forests to Hehuanshan, savoring breathtaking alpine views. Continue to Sun Moon Lake, set in a lush valley. After lunch at a local restaurant, check in to your hotel. This evening, enjoy a Scenic Sundowner, basking in the surrounding grandeur.

Explore the Sun Moon Lake area, ancestral home of the indigenous Thao people. Visit Wenwu Temple, and then ride a cable car up to an observation tower to marvel at the scenic panoramas. Next, view this beautiful setting by private boat. Back on shore, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant in Ita Thao Cultural Village and gain insight into Thao cultural traditions.

After a relaxing morning, visit a tea plantation for lessons in planting tea, picking leaves and processing them, and sip a freshly made cup of this organic treasure. After lunch at a local restaurant, set out for Tainan, a historic city established by the Dutch East India Company as a lucrative hub for trade. Noted for its many temples, Tainan also offers a diverse culinary culture complete with bustling food markets. Tonight, discover this thriving scene on a guided visit to the city’s vibrant night market.

Today, begin at the Anping Fort, a site central to historic events from the Qing Dynasty to World War II. Walk nearby streets, viewing time-worn stalls and shops, and admiring the architecture. Visit exquisitely preserved Shennong Street before time at your leisure for lunch. Tonight, dine at your hotel.

Board a bullet train and ride like a local to Taipei, arriving in time for lunch. Explore the dazzling Taipei 101, the world’s tallest “green structure.” Also visit Huashan 1914 Creative Park, once a sake winery and today a dynamic cultural venue. Tonight, gather for a farewell dinner. 

Transfer to the airport for your departing flight.