High up in the mountains of Taiwan is a forest filled with old world charm and mystic atmosphere. Featuring sacred trees, zen spaces, green valleys, world-class sunrises, Japanese-built trains, and seas of cloud hugging high-altitude peaks, the Alishan National Scenic Area is a must-visit destination when planning your trip around this island nation.
As a top tourist draw since the 1920s, hoards of Chinese tourists come here virtually everyday but you’re in for a treat if you decide to come up to Alishan on your own. The truth is though, planning a trip to this recreational forest isn’t necessarily the easiest. Part of it is because of the lack of English information and the other part is that there are simply many methods and steps to get to the top. That’s why I’ve put together this Alishan travel guide in Taiwan to help you out.
Visiting Alishan on your own doesn’t have to be hard. It just requires a bit of homework.
What I want to show you is that it doesn’t have to be as complicated as it sounds and venturing to Alishan on your own doesn’t have to be hard. There’s a lot of information packed here so I’m including a Table of Contents to make it easier to navigate.
New as of 2019
There is another new online booking system for the Alishan Forest Railway (a second new one this year). New screenshots have been added to assist you with some of the translations and form entry details.
More to read
Where to stay in Taiwan?
- If you’re looking for the best accommodations in Alishan, make sure to jump down below. If you’re looking for a place to stay in Taipei, I highly recommend Booking.com which has the best selection of hotels, guest homes, and hostels.
In This Article
How did it all start…
Alishan was just one part of our 12 day epic journey around the island of Formosa. For those interested in watching how it unfolded, watch the first episode from this nifty player. You can also head straight to the full YouTube series.
The Alishan Travel Guide Basics
First of all, there are a lot of names that are thrown around. There’s just “Alishan” but there’s also “Alishan National Recreational Forest” and there’s “Alishan National Scenic Area”. All of them reference the same place but give you a bit of a clue about why it’s not as simple as being one mountain. Inside this scenic area are the 5 wonders but we’ll get to that a little bit later on!
So how did this area develop? During the Japanese occupation period of Taiwan, there was a massive logging operation here and in order to transport the wood down the mountain, they managed to build an impressive narrow-gauge train and along the way grew many small towns.
Planning a Trip to Alishan (阿里山)
When you’re putting together a trip to Alishan, there are a few things you need to ask yourself first:
- How many days do you have?
- Do you want to do the sunrise?
- Do you want to take the Alishan Forest Railway?
These are all important to think about because the nature of the logistics will dictate how your itinerary looks like. Why?
[Fact 1] If you’re doing Alishan on your own, it would be very challenging to do Alishan in one day. Even if you tried, you’d be throwing the sunrise out the door and you’d only have enough time to do the forest trails. There are a day trips that run from Taipei but I’d imagine it would be the same problem.
[Fact 2] If the sunrise is important to you, you’ll need to stay overnight. With that, you’ll need to think about buying your sunrise tickets beforehand and figure out transportation to the Alishan train station.
[Fact 3] Is it an absolute must to take the Alishan Forest Railway? If so, this will dramatically change your schedule as the train only runs once a day on most days.
Now stow these away because that’s where all this information below comes into play.
GETTING TO ALISHAN FROM CHIAYI (嘉義)
There are several ways up to Alishan but these are the most common and preferred methods.
- Alishan Forest Railway Train
- Tourist Shuttle Bus
- Local Drivers
OPTION 1: ALISHAN FOREST RAILWAY TRAIN
Aside from the sunrise, this is the most popular and preferred option to get up to Alishan. As quite the feat of engineering in 1912 for the purposes of logging, it is a major attraction due to its history, authenticity, and scenery as it winds its way up.
Once upon a time, this railway went all the way from Chiayi to Alishan however due to the typhoons of 2014, the section between Fenqihu (also spelled Fenchihu) to Alishan were damaged beyond repair and have since been left that way. That is why the Alishan Forest Train only goes up to Fenqihu station.
Key Facts:
- Duration – 2 hours 20 minutes
- Schedule – Only makes 1 trip up a day at 9AM on weekdays. On weekends and holidays, there are two trips that run (9AM and 10AM) [Official schedule]
- Capacity – 180
- Booking – Sells out fast so book as soon as it becomes available (online booking only available 15 days in advance). [Book online]
- Cost – Full fare is NT $384
Booking Tickets Online:
As of October 1, 2019, they transitioned to a brand new website for booking the Alishan Forest Railway train. I have yet to translate and re-do the screenshots for the new website but hopefully you can take what I did with the old system.
Remember, you can book 15 days in advance so that is why only a small block of dates are selectable.
Step 1: Homepage
Head to the homepage, and go to the top right corner and change the language to English (yes they finally have it natively built in!)
Step 2: Select General Booking
Next, you’ll want to go into the “General Booking” section of the page through the “Online booking” dropdown.
Step 3: Enter booking details
They’ve finally simplified this process and eliminated the confusion around having to pick the right station. They’ve done this by providing 4 primary routes that most visitors are going to care about.
- ChiaYi-Shitzulu – This is the Alishan Forest Railway train or what they dub as the “Alishan Express”. This is the new last station on the line because of recent earthquakes. The full line to Alishan has not been repaired.
- Chushan – This is where you go for the Alishan sunrise. Yes you can now book this online ahead of time which is great.
- Sacred Tree – A useful route to take is to save some energy and either go from Sacred Tree back to Alishan station or start your hiking by beginning at Sacred Tree and making the loop around.
- Zhaoping – This is the halfway stop towards Chushan.
If you’re eligible for 1/2 price tickets, select the Child ticket option.
What if you want to do something like Chiayi to Fenqihu? Yes you can still do this by using the From and To dropdowns under Itinerary. You can also do things like start in Beimen instead if you’re looking for something much more custom.
Note that there is a bit of a glitch when you pick one of the Chushan/Sacred Tree/Zhaoping routes and switch back to ChaiYi-Shitzulu as the dropdowns don’t convert back.
Once you’re ready, enter the verification Captcha code and hit the “Inquiry” button.
This is old information that may still come in handy.
Destination help: These are the old codes that they used to use. I’ve kept these here in case you need them for some reason.
- 9000 森鐵嘉義 – Chiayi – This is the Chiayi Railway station which is not to be confused with the THSR station.
- 9010 北門 – Beimen (North Gate) – This is still within the Chiayi city but on the North East side of the city.
- 9030 and 9080 – You will not need to be getting off here.
- 9100 奮起湖 – Fenqihu – If you’d like to spend more time to Fenqihu, get off here and take the bus the rest of the way up
- 9120 十字路 – Shitzulu (Crossroad) Station – This is the last station on the line since the remaining part of the track has’t been repaired. There should be a complimentary bus that takes you to the entrance to Alishan. I don’t have the specific schedule but they time it to pair well with the arrival of the Alishan Forest Railway arrival.
Train number description:
- [PICK THIS] #1 – Up direction from Chiayi, departs at 9AM.
- #10 – Down direction from North Gate, departs at 8:45AM -> This literally only takes you from North Gate back to Chiayi
- #11 – Up direction from Chiayi, departs at 4:53PM -> If you pick this however, they will only allow you to take this to North Gate (Beimen, 北門) for some reason.
- [PICK THIS] #2 – Down direction from Alishan, departs at 1:50PM.
Step 4: Train Selection
In this step, if there is availability, you’ll see available trains to select from. If not, it’ll tell you right away on the form.
Select the train you want using the radio button and then hit the “Confirm the train number” button.
Step 5: Price and Final Details
This step will show you the price of the booking.
You’ll also need to put your citizenship and contact information here. If you can, try to put in a local Taiwan number there but it isn’t the end of the world if you don’t know it at the time of booking.
In the past, the passport number had to be 8 digits but I didn’t seem to have any issues with this on the new system. That said, you’ll see that there is a note on paying attention to the warning messages if your passport number ends in a character.
Step 6: Confirmation Page
This is the page that confirms that you’ve made the booking but haven’t paid yet.
You’ll receive an e-mail in Chinese that says you’ve booked but there’s nothing useful there. What you need to do next is click on “Online payment”.
Step 7: Select Type of Payment
This page all of a sudden switches back to Chinese but it’s pretty self-explanatory. You’ll be wanting to pay with Visa or MasterCard so the default selection is fine.
Click on the button that’s on the bottom right.
If you end up doing this credit card payment step at a later time, you can always retrieve your booking using your passport number and reservation number.
Step 8: Pay By Credit Card
This is the part where you enter your credit card information in to complete the transaction and finalize your booking.
Now if you’d like someone to do this for you, I recommend you reach out to an English tour operator like MyTaiwanTour and they can get you sorted out end to end.
What You Need To Know:
Coming from Taipei – If you haven’t realized it yet, if you’re determined to take the Forest Railway, you’ll need to wake up very early. There are number of trains that run through Chiayi in the morning so make sure you book accordingly. Use these nifty train schedule search pages in English for the high speed train or standard railway so you can book your train tickets online.
There are multiple stations in Chiayi – There’s the Chiayi THSR station which is for the high speed rail. However, the Alishan Forest Railway Train departs from Chiayi Railway Station (TRA) . There’s a shuttle that goes back and forth (7211 or 7212) and takes 30 minutes. This bus is part of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and is located on the rear side of the station so you need to take the pedestrian bridge to cross to the other side. The schedule is subject to change but they start running at 6:05AM and is every 20 minutes. In a pinch, you can also hail a cab (approx NT $400-$500 per person so that’s ~NT$2000 for max capacity of 4).
Stay in Chiayi – For a drama-free morning, I would recommend staying in Chiayi which also puts you near the railway station.
Only to Shitzulu – I’d like to reiterate the fact that this train only takes you up to Shitzulu where you’ll need to catch a complimentary shuttle to the National Recreational Forest.
How about from Fenqihu? – Read how to get to Alishan from Fenqihu.
OPTION 2: TAIWAN TOURIST SHUTTLE BUS
As much as I would have loved to have done the Forest Railway Train, we just didn’t feel like waking up that early and rush to make a 9AM train.
If you’re in the same position as us, the lucky news for you is that there are still a number of options available thanks to Taiwan’s Tourist Shuttle Busses which were specifically created to make it easier for Westerners. It’s not perfect but they’re definitely trying to put more English signs. That said, their websites are a mess because their impossible navigate and there’s no one hub that has all the information. That’s where I come along :)
Okay let’s jump into the two different lines that they’ve created up to Alishan and what’s the difference?
Line A – Tourist Shuttle Bus from Chiayi THSR (Bus 7329)
Line A is essentially the bus to Alishan from the high speed rail station. This is going to make the most sense for anyone coming in from say Taipei, Kaohsiung, or Taichung.
Key Facts:
- Duration – Roughly 2.5 hours
- Frequency – 4x daily (9:30AM, 10:10AM, 11:00AM, 1:10AM)
- Cost -Full fare is NT $271
- Payment – You can pay with cash, EasyCard, or iPASS
What You Need To Know:
- Exact change only if paying by cash as no change is provided.
- iCash2.0 is not accepted.
- The only bus that stops in Fenqihu is the 11AM one.
- There was quite a bit of construction at the THSR station and the stop is hidden behind a temporary construction wall. We just asked the info desk where it was and they were able to direct us.
Line B – Tourist Shuttle Bus from Chiayi TRA Railway Station (Bus 7322)
Line B is an alternative bus that leaves from train station that’s in downtown Chiayi. This option only makes sense if you’re staying in the city or for some reason you missed the Forest Railway Train. This bus is also more frequent than Line A and faster.
Key Facts:
- Duration – Roughly 2 hours (slightly faster than Line A)
- Frequency – 10x daily (hourly starting from 6:05AM to 2:05PM)
- Cost -Full fare is NT $230
- Payment – You can pay with cash, EasyCard, or iPASS
What You Need To Know:
- Exact change only if paying by cash as no change is provided.
- iCash2.0 is not accepted.
- The only buses that stops in Fenqihu are at 9:35AM and 12:05PM.
Extra Chiayi TRA Railway Station Bus to Fenqihu (Bus 7302)
There’s also a limited 7302 bus that goes up to Fenqihu from the railway station in Chiayi. It only runs twice a day (7:05AM and 3:05PM) but could be an option if Line A or B don’t work out for you. There’s unfortunately not a lot of information on it but I presume the bus works like the other lines.
What you need to consider with the 3:05PM bus is that if you take it, you will not make the connecting bus up to Alishan so only take it if you plan on staying in Fenqihu overnight or you’re going to take an alternative form of transportation once you’re there.
OPTION 3: LOCAL DRIVERS
This is a take-at-your-own risk option as I don’t have experience with these but when we were waiting for our bus at the THSR station, there were random cars that drove by offering direct car rides up to Alishan. One guy offered to take us for NT $300.
TIPS: Brace yourself for a very windy and nausea-inducing bus ride. I would suggest taking something for motion-sickness if you get it easily.
TIPS: If you’re travelling with a lot of luggage and you don’t need all of it in Alishan, think about leaving some of it behind at the storage lockers in the Chiayi THSR station.
GETTING TO ALISHAN FROM FENQIHU (奮起湖)
If your schedule allows, I recommend spending some time in Fenqihu even if it’s only to have lunch at the bento box restaurant. In Fenqihu, you’ll also find the Forest Railway Museum which chronicles the history of the trains and equipment that have been used over the past century, and also an old street which is great for snacks, similar to Jiufen.
From Fenqihu, there are two busses that you can take to finally get up to Alishan.
OPTION 1: SHUTTLE BUS PART OF LINE A/B
This is essentially the connecting busses as part of Line A or B (Bus 7329/7322). Located near the entrance to the Forest Railway Museum, you can buy a ticket when you board the bus. This bus will drop you off at the bus terminal of Alishan which is just outside the park.
Key Facts:
- Duration – Roughly 1 hour
- Frequency – 3x daily (11:30AM, 12:50PM, and 2:00PM)
- Cost – Full fare is NT $96
- Payment – You can pay with cash, EasyCard, or iPASS
OPTION 2: HIGH FREQUENCY BUSES TO SHIZHAO (石棹)
I don’t have too much information about this but from my research it looks like there are high frequency buses that go from Fenqihu to the town of Shizhao.
The bus ride to Shizhao is 15 minutes and from Shizhao it’s another 45 minutes to Alishan.
Key Facts:
- Frequency – Unknown
- Cost – Unknown
- Payment – To pre-purchase tickets in Shizhao, look for the Hi Life convenient store and in the noodle shop next door, you can use your EasyCard to pay.
RECOMMENDED ROUTE TO ALISHAN
Taking the Alishan Forest Railway from Taipei
If you manage to get tickets for the Alishan Forest Railway, this is what your trip will look like.
- Hop on a trip to Chiayi from Taipei (i.e. THSR Train 0203 6:30AM to 7:45AM)
- Catch the shuttle bus from the Chiayi THSR to TRA station at roughly 8:05AM
- Take 9AM Alishan Forest Railway train
- Arrive in Fenqihu at 11:20AM
- Take 12:50 bus from Fenqihu to Alishan
- Arrive in Alishan at 2PM
Taking a Bus to Alishan from Taipei
The following chronicles the exact steps that we followed.
- Hop on a train to Chiayi from Taipei (i.e. THSR Train 1307 9:01AM to 10:29AM)
- From the THSR station take Tourist Shuttle Bus 7329 (Line A) at 11AM
- Get off at Fenqihu to explore and have a bento box lunch
- Catch the last bus up from Fenqihu to Alishan Station (Bus 7322) at 2PM
- Arrive in Alishan at 3PM
- National Park Entrance – Walk to the entrance gate and pay the fee – $300 TWD per person.
- Walk to Alishan train station – I would recommend coming here to buy your sunrise train tickets which are only sold between 1PM – 4:30PM. If you know that your hotel sells sunrise tickets as well, you can skip this step.
- Transit to your hotel – This is specific to Alishan House but we had to ask locals where we could get a shuttle ride to the hotel. We learned that pick up was by the visitor centre and got there just in time for the 3:50PM shuttle.
WHERE TO STAY IN ALISHAN
There are a number of accommodation options in Alishan. Each is tailored for different budgets and has their pros and cons. Here are 4 different options that you can choose from.
My recommendation would be to stay inside the park if you can afford it as it saves you the hassle in the morning for sunrise as the shuttle ride is included and so you don’t have to wake up that early in the morning.
BEST
This is officially Alishan House despite being called Alishan Hotel in other places. This is perhaps the nicest property on the park with incredibly large rooms, fabulous breakfast, and access to the observation deck.
MID-RANGE
This hotel is located only 10 minutes walk away from the Alishan train station and is also nearby all the small restaurants there so it is quite convenient.
MID-RANGE
Similar to Dafong, this is located by the Alishan train station which makes it convenient but is slightly cheaper because it is a bit older and rooms are smaller.
BUDGET
This Japanese-style homestay is located outside of the park but is affordable, has super friendly owners, and offers in-house tour packages.
THINGS TO DO IN ALISHAN
Now that you’ve gotten to Alishan, how do you plan your time here?
When I first started planning my trip here, I had the impression that the park would be massive and that I would be forced to pick maybe one or two trails to do. I think it has to do with me coming from Canada and being used to the kind of national parks where you have to drive from place to place to see.
The truth is, the Alishan National Recreational Forest is very manageable as far as a park is concerned and also quite do-able to do close to the entire thing in a day.
Now let’s get into the details.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO ONCE YOU GET INTO THE PARK
Once you get dropped off the Alishan bus station, there are a couple of things you’ll need to do.
Since the bus station is outside of the park, the first thing you’ll need to do enter the park by walking to the large entrance gate and pay the fee which is NT $150 per person.
From there, you’ll need to walk around 200 meters to get to the Alishan Station. I would recommend coming here to buy your sunrise train tickets which are only sold between 1PM – 4:30PM. If you know that your hotel sells sunrise tickets as well, you can skip this step.
The last step is to get to your hotel to drop off all of your stuff. Find out where your hotel’s shuttle pick up service is. For us, Alishan House specifically did pickups from the visitor center.
THE 5 WONDERS OF ALISHAN
Remember the 5 wonders of Alishan I mentioned? So what are they?
- Sunrise
- Alishan Forest Railway
- Sunset
- Sea Cloud
- Forest Trails
These will be your guideline to how you end up planning your time here but how exactly does that look like?
HOW TO DO ALISHAN?
That’s great and all but what is the best way to see the entire scenic area? If you have two days in Alishan like we did, here’s what I recommend you doing.
Day 1
If you take a look at our 12 day itinerary through Taiwan, you will find out that the fog was really heavy when we first arrived in Alishan. While we had thoughts about starting one of the trails, we were also advised by our hotel receptionist at Alishan House, that it wasn’t worth it to head out and that we should just use the rest of the day to settle in and take advantage of the observation deck of the hotel to catch a glimpse of the sunset.
The observation deck didn’t disappoint and you’ll see from Episode 2 of the 12 Days in Taiwan Series that I got a chance to watch the sea cloud flow in and up through the mountain valley as if it were soup filling up a bowl.
I also liked the idea of not rushing things as we had an early start ahead of us.
Day 2
The second day in Alishan is when everything happens. There’s the sunrise but then also there’s the rest of the forest trails to explore. The big question for me and I am sure for you is, “how the heck do I plan my day?” Again, Alishan House reception was able to set us straight and recommended an optimal route.
Here’s what that optimal route looks like broken into 3 distinct parts. This should also give you a sense of why we saved so much time by staying at Alishan House.
- Sunrise and Breakfast
- Start the early morning the shuttle ride to the Alishan train station and then the train up to Chusan
- Return back to Alishan train station after sunrise and catch a shuttle back to the hotel
- Have the included breakfast buffet
- Go back to the room to pack your bags
- Check out of your room
- Drop your bags off with reception
- This is a distinct loop because at the time of our visit, the Pond-shore Boardwalk (including Magnolia Garden) was closed
- Come back to Alishan Hotel (perfect timing to use the facilities)
- This loop can be done in as quickly as an hour. At our slow pace, we took 1.5 hours including photo and video taking
- Alternatively, we could have hopped on the train from Sacred Tree Station back to Alishan Station but it didn’t make too much sense
- This loop can be done in as quickly as 50 minutes but at our pace, it was just over an hour.
I will say that this was all quite do-able in just over half a day. This came as a surprise to me because on the map it looked so expansive. I am proof that you can do the sunrise, walk both loops, and still be ready to catch the bus back down at 2:20PM.
Alternative Routes
It’s worth noting that this itinerary works perfectly for Alishan House but if you’re staying near Alishan Station or outside of the park, you may want to do things differently.
If you watch Episode 2, you’ll see that I talk about the “Alishan Triangle” and the recommended route according to the park. This means that you have to purchase train tickets from Alishan Station to Zhaoping, followed by Loop #1 and Loop #2 as labelled in the map (these will have to be two separate loops as long as the Pond-shore Boardwalk is closed) and then take the train back to Alishan Station from the Sacred Tree.
This seems to be the most popular route for visitors. The trains are also frequent enough where you should be able to catch them as you’re hiking through.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SUNRISE
As one of the top wonders of Alishan, this is kind of a big deal and to miss it would be a bit of a shame. That said, there’s no guarantee that you’ll see it but it’s still worth the attempt if not for taking the old forest train and watching the mountains and clouds come alive.
Purchasing tickets is the first step. This can be done by either going to the Alishan train station first thing when you arrive as I recommend or buying it at your hotel if they offer it (Alishan House does). If purchasing at the station, keep in mind that they only sell tickets the day before and you have to do it between the hours of 1PM and 4:30PM. This is also when they announce the sunrise time which should allow you to plan your transportation opens if your hotel doesn’t provide a shuttle.
While your experience will likely be a little different depending on the time of the year, here’s a step-by-step walkthrough of exactly how our sunrise went down.
- The previous night, the hotel confirms sunrise times as determined by the park and also a shuttle bus departure time. Ours was set to 5:10AM
- Shuttle will drop you right at the entrance to the train station
- Take the stairs to the second floor of the station and start lining up
- You will have your tickets checked after which you’ll find a train car to queue in front of
- Promptly at the stated time, the train will load and start heading up the mountain. For us, this was at 5:40AM
- There’s a train stop at Zhaoping (also spelled Chaoping) but don’t get off here
- When you get to the final Chusan stop, follow the crowd and take the stairs up to the viewing point
- If you want a prime position along the fence, try to get up as quickly as you can
- Wait for the sunrise and when you’re done head back down to catch your train. For a 6:50AM sunrise, our two trains down were at 7:05AM and 7:25AM
- When you return back to Alishan station, there should be a hotel shuttle waiting for you
TIPS: When the hotel tells you that the sunrise shuttle rides start at 5:10AM, it actually means that they start running 15 minutes prior. When we showed up promptly at the posted time, there was already a long line and it clearly looked like they had already started ferrying people over. As a result, we were pretty much the last ones out of the hotel.
TIPS: The location of the sunrise depends on the time of the year. During the winter time, sunrise is more towards the right side of the viewing area and in the summer, it’s towards the left. To find the best place to stand, look for the Taiwanese guy sitting on a stool yelling to the crowd. We weren’t sure if he was a park ranger or just some local crazy guy but he points out where the best viewing angles are.
TIPS: For photography, however, I did find it challenging to shoot the mountains from the platform because smack in the middle is a tree. You have to make a call whether you want to include the tree in the composition or frame it in a way that takes it out. I did find that the left side of the viewing area is less obstructed but since we didn’t get a sunrise, it’s hard to say for certain whether that’s the best place to stand or not.
TIPS: Worried you’ll get hungry while watching the sunrise? Don’t worry, there are food stalls along the left side of the viewing area including things like hot soup and fish balls.
GETTING BACK DOWN TO CHIAYI FROM ALISHAN
Just as with the ride up to Alishan, you have to pay careful attention to the bus schedule and plan your time in the park accordingly.
There are the same 3 options to go back down as there are to go up so let me break it down.
OPTION 1: ALISHAN FOREST RAILWAY TRAIN
I’ve heard that taking the train downhill is the lesser of the two directions for the train because it is less scenic. That said, if you missed taking the train up, going back down by the Forest Railway may be something you want to look into.
Key Facts:
- Duration – 2 hours 20 minutes
- Schedule – Only makes 1 trip down a day at 2PM on weekdays. On weekends and holidays, there are two trips that run (2PM and 3PM) [Official schedule]
- Capacity – 180
- Booking – As with uphill, downhill books out just as fast especially during high season. Refer to booking instructions earlier in the article.
- Cost – Full fare is NT $384
Remember, this train starts from Fenqihu so you still need to get from Alishan back down. What makes taking the train a challenge is that only one tourist shuttle bus can get you to Fenqihu before 2PM and that’s the 10:10AM Line A bus. This means that you are cutting your Alishan exploration extremely short.
Alternatively, you could look into taking a cab to try to maximize your time.
OPTION 2: TAIWAN TOURIST SHUTTLE BUS
Similar to going up, Line A and B work the same way going back down.
Line A will take you back to the Chiayi THSR (high speed rail) station and Line B will take you back to the Chiayi TRA (regular railway) station. Refer to the photo I took of the schedule earlier for the exact timing.
For us, since we had pre-booked a train to Kaohsiung for 4:55PM, the only shuttle bus that made sense for us was the 2:20PM one that arrives at Chiayi THSR station at 5:10PM.
Regarding the bus, the steps are slightly different when it comes to reserving and paying so pay attention.
Bus station – To get to the bus stop, remember you have to get out of the park and to the station you arrived at. The shuttle bus driver at Alishan House was nice enough to drop us right at the station but if that isn’t possible, walk towards the entrance gate and from there it’s only a 5 minute walk away.
Buying and reserving bus tickets – Once you get to the station, go inside to the waiting area and adjoining 7-11. Look for the special cashier counter for bus tickets. Whether you’re using EasyCard or cash, you have to go through this step. With cash, you pay and you get a paper ticket. If you’re using EasyCard, you tap and you get a slip of paper that says you’ve already prepaid. This is especially critical during high season because there are limited seats on the bus. It wasn’t much of an issue for us since our bus was less than half full but I can see there being confusion here if nobody tells you what’s going on.
OPTION 3: LOCAL DRIVERS
We didn’t see too many hustlers while were in Alishan but I’m sure if you go to the Visitor Center, you’ll be able to find these drivers or cabs to take you back down to Chiayi or Fenqihu.
So there you have it, an uber guide on Alishan. It honestly sounds more complicated than it is but I can totally see it being a bit messy especially if you don’t speak Mandarin or can’t read Chinese. If you have any questions as you’re planning your trip, don’t hesitate to drop a comment or reach out personally. Always happy to help!
This trip wouldn’t have been possible without the Taiwan Tourism Bureau so hats off to them for coordinating a lot of the behind-the-scenes logistics and recommending spots like Alishan for us to explore. All opinions here are my own of course!
Additional Resources
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Hi… it’s a so many useful information in your writing about Alishan.
I’m planning to do the below itinerary in March:
• Take Shuttle Bus from Ciayi Train Station: 6.45 back from Alishan at 16.00
• Departure Alishan Station to Destination Options:
o Zhaoping Station (for Cherry Blossom) ± 6 minutes one way Go at 9.00 back at 11.50 Hiking to Sister Pond about 90 minutes
o Lunch at Alishan Station
o Shenmu Line (for Giant Tree Boarwalk, Shouzen Temple, Alishan Museum) ± 7 minutes one way go at 13.10 back at 15.10
Please advise, is it good enough to cover most of the Alishan’s beauty (except the sunrise).
Thanks,
Dialdo Siahaan
Hey Dialdo! Thanks for your comment.
I think this is do-able but you’ll definitely have to be pretty disciplined with your time and also be ready to adjust if things get delayed or you end up spending more time at a certain location. Worst case, you can always try to shorten up lunch or eat on-the-go if you need to.
Appreciate your detailed guide. It was very helpful in visiting Alishan and allowing me to see four of the five wonders. No sunset due to rain. So I’ll just have to come back. :)
Hi Will- I found the Chunming train that goes from Chiayi TRA to Fenqihu but only on the Mandarin site. I don’t speak Mandarin and had to use Google Translate, and it was “wonky” at best. Any ideas if I can book this train tour online? https://afrch.forest.gov.tw
Thanks!
Hey, I think I know what you mean – it’s a bit of a broken loop because it takes you to the Alishan online booking but then back to this page again when you try to look for the themed train. Was it this particular theme train you wanted to do or if you wanted to do just a regular train, you could book the standard trains?
Hihi! Thank you for the very comprehensive guide to Alishan. As my mum is interested in the culture of the aborigines at Alishan, how do I get to say..the Yuyupas Tsou cultural tribe park? Researching online gets me lots of info on the nature-related visits but almost nothing about including a visit to the tribe park when at Alishan. Thank you!
That’s a good question. I actually have never been and is not actually part of Alishan National Park which is probably why you don’t see it mentioned together with it. To get here it almost seems like you’d need to book a tour to Alishan that includes it or arrange for a taxi to take you there. I took a look and of course there’s no official website or way of pre-planning this but one thing that you could do is reach out to one of the hotels in the area (Leye Village) and ask them before booking with them about whether they can arrange this for you.
Hi, planning on a two day/one night trip to Alishan, was wondering, do you know based on feedback and hearsay which side of the forest railway train to sit on when going from Chiayi to Alishan?
Hey Andrew! Honestly from what I’ve heard from other folks, there’s no “better” side whether you’re going up to Alishan or coming back down. Wish I had a better answer for ya!
Thank you so so much for putting this together!! I am going to Alishan tomorrow and do not know how I would have done it without all this info you put together!
Happy travelling!
Aww thank you for your kind words! Have an amazing time there!!
Hi, thanks for this amazing blog. I’m looking at purchasing the AFR sunrise ticket – do they now sell these online? https://afrts.forest.gov.tw/OT01_1.aspx
I’m not sure which route I should be booking? Alishan – Shenmu or Alishan – Zhaoping?
Thanks :)
Hey Adrian, I see that you can book a ticket from Alishan to Chushan/Zhushan but I hesitate to say that these are the sunrise tickets and I presume these are the general tickets for during the day.
Hi, there’s actually 2 waiting sheds with BRT on top, the 2nd waiting shed which Shuttle bus 7212 stops has ‘To Chiayi’ wordings. This is where the thsr personnels and drivers point to passengers going to TRA.
Hi, seems I’m unable to respond under same thread as well.
Anyway, I think the most relevant change there so far is the BRT shuttle bus stop from THSR to TRA, I tried lining up to 7211 but drivers are now pointing to line up only for 7212 if your bound to TRA and vice versa.
Also, the Bus stop in Fenqihu seems to change depending on the season. But personnels from the Forest mountain train points out the new station is 300m straight from the Museum. So we had to walk down 300m more from the empty parking across the Museum. We were hesitant at first as it seems the road is going nowhere. But after 3-4mins we saw the big bus stop. Not sure if this is existing, but the kind lady who has donut store in the bus stop says its actually the first day operation of shuttle buses going to Alishan on that stop. :)
Okay that’s good to know! Seems like some of this maybe seasonal/situational based on what’s going on there but helpful nevertheless :)
Were there signs for 7211 or did it seem like the route’s shifted to 7212?
Hey Will
Thanks for your kind reply! (Idk why i cant continue on the same thread)
But anyways we will likely be taking the Line B Shuttle bus up
Would you know if the Alishan Forest Railway tickets can be refunded?
I accidentally booked the wrong dates :(
Hey Natalie! For the Alishan Forest Railway tickets, I am not sure if you can refund them but I’ve also never tried. Doesn’t hurt to ask for a refund when you go to the booth.
Hi there!
Your blog is so informative! My bf and I are planning a trip to Alishan this December and unfortunately the AFR tickets are sold out just 2 days after opening :( we will be trying the tourist shuttle bus from the Chiayi railway station (Line B). How do we purchase the tickets for the tourist shuttle? Do we just pay the driver? Or is there a counter?
Also, coming back to Taipei our HSR train is at 2.30 from Chiayi. What do you think is the best way for us to return to Chiayi from Alishan?
Thanks for stopping by Natalie! Glad this info’s been helpful for your upcoming trip.
Ah yes it’s been CRAZY I tell ya – you’re definitely not the first person that’s experienced the tickets selling out quickly. Really not sure what’s happening there. I wonder if the big tour buses have some inside to snatching them up ahead of time.
For the tourist shuttle, you just pay the driver. Make sure you have exact change or if you have an EasyCard, just simply tap.
If you’re catching a THSR train at 2:30PM, I’d play it safe and catch the 10:10AM bus from Alishan. It’s roughly 2.5 hours and you’ll be back with plenty of time to spare.
I hope that helps!
Hi Will,
May I know if the ticket you bought for the sunrise viewing is for roundtrip? You mentioned the schedule for when the train heads back down and would like to know if you still need to buy another ticket for that. Looking forward to your reaponse! ^_^
Hi Jazer, yes with our ticket it’s round trip. When we finished watching the sunrise, we simply came back down to the station and I remember that we just hopped on. There wasn’t a ticket check but for someone that’s been lately, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
Thank you for confirming! I am still planning so your article is the most helpful I’ve stumbled upon. I’ve been looking for a guide since last month and your guide has the perfect timing! You’re awesome and thank you!
You’re very welcome!
Hi Will! I’m back with a follow up question as I am in the middle of creating my itinerary. (Sorry about that :D). I plan to stay in Alishan Gou Hotel which is closest to Zhaoping station and was wondering if you have an idea if I can ride the Chushan train from there even if the ticket is from Alishan to Chushan? Same with the trip back, can I drop by Zhaoping instead of going back to Alishan? That will save me sometime if it can be done instead of taking a shuttle to Alishan station to and from.
Hey Jazer, I’ve never done this but I can’t see why not. You won’t get a discount as there isn’t a ticket that’s Zhaoping to Chushan so I suggest when you arrive to head to Alishan station, buy your tickets and try to ask them this question again to confirm.
What I will say is that when we took our ride from Alishan Station -> Chushan that morning there were a bunch of people that got on at Zhaoping so it’s definitely possible. On your return trip, getting off at Zhaoping station early shouldn’t be a problem.
Hi, for the taiwan shuttle back back to chiayi from Alishan can we buy the ticket 1 day before or it can only be purchase on the day itself?
That’s a good question – my instinct tells me that it has to be the day-of but I wonder if anyone else here can confirm?
Hi again Will, I’d just like to confirm something slightly out of the way here, Is it alright or will I encounter any issues if I’ll be entering through Kaohsiung airport and exiting through Taipei Taoyuan airport?
Hey! In terms of going through customs? I don’t believe so!
Hi! Yes, that exactly..
Hi Will,
Im finally back from my Alishan/SunMoon/Hualien trip. Though there might some updates, but mostly are the same. Confirmed entrance to Alishan park is still 150Twd as long as you’ves used the Bus going up.
The forest mountain train ride is really amazing.
We had awesome experience with all the sunset, frosty early morning up Mt. Osagawara and spectacular Sunrise.
All thanks to your awesome blog which was mainly my source of info during planning.
To all those who wish to go there and still planning, feel free to ask and will try to help while my memory still fresh from all those excitements. :)
Hey!! Thanks for checking in and it sounds like you had an amazing time out there :) I’m so happy!
How are things there now? I know the train situation has been complicated because of things like closures and whatnot but what else has changed?? Anything worth updating on this post?
HI! Following your suggestion, I’m thinking of taking the 9am Forest Railway Train to reach Fenqihu at 1120am, then take the 1250pm bus to Alishan Station which will arrive at 1400pm. I want to take the last bus back at 1710pm. Just wondering if the itinerary is feasible? Where do you suggest we should go with just 3 hours in between? Thanks :)
This is do-able although as you already know it’s super tight because that’s less than 3 hours to work with since you have to factor in some transit time in between even within the park. With your schedule, would it be possible to take the Forest Railway Train directly to Alishan to save a little bit of time? If you only have 3-4 hours to work with, I might recommend building your schedule around taking advantage of the trains within the park. From Alishan Station ride to Chaoping. Hike towards Sacred Tree and take the train back to Alishan Station. I hope that helps!
great information!
My friend has just managed to done online booking and completed the CC payment. however, she claimed that she has yet to recieve any email notification nor any transaction imposed on the credit card history. is it normal?
also, is it possible to collect the train ticket from any taiwan TRA station?
Hmm I would wait maybe a little bit longer to get it to process. If it still doesn’t come through then I might start wondering whether it went through or not because you need at least some sort of confirmation number to pick up. And yes you can pick up the ticket at the station.
Check the online inquiry with the booking number that was in the first email. I never received a payment confirmation but online inquiry said it was paid and I picked up the tickets yesterday in Chiayi
Sweet, thanks for the update here and good to know about checking the online inquiry to confirm whether payment went through.
Hi Nancy & Will,
Im currently experiencing the same. Payment is not yet reflecting in the card but website says Paid. Is it normal for it to take too long?
great! the new website seems to be simplier than the previous.
as for the shuttle svc, I’m trying to estimate the travel time from THSR to the TRA station. Do you think 1 hr would be enough to catch the 9am or 9.30am if we’ll try to catch the 8.05 am shuttle schedule to TRA?
Hey! Okay so the bus should be less than an hour even with traffic so I think you’ll be fine. 9AM if you get there early or 9:30AM if you find yourself late.
Thanks a lot!
Hi Will!
If i understand chinese on the website correctly, seems like Alishan Train from Chiayi stopped online booking from 1st oct :( i am going on 24th Oct.
Wonder if you have idea can we still buy alishan forest train tix on the spot or anywhere else can we buy the train ticket?
Hey! I just updated the site with the new page – they just transitioned over to the new website.
Hi! Can I pay for the Alishan Forest Railway with my debit card? Thanks!
Hi Miko, do you mean on the online system? No you won’t be able to pay with your debit card. You’ll need a credit card to pay online.
Hi, really helpful info you’ve got there, I’ve been using it as a guide for our Trip soon.. But, I have some confusions with the area of shuttke bus transfer. Can you advise where to look for the free shuttle transfer from THSR to TRA station? – It would mean a lot. Thanks! btw, Alishan Railway has new ticketing website. https://afrts.forest.gov.tw/TI02_E.aspx
Hey! Thanks for the heads up on the new ticketing website – they seem to change it every 6 months but good to see some progress here. The frustrating thing I’m seeing is that they’ve kept both websites alive which makes things doubly confusing.
Okay for the shuttle, to get from TSHR to the train station in Chaiyi, you’re looking for the BRT shuttle bus 7211 and 7212. The ride is free as long as you show your THSR train ticket to the bus driver.
Hi,
This article is a lifesaver! So question – we are flying into Taichung City. We plan to travel to Alishan the next morning. Ideally we would like to stop in Fenqihu (you made it sounds nice). My understanding is there is only the 11 am route from the high speed train station in Chiayi that stops in Fenqihu, which would only give us like an hour in Fenqihu to catch the last bus up to Alishan. I was hoping for 2 to 3 hours, unless you think that is too much? Do you recommend we take the high speed train to Chiayi, then take the shuttle over to the other station and catch a bus from there? Or do you recommend we skip Fenqihu and take the direct bus from the Chiayi high speed train station? Also, do you know how often they sell out of sunrise train tickets? I am going to be bummed if we don’t get a spot on the sunrise train. Thank you for this article! It is a HUGE help!
Hey Kendall, yes it’s a tricky thing because there’s really not a lot of time in Fenqihu if you want to find a smooth way up from Chiayi -> Fenqihu -> Alishan. We basically had that same hour and we just had to make the most of it. We couldn’t linger around too much with the food stalls and shops and we knew our main goal was to eat lunch so we did that primarily. I think 1 hour is better than nothing at all.
In terms of sunrise train tickets, they didn’t sell out when we were there as we ended up buying them from our hotel. That said, I don’t know whether for high-season whether it gets crazy or not (big tour groups and all). I wouldn’t worry about this TOO much as there seems to be a lot of space. That said, I would go to the train station first thing once you get to Alishan to get that done.
Hi Will. I managed to confirm my booking for one way departure of train from Fenchihu – Chiayi.
Do you know if I can collect the ticket from Fenchihu station or at Alishan?
While asking this question, I am already inside the bus from Chiayi to Alishan. Therefore, unable to collect the ticket at Chiayi Station.
Please advise.
Hey Vincent, hopefully this isn’t too late. To collect your ticket from Fenchihu station, you’ll likely have to go into the train station and pick it up from there since you weren’t able to collect it at Chiayi. There’s a booth there and they should be able to help if you show them your confirmation booking. Let us know how it worked out!
Hi Will. In the end, we never made the payment because we are unsure if we can get the tickets even if we paid it online.
Regardless of that, we still took the bus from Alishan to Fenchihu because even if the train ticket is sold out, we still can take bus from Fenchihu to Chiayi.
For whoever reading my comment here: I have checked with the staff in ticketing counter, they said if I paid online, they can help to issue my tickets :)
Thanks for the update Vincent! That’ll be really helpful for anyone else wondering where they can collect their tickets. Hope you had a great time in Alishan!
Hi! About to book Alishan Forest Railway, Chiayi to Fenqihu but found out they’re sold out on the day we intend to! Is there a way to purchase them on-site, it’s okay if we stand.
Hey Joseph, unfortunately once its sold out there aren’t any tickets to purchase. At this point, your best bet is to do what we did which was to take the regular bus up and back down.
Hi Will, thanks for the great blog n info.
Any tips for a family with infant n toddler in tow?
I’m thinking of a private care hire all the way to Alishan but need abit more info on the walks. Are any of the loops 1 n 2 which u did, pram friendly?
For the sunrise, is there a great walking distance to cover after getting there? (I’m thinking as I have to carry a backpack plus a baby in carrier)
Hi Gerry, I’d recommend that you watch my Alishan video to give you an idea of what some of the trail was like. I’d say stroller friendly routes or just infant/toddler routes if you’re carrying them would have to be Loop 1 but probably only parts of it because once you pass Zhaoping Station, there’ll eventually be stairs (proper steps) that head down to the pond. If you’re okay with gentle stairs then I’d say Loop 1 is still the better of the two. Loop 2 is mostly wooden boardwalk stairs and platforms but there is a back stretch when you pass by Ciyun Temple and Alishan Museum that was a bit more strenuous. At that point though, you could just hop on the train from Sacred Tree Station and just take it all the way back. I definitely saw some families do that or vice versa if you’re taking the Loop 2 the other way direction.
For the sunrise, once you get off the train, there is a covered area that is a super wide staircase for the flooding of people that will be making their way up. I can’t remember the exact number of steps but it’s not little but also not ridiculous. ince you have a baby in carrier, I think you’ll be fine. The walk up is maybe 5 minutes max? From there you’re pretty much at the viewing platform.
I hope that helps!
Hi Will! Thanks a lot for the very helpful article.
Once you’ve booked your ticket for the train online through the Alishan Railway Website, how do you get your tickets?
Do you have to retrieve them at Chiayi train station?
Many thanks
You’re welcome! There is a special counter for the Alishan Forest Railway where you’ll be picking up your tickets in Chiayi TRA.
Hi Will! I am actually planning a trip to Alishan with my elderly parents this Nov. The plan is to hire a private driver most of our way, including 3d2n at Alishan. Do you know if private drivers can drive into Alishan or must we take the Alishan trains/hotel shuttle once we arrive at the entrance? Thanks so much for all the information you shared!
Hi Ting! I wish I had a specific person in mind as a private driver to take you all the way up to Alishan. I think there are quite a few from Taipei that’d be willing to do this but one of the things you have to think about is that you’d have to cover the driver’s accommodations in Alishan.
When it comes to going to see the sunrise, depending on where you’re staying, a driver can take you to the train station and from there you’ll have to take the train up. I hope that helps!
Just wanted to say many thanks for this article – it really made figuring out the logistics of our trip to Alishan much, much easier.
I’m so glad that this was helpful. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!
Hi Will, your blog is very helpful for us but I have a few questions on booking tickets. We are foreigners and trying to pay online for a couple of times but it is not confirming even after we’re done with PIN. Any options to do? Thank you
Hi Anne! So even after putting in your credit card information nothing happens at all? I wonder if their payment system is down? Try again these next few days and let me know if you still have the same problem.
Hi Will, Nice Post!
I will be arriving in October and i love to go to Alishan
This is my ITI
ETA in Taipei is 10AM
ETD in Chiayi from Taipei is 12NN
ETA in Chiayi is aroung 4PM through TRA
Do you have any suggestions on how to go to Alishan area since i cant make it in the 3pm bus. Regarding with the cab. The price you mentioned was 400NTD. Is it per head or for the whole cab? we are 4PAX travelling.
Thanks in advance!
Ah yes it looks like you won’t be able to make it to the bus so you’re really only left the private driver/taxi route. I haven’t personally taken a cab up but that would be per person so I’d estimate anywhere around $2000-2500 NTD total actually from what I’m hearing. That’s what you should budget for but I’d try to negotiate down. Hope that helps!
Hello, it is just an amazing post that helps me a lot when I plan for my trip! Big thanks. I have 1 question: it is said that Line B – Tourist Shuttle Bus from Chiayi TRA Railway Station (Bus 7322) is available up to 2PM. Is there anywhere I cannot update the schedule if any change as I cannot arrive Chiayi before 3PM :(
Hey Thuy, happy to help! If you can’t arrive in Chiayi before 3PM your best bet might be to take one of those taxis. They seem sketchy but I’m sure they’re fine and budget wise it could work out well if you’re a larger group.
Hi! we are planning a trip to Alishan on the 4th of July but we have a few questions to ask…
First, we cannot seem to book online for the AFR as it says there are no available seats for our chosen date.Is there anything we can do with that like to book a ticket on a different website? or can we request the Alishan House to book tickets for us?
Second, can we ask if our schedule is doable? This is our supposed-to-be schedule roughly outlined:
JULY 3 ETA at Taouyuan Airport: 8:15pm
Estimated time of exit at Airport: 10pm
Travel to CHIAYI at about 10:30pm via BUS
JULY 4 ETA in CHIAYI: 7am
ETD for CHIAYI to ALISHAN (including FENQUIHU to ALISHAN): 9am or 10am
via train
ETA in ALISHAN: 2:00pm – Check in at ALISHAN HOUSE
JULY 5 Alishan Sunrise
Breakfast at Hotel, check out, etc.
ETD for ALISHAN to CHIAYI: 1:50pm
I will appreciate your comments and suggestions. Thank you so much!
Hey! So the AFR definitely sells out quick so if you’re not seeing any availability, that might be it. As far as I know, there aren’t any agencies that buy tickets ahead of time to resell. You can definitely reach out to MyTaiwanTour to see what they can do to help.
In taking a look at your schedule, I’m wondering about the time it takes to get to Chiayi from the airport. Are you taking an express bus or are you thinking about taking a train over? The rest of the itinerary looks pretty good! Have you booked with Alishan House already?
Hi Will, this is such a useful post! Am planning a trip to Alishan in the second week of July. But I’m actually on a solo trip – wondering if the trails are safe/recommended for a female solo traveller? Thanks!
Hey Lilian, yes the trains are completely safe! In fact I didn’t observe any kind of unsafe situations for solo female travellers while I was there. Yes, granted I am a guy, but Taiwan in general just isn’t that type of place I would say
Hi, about the High Speed Train, is it advisable to book tickets beforehand? or is it okay to book the ticket when we reach the station since I am not certain if we will be able to meet the exact train sched. I mean, if we book on the spot is there bigger or less possibility that the train is fully booked? and if we ever book beforehand and not reach the exact time can we like rebook it to the next train? I’m confused how this works, if it’s like normal train tickets where I can just hop on to the next train if i miss the first or like plane tickets thats specific only for that train sched.
Hey! I think it’s okay to buy tickets to the high speed train once you get to Taipei. The only time I’d not recommend it is during some sort of crazy holiday season but otherwise you should be fine. That said, if you do feel nervous, you can definitely get a company like MyTaiwanTour to help book it for you as it’s not that hard for them to do and there might be a small fee. In terms of trains and switching if you need to rebook, they do allow for that although if you don’t speak the language it might be a bit of a challenge. Our guide in Taroko helped us switch train tickets because we were going to miss our original train and we just paid the difference. I would say these trains aren’t like subways so you can’t just hop on any because they might check your tickets so you want to make sure you have the right ticket in hand.
Hi, when i click the link to book the Alishan Forest railway, the page does not load. Do you know why?
That’s odd! I checked this link a few weeks ago and it was working. I wonder if their site is simply down right now. I’d check again in a day or so.
I think there’s a new website for all train bookings including Alishan Forest Railway. You might want to check this link.
https://afrts.forest.gov.tw/TP01_1.aspx
Trying to navigate it since I just discovered it today. May I also ask what is the Train no. for Chiayi to Fenchihu? Thanks in advance.
Sweet thanks for that! Frustrating that admins don’t know how to do redirects when they make a change this way.
Hello. I’m planning my trip on the 10th to 15th July. A very short getaway, do you think its possible to go Alishan from 10 to 12? I’m landing in taoyuan airport at 1pm. Will it be possible to head to alishan in the afternoon and spend a day there on the 11th and return to taipei on 12?
Thankyou so much!
Hi Jade! Okay so if you land in Taipei at 1PM, you’ll need to take THSR straight down to Chiayi almost right away but that still means a transfer to Taipei Main Station. However, if you look at the bus schedules from Chiayi to Alishan, the latest bus is 1:55PM on the B-Line. There’s also bus 7302 which I’ve only read about and they do have a bus running at 3:05PM but even then I think it’ll be too tight for you. If public transportation is out of the question, the only thing I can recommend is to take the TSHR down to Chiayi and pay one of the private drivers waiting there all the way up. The price is roughly NT $300 but I think you can negotiate if you pretend to not be desperate.
If you make it up by that evening and stay in the park like we did (Alishan House) then you’re right on track with how our itinerary played out. Start the next morning doing the sunrise and spend the remaining part of the morning and early afternoon exploring the park before returning back down. If you do that, you can get back to Taipei on the 11th.
Alternatively, take your time on the 10th, make your way to Alishan on the 11th (follow exactly what we did) and you can also be back in Taipei by the 12th. Lastly, you could take a lot of time when you’re in Alishan and stay an extra night there before coming down the next day if you want to do the extra hikes and all the trails.
I hope that helps!!
Thank you so much for the super detailed guide!! We used it as a roadmap for our trip last week (with some slight variation, we stayed the night in Chiayi), and the information was accurate even down to the old man at the top shouting about the sunrise
That’s so awesome! I’m glad it worked out for you and the guide was helpful. How was your luck with the sunrise? And oh my gosh it’s the same guy right??
We really lucked out, the weather was super clear so we caught the sunset AND the sunrise. Plus we were able to get the best angle, thanks to that guy’s helpful directions lol.
But for real, I’m not sure we could have managed the trip so smoothly without your guide, so thank you!
Hi! May I know how did you book the tickets for the bus ride from THSR Chiayi to Alishan?
We didn’t book the bus in advance. For us in December anyways all we did was line up at the bus stop, we paid the bus driver using our easyCard (or cash if you watch our video lol), and that was it. The bus was relatively empty. There’d be no way to book in advance in any case so lining up is really your only option.
I used your blog as my guide for my family trip this april. It was very helpful. You may have to update the Alishan ticket price as we were charged 300NTD for each adult and 150NTD. This maybe because we didnt stay inside the park. Thanks!
I’ms o glad that our post was able to help you out! Thank you for the update on the prices. It must’ve doubled since we were there at the end of 2017 so I’ve made that edit. Much appreciated :)
Hi Sir,
I will be in Taiwan from march 3 to 7. I will be on solo trip and this is my first time. I want to make the most out of it during my stay. kindly advise me and give me tips. My accommodation is near Ximending station. thank you
Hi Joy, thanks for dropping a comment here.
First, have you had a chance tor read all the content I’ve put together here: https://goingawesomeplaces.com/taiwan-travel-tips/
Since you’re travelling solo and spending only 3-4 days in Taiwan, I think your best bet is to base yourself in Taipei and spend your time exploring the city (easily 2-3 days) and another day trip or two that fits your interests (sights, temples, tea, hiking, markets, etc.). Yehliu Geopark and Tamsui District are great places to pick from.
Hi Sir Will,
We are also planning to visit Alishan this March. Could we ask for help on how do we plan our trip from Chiayi to Alishan? We arrive in a hotel in Chiayi at night and we would like to see the sunrise in Alishan the following morning. Will this be possible or is it better to stay a night in Alishan?
Hi Angel! If you’re hoping to see the sunrise in Alishan, you have to be on the mountain the previous night. Alternatively you could see if there are any companies willing to drive you up really early in the morning but I have a feeling that service doesn’t exist as those roads are quite windy. Your best bet is to get up the next day, stay the night and then do the sunrise the next morning.
Hello Will :)
Your blog (and video as well) really inspired me to finally decide to visit Alishan this March and plan the entire on our own. I hope we would be as successful as you and your wife are. :)
I was wondering… does the luggage storage in Chiayi THSR or Chiayi TRA has the big locker for a 7kg luggage?
Thank you so much!
Hey Riri! I’m glad you found this helpful. When I did my trip, I was so confused so that’s why I put all of this content together. I’m not sure if you watched my YouTube video from my series but if you jump straight into this (https://youtu.be/0kx0Vh7dSoc?t=3m33s) you’ll get a quick glimpse of how big the locker is. Unfortunately I don’t have specific specs but hopefully that gives you a good idea.
Hi.
Im currently in Taichung and will visit Alishan in the next2 days. I hope you can help me with the least cost of transpo (basically what type of transpo to choose).
Thanks.
The easiest and cheapest way would be to take the high speed train to Chiayi. From there take the bus all the way up to Alishan. Likewise, you can take the train all the way down.
I’m planning to go Alishan this March
Have book accommodations at Legendary B&B from 7-8March
Wish to watch sunset sunrise n ride in the Alishan forest train.
Possible to get these done
That’s great to hear! Sounds like you have a great trip lined up. If you have two nights stay at the Legendary B&B, you should be able to do all 3 things. Sunset on the first night there or the second night and sunrise your first full day in Alishan + taking the forest train within the National Park and up to Fenqihu or back down to Chiayi. Lots of options with 2 nights.
Thank you for this! My friends and I are going to Alishan on January 12th. Unfortunately the Alishan forest rail going to Fenqihui is fully booked so we reserved for the other way around back to Chiayi.
That train does book up quickly doesn’t it! Have a great trip out there :)
I’ve watched your vlog so many times then I found your blog here.
Those are very best video with the clear explanation from you.
I will go to taiwan next month
Could you give me advice for the best itinerary 4D3N please..
Hey! Thanks for watching the vlog and I’m glad you found it helpful. Awesome to hear you’re headed to Taiwan as well. Are you looking for an itinerary for all of Taiwan that’s 4D3N or just Alishan?
Hi, Will. Thank you so much for all the lovely info about Alishan. Going there March 2019. Still thinking of staying a night or not. I love the photo that you shown and also the video too. Hope I can take the beauty of Alishan like you. A bit confuse about the bus ticket from chiayi to Alisha, need to do homework for that.
You’re welcome! If you have any additional questions just let me know. The bus ticket from Chiayi to Alishan isn’t too bad – I too felt a bit confused before going but once I figured out where to stand for the bus stand and with the card in hand, it was an easy tap in and out. The rest of it will be around knowing the schedule and how you can connect it with the train. Best of luck!!
HI Will, loved your post.
Im planning a trip soon, but I plan to do it in a day, and I was looking at the earliest time. And I wanted to try to get at the 9am train. I have a THRS booked.
YOu recommended that to get to CHiayi THSR to CHiAYi TRA, I could do the 7211 bus. As you stated, it should only take 30 min. But according to Google, It would take 1hr40min. This puts a damper on my plans of going up the train line. Maybe they’ve added stops since your visit, or is the timetable on google dependable?
Thanks for the big help with the article.
Hey thanks for dropping a line. I’ve seen this question before and while I haven’t taken the bus myself, I wanted to get the answer for you. Someone asked almost this exact question on TripAdvisor which you can see here: https://goaw.pl/2RywqBg. Others basically said Google isn’t accurate and that it should be 30 minutes. Best of luck out there and have fun :)
HI Will, like your post very much as it’s very detail and informative. I’ll be heading to Alishan on 10 Jan 2019 spending a night there.
Will check out the hotels in your post.
Thank you.
Have an amazing time! Thanks for reading and if you have any other questions just let me know!
Hi, thank you for the very informative post. I need one more information regarding the bus ticket from Alishan to Chiayi. You said that the ticket is purchased from the Bus Station (outside the entrance park), I note some say that the ticket is purchased inside the 7-11 Store inside the park (bus stop-parking area). Could you please advice? Thank you.
Yes you’re right – it’s in the Bus Station and at the 7-11 inside, you’ll be able to purchase your ticket from Alishan to Chiayi. I wrote the full details of where it is in the post.
Thank you for sharing all these valuable information. We are planning to take an early train from Tainan to Chiayi TRA and catch the forest train to Alishan, then back to Chiayi on the same day. But I’m not sure if it makes sense for us to head to Taichung after that to stay a night. Also, do you happen to know if there’s luggage storage the Chiayi Station (TRA)? I read that the service is available at Chiayi HSR but cant find much info on Chiayi TRA.
Hey! Thanks for dropping a comment. Yes it’s possible to do it as a day trip but just keep track of the time, and know the train schedules. It’ll be a little rushed but do-able. You could try to catch a train to Taichung after as the train runs into the evening so you could do that as there isn’t THAT much to do in Chiayi and you have to deal with the transit from the train station into the city etc. Since you’re already at TRA, you might as well hop over to Taichung.
Hmm good question about the luggage storage. I am not 100% sure but I think I saw signs for the lockers. Pretty much every TRA station we went to had it. This should help: https://tip.railway.gov.tw/tra-tip-web/tip/tip00C/tipC17/view
Thanks for writing up a great post on visiting Alishan. This is even better than the English version of the actual Alishan website. It seems like it wasn’t too crowded when you visited.
You’re welcome! Yeah to be honest when I was doing research, I was so confused and I needed to poke around the Internet quite a bit and ask locals to figure out how to plan the whole thing. And yes when we went it was beginning of December which you could say is the low season.
Thank U for your post. I want to travel in Alishan in next 2 months. And Your post help me alot.
You’re most welcome!
Hi Will,
Thank you for your ultimate guide to Alishan. It really helps.
But I just read about this :
THE CANCELLING OF ALISHAN FOREST TRAIN】
Alishan Forest Railway Train, which is from Chiayi Station to Fenqihu Station, is be cancelled from twenty sixth of February (2018/2/26) to the end of June (around three months).
(https://www.forest.gov.tw/EN)
Is it true? Does it means that no train is going to operate in these 3 month?
Thank you.
Hey I just took a look and you’re right it looks like they’re shutting down for 3 months to fix up the track, maintenance and maybe even open up the remaining part of the line that’s been closed down since the earthquakes.
That’s too bad BUT if you’ve read our post, there’s an equally easy method to get up to Alishan using the bus so you should be OK. The trains once you’re IN Alishan are all still running.