Travels in Taiwan - Sun Moon Lake

After a quick trip to Mt Yushan and a climb to the summit early Tuesday morning, it was off to Sun Moon Lake.  The bus ride took a couple of hours and the route from Yushan National Park down to the valley took us on torturous roads and a major loss of altitude.

Sun Moon Lake is Taiwan's largest body of fresh water and is a tourist center, ringed with lush forested hills and dotted with temples.  Despite this, I found it quiet and peaceful, at least early in the morning.

The best deal is to get a day pass on the shuttle bus for NT$80 (about $4 CAD), which will take you around the important bits, getting off and on as the inclination strikes you.

A Confucius temple where students go to curry favour before exams, to a pagoda built by Chiang Kai-chek in honour of his mother, with a commanding view out over the lake.

I hiked up to tea plantations on the hillsides above the Lake and I explored temples and wandered on trails along the Lake.  It's normally a very busy tourist location, but it was quite calm and relaxed when I was there.

After 3 nights at the local hostel, it was time to take the bus to Taichung, the last new city on my round-the-island tour.