Alishan Itinerary – 2 to 3 Days in Alishan, Taiwan Guide

Likely part of most travelers’ dream Taiwan itinerary, Alishan National Forest Recreation Area in Chiayi County is one of Formosa’s fantastic natural wonders.

From its ancient tall trees to cherry blossom trails, sea of clouds and the famous Alishan Forest Railway, this is an amazing way to get back to nature.

Getting to Alishan and staying in Alishan Park isn’t as complicated as you might think BUT the key is to plan and book in advance, particularly during public holidays and Alishan cherry blossom season (usually March or April) – and you could arrive in style by Taiwan’s scenic Formosensis train or combine your trip with a visit to nearby Fenqihu.

We’ve done a few day-trips to Alishan over the years but most recently, we spent several nights staying in Alishan Forest National Park, so we could see the famous Alishan sunrise, visit nearby tea-plantations in Shizhuo and tackle the forest trails.

From where to stay to suggested things to do, here is our Alishan itinerary and how to spend two or three days in Alishan itself.

This article was originally published on 19 March 2025.

Taiwan checklist

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Where to stay in Alishan

We’ve written a guide to all the best Alishan accommodation located with the park >

There are many places to stay on the outskirts of Alishan, but if (like us), you want to stay within the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area itself, be sure to book your accommodation months in advance as they usually sell out well before.

Whilst it isn’t cheap, there are lots of good quality accommodation in the park within walking distance of the train station.

It is also within walking distance of Alishan Transport Center where the Chiayi to Alishan shuttle bus drops you off.

The bed was comfy and the room was lovely and bright, plus we had a nice view.

There are hot and cold water machines on every floor and free breakfast was served at various local restaurants organised by the hotel (breakfast was quite average though).

It wasn’t advertised, but there is a hotel shuttle that can drop you off at Alishan Transport Center.

Check out the Chinshan Hotel Alishan room-rates and availability on Agoda and Booking.com.

It is located a 14 minute walk away from Alishan station (but they provide complimentary shuttle buses).

The hotel also has buffet restaurants, cafes, bar, karaoke room, gym and spa. It is also the highest rated (based on guest reviews) of all the hotels inside Alishan Park on Booking.com.

Book on Agoda.com | Booking.com | Expedia.com | Hotels.com

Alishan Gou Hotel 阿里山閣大飯店

Located a little inside the park near to Chaoping Station, this is the best Alishan hotel to base yourself in, if you want to be close to and walk the nearby Tashan Trail and Giant Tree Cluster Trail – the beautiful Alishan Shouzhen Temple is also a short stroll away.

Breakfast is available and the onsite cafe serves Starbucks coffee. A few people think it is a little remote at night given the location, but the main park restaurant and shop area is about a 10 to 15 minute walk away (or use their free shuttle service).

Book on Agoda.com | Klook | Hotels.com

For some cheaper Alishan accommodation alternatives, check out our Alishan hotel guide >

Alishan Itinerary – Day 1

Day 1 Morning – how to get to Alishan

The main ways to get to Alishan are:

• Car hire / private driver
• Taiwan tourist shuttle bus (Chiayi to Alishan, or Sun Moon Lake to Alishan)
• The historic Alishan Forest Railway train (the Chiayi to Alishan line)
• The Formosensis luxury train (two separate trains that run between Chiayi and Alishan)

By Alishan Forest Railway / Formosensis train

A ride along the historic Alishan Forest Railway is a highly sought after Taiwan travel experience with epic scenery!

Built in 1912 by the Japanese to transport cypress down the mountain, its zig-zag switchbacks and spirals are feats of historic engineering.

The train journey both starts and ends in Chiayi and Alishan, with a stop in Fenqihu.

These are the train times (correct as of July 2026). The full timetable can be viewed here >

Chiayi to Alishan (NT$600)	1 train at 10am (5 hours with a 1 hour long stop in Fenqihu)
Alishan to Chiayi (NT$600)	1 train at 11.50am (3 hours 55 minutes)

Tickets sell out really quickly. You can purchase Alishan Forest Railway tickets the following ways:

• The official Alishan Forest Railway website afrch.forest.gov.tw (14 days before your weekday travel dates, 15 days before for Saturday travel dates and 16 days before for Sunday travel dates).
• Using a Taiwan Pass (60 days before your travel date) – limited spaces available.
• In person at Alishan Forest Railway counters (12 days before your travel date).

You can also visit Alishan aboard the more expensive and more luxurious Formosensis train which runs along the Alishan Forest Railway line.

There are four themed trains that run between Chiayi and Alishan on certain days of the week (you will need to board two separate trains between Chiayi and Alishan). Read more about train times and how to book the Formosensis train in our detailed guide >

By Taiwan tourist shuttle bus

If you are unsuccessful in purchasing train tickets, then the next best public transport option is to take the Taiwan tourist shuttle bus.

Journeys start/end in Chiayi and Alishan. A few of these buses make a stop at Fenqihu (look for the ‘A’ or ‘D’ buses, or ones marked ‘via Fenqihu’).

In Chiayi, the bus makes pick ups from both Chiayi train station and Chiayi High Speed Rail station.

You can pay onboard the bus using your EasyCard or there is an option to buy tickets online up to 31 days in advance on this website or this website. Please note you can no longer purchase tickets in FamilyMart stores as of spring 2026.

Bus reservations can only be made for journeys that start or end in either Chiayi or Alishan.

The full Chiayi station to Alishan bus timetable can be viewed here >

The full Chiayi HSR station to Alishan bus timetable can be viewed here >

Read our step by step guide to taking the Alishan to Chiayi shuttle >

There is also twice daily shuttle bus that runs between Alishan and Sun Moon Lake. This will need advance reservation and we cover this in our how to get to Sun Moon Lake guide or you can book online.

Alishan Itinerary Day 1 – arrive in the afternoon

We’ve kept this Alishan itinerary afternoon schedule a bit flexible for day 1 as it kind of depends on what time you arrive and whether you are getting one of the more frequent buses or the Alishan Forest Railway.

To enter Alishan Forest National Park, you will need a visitor permit which lasts for your entire trip. It costs NT$300 per person but if you show a special yellow receipt given to you from the bus driver when you arrive in Alishan, it is only NT$150 per person.

Most Alishan accommodation and hotels have check in from 3pm so we tried to time our arrival to Alishan Bus Station for just before 3pm. The majority of the hotels are a 5 to 10 minute walk from the bus station and any further away Alishan hotels will usually provide shuttle bus services.

Once you’ve dropped your bags off, we’d recommend heading straight over to Alishan Train Station to purchase your Alishan sunrise train tickets (unless you plan to walk the long journey in the dark tomorrow morning).

Tickets for tomorrow’s sunrise train are usually on sale until around 4:30pm (or you can book them in advance online here).

In the station, you’ll also find signs by the ticket desk stating what time the Alishan sunrise is plus what time the train departs (usually about an hour before sunrise).

Taiwanderers tip – One of the most useful Taiwan apps to download is the Sea of Clouds (雲海人) app which helps you determine the chances of seeing the famous sea of clouds. So if you are staying several nights in Alishan, you can make a judgement call on the best morning to see sunrise.

Afterwards, if it is before 5pm, we’d recommend walking over to the Alishan Visitor Center (map) to pick up some maps and any find out any updates on closed trails. Alishan Visitor Center is open daily from 8am to 5pm.

Alternatively go a little bit further and do the Shuishan Trail (1,600m) or Shuishan Healing Trail (800m). We’ll give an overview of all the main Alishan trails on day 2 of our Alishan itinerary.

Open until 4:30pm on weekdays only, the amazing architecture is reminiscent of a beautiful temple and you can buy Alishan postage stamps and souvenirs inside. Outside is also one of the few Alishan ATMs / cash machines in the forest / park area.

Alishan Stamp Collecting

One of the most popular topics in our Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) Facebook group is collecting ink stamps around Taiwan – you can even buy a dedicated Taiwan stamp collecting book >

Alishan is actually one of the best places to collect stamps (or even start your Taiwan stamp collection). Each Alishan Forest Railway station has their own unique stamp PLUS Alishan Visitor Center has several stamps, including a date stamp which they update daily.

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Alishan restaurants and eating out

There are actually a limited number of restaurants within Alishan National Forest Recreation Area (plus a couple of food-courts) – and most of these close at 8pm.

We ate a couple of times at the Naromafei Food Court 娜若瑪菲 小商圈 (map) as many of the other restaurants had queues plus relatively expensive menus.

We dined at Xiangyi Xiaochi (21 noodle dishes) 香姨小吃(21麵食) (map) where the food was hearty and cheap, plus some naughty fried food at the chicken and chips stall next door, 協力旺炸雞 (map).

For late night food in Alishan National Forest Park, you only really have one option…

Alishan 7-Eleven

There is one 7-Eleven in Alishan itself open 24 hours – sadly the 7-Eleven at Alishan Transport Center / Bus Station closed down permanently in mid 2025 – so be sure to grab your snacks from within the park before going to the bus station (or there is a nice cafe on the upper levels with views looking out over Alishan).

Whilst we aren’t saying you should be going to 7-Eleven in Alishan for every meal or snack (shop local), you might find our guide to what you can buy in the Alishan 7-Eleven useful (especially if you didn’t pack a rain mac)!

We’d recommend getting the Alishan Sunrise train otherwise you’ll need to get up even earlier to do the hike to Zhushan sunrise viewing platforms in the dark.

The train from Alishan Station to Chushan station takes around 25 minutes.

As you arrive at Chushan Station, walk out and you’ll find some food stalls in front of you to the left. These open very early serving dishes like Chinese omelette, tea eggs, french toast, a variety of soups or sausages. They also sell hand warmers for $NT40 and raincoats for $NT50.

If it is a cold day or you are a caffeine craver this early in the morning, tea and coffee can also be bought here.

You now have a choice of two main Alishan sunrise observation decks – Zhushan Sunrise Observation Deck 祝山觀日平臺 (located right next to Zhushan Station) or Xiaoliyuanshan Lookout 小笠原山觀景台, around a 550 metres walk from the station (approx a 10 minute walk).

Based on images we’d seen on Google Reviews, we decided to head to Xiaoliyuanshan Lookout as it looked much quieter (which it was) and the views were more ‘panoramic’.

Check out our full guide to see the Alishan sunrise and Sea of Clouds here >

Open daily before the sunrise until 1.30pm, we decided to do a pitstop in this tea shop with real altitude on the way back after sunrise. Handily, there are also free toilets for all below the main cafe area.

The owners welcomed us in and sat us next to the heater (it has been a cold sunrise) and offered us some tea (which was served with cake).

The views are stunning and it was nice to have a cup of Alishan tea looking out towards the mountains – it kind of reminded us of a ski chalet in the Swiss Alps!

We picked up a very detailed Alishan map for free from the visitor center – they also recommend downloading the Alipedia app (Apple | Google Play) which has lots of information about the local area and augmented maps.

There are many different trails and short hikes in the main forest area. Some of the Alishan National Forest best trails and things to do include:

Alishan Forest Railway

Whether you are hiking through the forests or just want to let the train take the train, it is well worth taking a trip on the iconic red and white trains through the forest.

Alishan Forest has several railway stations with all trains going to and from Alishan Station.

• Alishan Station is the nearest station to the park entrance, many hotels and the transport center,
• Zhushan Station is where you need to go to see the sunrise (the station is only open for 1 return journey per day at sunrise).
• Sacred Tree Station is located in the heart of the forest.
• Zhaoping Station is the midway point between Zhushan Station and Alishan Station.

Most of the rail journeys last only a few minutes but there is something magical about riding through the forest on a steam train waving at tourists (and the occasional squirrel).

Alishan Cherry Blossom Trail

The peak flowering period for Alishan cherry blossoms is March to mid April and there is a dedicated Alishan Blossom Festival each year (usually in March).

Alishan is famed for its Tokyo King tree, sometimes referred to as the King of Cherry Blossom. The cherry blossom area dates back to around 1913 when a forestry worker named Mr Kondo started an appeal to raise money to buy blossom trees – he ended up having enough money to buy over 1,900 trees!

Three Generations Trees

A trio of generations of cypress trees have grown from the same root system, with the first generation likely to have been established over 1,500 years ago.

Around 250 years after it died, new seeds started to grow here using nutrients from the old tree before being followed by a new generation 300 years later.

Now, protected by wooden fencing, these moss covered trunks and branches look magnificent and are a reminder of how long Alishan has been around, growing from nothing.

Giant Trees Plank Trail

If you only have limited time in Alishan, this easy trail through century old trees is probably the one walk you need to experience. This is a wooded walk consisting of two loops, one of which is 600 meters in length and one 400 meters in length.

If you’ve seen misty pictures of Alishan’s forests before, this is likely where they were taken and it is genuinely like taking a step back in time (well apart from the tourists in bright jackets using phones and cameras)!

The trails are fine for anyone with a good general level of fitness and at the end, you could always make your way to the Sacred Tree Alishan Forest Railway Station and get the train back to the main park.

Follow the Giant Trees boardwalk through the forest and along the way, you’ll find 20 labelled ‘Great Cypress Trees’ (amongst many others) that have stood the test of time.

There are only five species of cypress tree left in the world of which two types can be found in Taiwan (the others are in the US, Canada and Japan).

Thousand Year Cypress & Wooden Bo’ai Pavillion

Once named the ‘Banzai’ (the Japanese for 10,000 years) because forestry officials once thought it looked like two arms being raised to wish an emperor long life. It was renamed Thousand Year Cypress to be more representative of its true age.

Nearby, the Bo’ai Pavilion looks magnificent made out of wood and marking the start of the No.1 tree on the Giant Tree Trail.

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Dr Kawai Memorial Monument

The inscribed stone monument dates back to 1933 to commemorate Dr Kawai Shitaro, who completed a game changing tree survey in 1903. His work showed that Alishan Forest was home to over 300,000 trees which led to a logging development plan.

Ciyun Temple & Sea of Clouds viewing platform

Once known as Alishan Temple, this is one of best places in the forest itself to see the mystical ‘Sea of Clouds’ when the weather conditions are favourable – on a clear day, you can see for miles around and there is also a little tea shop outside.

Ciyun Temple is a Buddhist place of worship and dates back to 1919 – visitors are not allowed inside the temple but you can explore the grounds, including the big bronze bell outside.

Xianling and Shouzhen Temple

Xianling is the area where a lot of coach trips and tourists depart from. It is famous for its Magnolia Garden plus its huge several storey Shouzhen Temple – you just don’t expect a temple of such magnitude to be in the forest!

Shouzen Temple was built in the 1940s and apparently has the highest elevation of any temple in Taiwan.

Xianling Service area has a food-court with about a dozen or so food and souvenir kiosks, in case you are in need of a snack or drink during your Alishan Forest foray.

Sisters Ponds

A pair of naturally formed ponds, the larger of the two (Elder Sister Pond) has a pavilion in the center made from local cypress wood.

The area is said to be full of myths and legends – Younger Sister pond is usually full of water in the summer months but often disappears completely in the winter months.

From Sisters Ponds, we walked up the remaining trail through the forests past Alishan Gou Hotel to Zhaoping Station.

We then got the train through the forest back to Alishan Station, collecting another souvenir stamp at Zhaoping Station before we boarded.

By now, it should be early evening so grab some food back at the Alishan Forest National Recreation Area.

If the weather was bad on night 1, you could look to do your stargazing trip tonight instead.

Optional Day 3 Alishan Itinerary

For your third and final day in Alishan, you can either:

• Spend your day at leisure in the park or do further away hikes and trails, like Tashan, Mountain known for its steep cliffs and amazing views of Yushan (Jade Mountain), Duigaoyue and Mabolasi Mountain.

• Do a day trip to nearby Shizhuo or Fenqihu by bus. The two main Taiwan tourist shuttle buses 7329 and 7322 depart regularly from Alishan and stop at Shizhuo (only a few go to Fenqihu).

Day trip to Shizhuo

‘Drink in’ the tea-filled views of Shizhuo – this traditional Taiwanese town high in the hills is small but sublime which makes it easy to explore with several short Shizhuo trails 石棹步道群.

Taiwan’s tea fields are aplenty around here and thankfully, the green and verdant valleys of Shizhuo are just a bus ride away from Alishan and Chiayi.

The main Taiwan shuttle buses that go through Shizhuo (sometimes via Fenqihu) are bus numbers 7329 and 7322.

Famous trails here include the Mist Trail, Tea Trail, Sunset Trail and Sakura Trail and many can be completed in about half a day – be sure to make some time for tea!

Read our guide to all of the Shizhuo Trails here including more transport information >

Day trip to Fenqihu

In Spring 2026 we visited Fenqihu for 3 nights staying at The Fenqihu Hotel and have written a super detailed guide to visiting Feniqhu >

From Alishan, Fenqihu is a 45 minute drive away and around 35 minutes away by bus.

Buses 7322A or 7329A leave Alishan at 9.10am, 10.10am and 2.10pm, and go back to Feniqihu at 11.30am, 12.50pm and 2pm.

You can also take the Alishan Forest Railway train to Fenqihu at 11.50am, and back to Alishan at 1:21pm. These two trains will need advance booking, but solely taking the train for a day trip will not give you enough time to properly explore Fenqihu.

Your best option for a day trip would be to take the 9am bus and return at 12.50pm or 2pm.

Fenqihu has to be one of our favourite places in Taiwan for forest walks, fantastic food and a peaceful time after all the tourists have left.

Famous for its bento boxes, bamboo trails, railway heritage and Fenqihu Old Street, you’ll also find some more fun things to do here including some charming cafes – talk about brews with views. And if you time it right, you might see fireflies too.

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Other things to know about staying in Alishan

• No smoking is allowed in the park apart from a few designated areas like the booth next to the first traffic checkpoint – if caught, smokers will be fined between NT$2,000 and NT$10,000.
• No pets are allowed in the Alishan Forest Recreation Area, to prevent the spread of rabies (although we saw loads of stray cats).
• No barbecuing or camping is allowed inside the Recreation area.
• Remember to get a park permit (NT$300 per person, NT$150 with proof of a bus ticket) as you enter the Recreation Area.