Many travellers to Taiwan have the Alishan sunrise and ‘Sea of Clouds’ lookout on their bucket list – if you’re willing to get up early, Alishan’s sunrise is surprisingly easy to see (and the sunrise train is cheap).
Even if the famous ‘Sea of Clouds’ don’t emerge, it is still worth visiting. It is a straightforward train journey with the main viewing platforms within walking distance of Zhushan station.
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You can even treat yourself to some breakfast at the food kiosks or have some traditional Taiwanese tea from the Mountain Ali Tea No.35 teahouse overlooking the mountains.
From the train journey and prices to which is the best observation deck and cloud app, here is our guide to witnessing the wonderful Alishan sunrise and Sea of Clouds + photos.
You might like – How to get the shuttle bus to Alishan from Chiayi; a step by step guide >
Taiwan checklist
We love using agoda.com and booking.com for researching and booking all our hotels, and Hostelworld for booking hostels.
For booking tours, transfers and SIM cards we recommend Get Your Guide, Viator, KK Day or Klook.
Staying in Alishan National Forest
We stayed in Alishan National Forest Park (near to the main recreation area) for several nights in February 2025 (prior to this, we’d only done Alishan day trips like these on Klook).
We’ll talk about the Alishan sunrise train shortly but as it leaves so early (any time after 5am depending on the time of year). You need to be staying close to Alishan Railway or have access to a car or tour that can get you there on time.
You might like – Our recommended Alishan itinerary – coming soon >
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Alishan Accommodation
There are several 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 always become fully booked.
Whilst it isn’t cheap, there are lots of good quality accommodation in the park within walking distance of the train station.
Some of our recommended Alishan hotels and accommodation include:
Chinshan Hotel in Alishan
After much research, this is where we chose to stay based on the close proximity to all the Alishan Forest Recreation Area plus a 5 minute walk to Alishan Railway 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.
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.
Other affordable hotels within walking distance of Alishan station include Dafong Hotel and Alishan Shermuh Tourist Hotel.
If you want to splurge, Alishan Hotel is a 4 star hotel with spacious rooms and views of the forest. 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. Book on Agoda.com | Booking.com | Expedia.com | Hotels.com.
Alishan Sunrise Train fare and departure times
As of March 2025, the price of the Alishan sunrise train to Zhushan Station (where the sunrise viewing decks are) is NT$150 one way or NT$75 for a half fare (concessions).
So to do the return Alishan sunrise train as well, it would cost NT$300 in total per person.
The sunrise train usually departs an hour or so before sunrise itself – the Alishan sunrise train departure time changes regularly and is posted in the station and on the Alishan Forest Railway website at 4.30pm the day before.
So for instance, when we took the train in February 2025, Alishan sunrise was at 7:03am and the train departed at 6am.
On our trip, they put on two sunrise trains to Zhushan as there were a large amount of people with tickets.
Another alternative is to hike to Zhushan along the main road which we’ll talk about later…
Try this – Alishan tours with Klook, Get Your Guide and Viator
Alishan Sunrise Train tickets
There are two ways to buy Alishan Forest Sunrise Train Tickets – in person at Alishan Railway station or online.
In person at Alishan station
As we were staying in Alishan Forest Recreation Area, we just walked over to Alishan Forest to buy our Alishan Sunrise Train tickets for the next morning.
We paid NT$150 in cash each and were given printed tickets. We purchased one way tickets so we could hike back once the sun had risen.
Our hotel receptionist said you couldn’t buy the train tickets until the afternoon of the day before but we bought ours around 10am in the morning – so just try your luck the morning before if you are already in the park. The ticket office closes at 4.30pm.
If you arrive in Alishan in the evening after the railway station ticket office has closed, you can also buy them a few minutes before the train departs in the morning from the Alishan station ticket office – but there is a chance they will have sold out or have very limited availability so make sure you’re at the front of the line!
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Online
If you buy the Alishan Sunrise Train tickets online, you need to pay for them within 2 days of making the reservation or you lose your booking.
You may need to print your tickets / booking off in a 7-Eleven store or pick them up at Alishan Train Station very early in the morning on the day of the departure.
Note that the tickets are just to board the train itself – you aren’t given any reserved seats and you have to sit on wooden benches. Many will likely have to stand.
You might like – Our guide to Taiwan’s Sanrio Train (a VERY different type of train) >
The Alishan Sunrise Train – our experience onboard
Our train was scheduled to depart just after 6am so we set our alarm for 4.30am (eek), had showers to warm us up after a cold night and bounded over to Alishan Train Station for 5:30am. We got there half an hour early so as to guarantee ourselves a seat (via the Alishan Park 7-Eleven for a coffee!)
As we had our tickets already, we just headed on up to the boarding area – as we were there half an hour early, we were second in line.
About 10 minutes before departure, our tickets were checked and we were ushered onto the platform where we queued again at designated queueing spots. We were first to queue up for one of the carriages which meant we got a seat.
Inside the Alishan sunrise train, it is pretty basic, you sit on benches and many travellers had to stand.
The train journey takes around 20 to 30 minutes and it is quite a slow affair – it is also very quiet as half the passengers seemed to want to sleep!
You might like – Our guide to Alishan’s 7-Elevens and what you can buy (coming soon)
Arriving at Zhushan / Chushan Station
By the time we arrived about 25 minutes later, the sky was becoming a little lighter.
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.
As it was around 6:30am and sunset that day was 7:03am, we turned right and headed straight to Xiaoliyuanshan Lookout, the further of the two main Alishan sunrise observation decks.
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Alishan sunrise main observation decks
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’.
Zhushan Sunrise Observation Deck is the busier one as it is literally right next to the station and not much walking is involved – having the snack stalls there is also quite handy, plus there were toilets.
We did the short hike to Xiaoliyuanshan Lookout and were not disappointed – around 100 or so people stood around us to witness the sunrise but it never felt too crowded.
If you want to have the Alishan sunrise and Sea of Clouds all to yourself, you can walk a little further past the main lookout along the wooden boardwalks to find several smaller decks and lookouts. We did all of these but found the main Xiaoliyuanshan Lookout the best view of the lot.
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The sunrise view is sensational
Yes, even with a 4:30am alarm call, we can hand on heart say the view is stunning as the sun rises slowly over the mountains and golden rays of light start to trickle over the valley.
Sadly we didn’t get to see the famous Alishan’s sea of clouds but we were still blown away by the breathtaking beauty of the mountains.
There is also a recommended app called sea of clouds ( 雲海人) which predicts the likelihood of seeing the Alishan sea of clouds and other localised weather patterns. Download on Apple or on Google.
Check out our guide to the best apps to use in Taiwan here >
Mountain Ali Tea No.35
茶田35號 小笠原二館
Time for Taiwanese tea – a quick mention of a cute little teahouse called Mountain Ali Tea No.35 which is on the trail between Chushan Station and Xiaoliyuanshan Lookout.
Open daily before the sunrise until 1.30pm, we decided to take a pitstop in this tea shop with real altitude on the way back after sunrise. Handily, there are also free toilets for all to use 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).
They were also about to put on an upcoming exhibition of postcards drawn by travellers from all over world so we duly obliged and drew our own – we were rewarded with a tea bag souvenir to take home.
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!
Hiking vs train
We decided we wanted to stay after the majority of crowds had left so we stayed around half an hour after the sunset – by the end, it was just us and a random selfie obsessed couple. We’d seen enough so after a quick drink at the tea shop, we made our way back.
If you want to get the train back, it leaves very soon after sunrise – make sure that if you view the Alishan sunrise from Xiaoliyuanshan Lookout like we did, that you need to allow at least 10 minutes to walk back to Chushan Station to make the train back.
We decided to walk back to where our Alishan hotel was near Alishan Transport Center. We walked back via the Zhushan Sunrise Trail which was mainly on paved roads and wooden boardwalks and takes around 1 hour.
For the most part of our walk back, we saw nobody until we reached one of the railway stations – the road seemed safe and we chose to do this walk back in daylight; but if you are feeling adventurous, you can walk to the observation decks in the dark from Alishan Forest Park Recreation Area.
Would we recommend the Alishan sunset?
Overall, despite not seeing the famous Alishan Sea of Clouds, we loved our epic early morning Alishan sunrise adventure and highly recommend it.
Yes there are crowds but the bigger lookout has ample space so hopefully everyone can enjoy the early morning experience without too much shoulder rubbing.
Another benefit of staying within the park a few nights is that you have insurance against bad weather and can try and pick the best morning to go in conjunction with the Sea Of Clouds (雲海人) app.
Whether you hike or get the Alishan sunrise train, you are in for a morning to remember – and be sure to start the day properly with some traditional Taiwan brews with views at Mountain Ali Tea No.35.
Found this Alishan sunrise train guide article helpful?
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