Cherry blossoms on Alishan, 2012

First day of my Alishan trip

11 degrees Celsius felt very good.

Alishan is famous for cherry trees and a lot of Taiwanese like to go up there every March to enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms. My wife thought it would be a good idea to go there as well and since I've never visited this famously beautiful mountain, I gladly accepted her invitation. After we made it up there with the bus and found our way through the masses of Chinese visitors, it was about time to start exploring the beautiful nature. After I took a short rest in the hotel, I was ready to go on a walk. My wife and I decided to follow a popular trail and visit few beautiful spots along the way.

This is what we saw:

Taiwanese guys shooting girls from above... sometimes.

Beautiful cherry blossoms (photos taken by my wife).

Pink petals in the wind.

Another batch of them.

White petals.

A small lake near the Alishan village.

An old tree trunk, reminding us of times long passed.

Pavilion amid the lake - solitude in harmony.

The Chushan footpath.

The misty Alishan mountain.

The Alishan railway station.

Local visitors strolling to the cherry blossom garden nearby.

The famous Alishan hotel.

Beautiful woman keeping the hotel's front yard clean.

The office of Taiwan's Forestry Bureau.

The cherry blossom garden.

A crooked cherry (waiting to die?).

Taiwanese photography buffs.

A young couple capturing their precious moment.

Sakura.

More sakura.

The Shoujhen temple.

Shoujhen temple from close.

Leaving the temple.

We decided to go down and deeper inside the old forest.

Crossing a suspension bridge.

View from below.

Path leading deeper down.

Wifey slowly walking down, passing by a huge old tree.

Dead-end rail.

A misty stream.

Wifey curiously inspecting the area.

Small temple on the way back impressed us.

The fresh air above 2400m is truly refreshing and something I am not used to breath in Taipei. It was also colder, which was very pleasant, as I generally hate this humidity, that already covers most of Taiwan's north in spring. When I return to Alishan the next time, I will definitely hike longer - there is so much to explore, most trails are very well maintained and nicely laid out. The sunrise on Alishan is breathtaking, but very quickly passed, what remains are these trails, hiking on Alishan is a real pleasure. I hope you enjoyed viewing my photos as much as I have enjoyed taking them.

Click on picture to enlarge.

Next post: Alishan Sunrise>>

[TAIWAN TRAVEL page][Alishan 2012][All photos by MKL, 2012]