High tea in Alishan

After breakfast we had a quick bike ride along the walking trail before departing Yuchi township. Our first stop was Wenwu Temple on the shores of Sun Moon Lake. It is dedicated to Confucus and two Chinese generals, and is the largest temple we've visited so far.

On the way to Alishan we visited the Collapsed Temple, a victim of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in 1999 known by the locals as "9-21". We sampled Century Eggs in the local market - a preserved egg with a jelly like consistency... and it was better than expected! Lunch was in Chungpu - local specialty, turkey rice.

Our destination for the day is Alishan, home of the forest railway, and Taiwan's hiking and tea growing centre. We had a stop on the way at Fenqihu Station to walk the old street and view the original steam engines, circa 1910.

We arrived at Alishan in time for a walk to Alishan House, a Japanese era hotel, and the best place in town to watch the sunset from their rooftop deck. Tea was in a small restaurant in the market and an early night ready for an early start tomorrow.Read more