Alishan 1-Day Self-Guided Tour: Sunrise, Sea of Clouds, and Sacred Trees Sightseeing (Departure from Taipei) | Chiayi, Taiwan

I stumbled upon this overnight bus tour, which takes you to Alishan in the early morning. Surprisingly, quite a few other people were also taking this bus. No wonder it only runs once a week; it's perfect for people used to long-distance buses. Arriving around 3 AM, I had to rest at Alishan Station (which was also crowded). For the sunrise viewing tour, there's a separate bus to Zizhong (the starting point of the Tofuno Ancient Trail). This dedicated scenic spot isn't as crowded, and compared to the two separate trains to Zhushan for sunrise viewing, it was much quieter to enjoy the sunrise. The entire itinerary was well-planned.

Alishan is beautiful, but it's very cold to watch the sunrise in November; you'll need to wear a down jacket. Remember to bring a neck pillow when taking the bus. The cakes upstairs at the transfer station are delicious. Some drivers smoke in front of the 7-Eleven and at the sunrise waiting area, but they weren't with our group 😠

The Kuo-Kuang Bus driver was friendly and helpful. Upon arriving in Alishan, we were greeted by a sky full of stars. It was quite chilly in Alishan at dawn, so bring an extra jacket. The weather was great the next morning, and the driver perfectly predicted the sunrise time, allowing us to witness the sunrise as if an egg yolk were leaping out from Yushan. I highly recommend this tour.

It was my first time to visit Alishan. The bus ride there and back took about 6 hours, which was quite tiring, but the weather was clear and the sunrise was beautiful and moving! The natural beauty of Alishan was truly amazing. I definitely want to go back again.

The time arrangement was perfect. We could take a break at Alishan Forest Recreation Area and then buy some hot food at 7-11 to replenish our energy and prepare for the sunrise the next day.

The tour guide was great and absorbed a lot of information about Alishan. The sunrise and the sacred tree were great.

There are cypress sunrise glasses to protect your eyes, which is a great experience.

The itinerary did not include taking the sunrise train to see the sunrise, but arranged another spot. It was a pity that we did not take the sunrise train, but we did see the sunrise this time, which was really great! The tour guide Xiao Cai is great! He also enthusiastically recommended itineraries to us!

This time I was lucky enough to enjoy the sunrise, sea of clouds and sacred trees. I was so happy! After departing from Taipei at 20:45, the Kuo-Kuang Express will stop at a 7-11 where you can use the restroom, buy groceries, and get hot water. Arrive at the Alishan Transfer Station at 2:10, pass the Alishan Forest Recreation Area ticket office, enter the park, and pass by a public toilet. You can first walk to the gathering place of the visitor center to check the location. There is a public toilet on the right and a seat in front. Then I walked around and found many seats and lights nearby. There were many people buying food and eating at the 7-11, and there were seats in front. Find a bright and quiet seat to rest, set the alarm, keep your head to toes and hands warm to avoid hypothermia, take a short nap, get up and go to the toilet at the gathering place to wait for the bus. There are public toilets and agricultural products for sale at the sunrise viewing area, and guided tours are available. Agricultural specialties are also sold at the Lulin Shenmu parking lot. It was awesome that we happened to encounter the sacred moth in the forest park to celebrate the birthday of Emperor Xuantian! The park has a tour bus that you can buy tickets for and use to save energy. On the way back, we stopped at Chiayi Transfer Station to use the restroom and go shopping, ending a wonderful day and night.

There was a small flaw in the entire itinerary arrangement, because the itinerary was arranged for a nine-seater car and the time was 6 o'clock in the morning, which was in time for the sunrise on the same day. However, it took three hours from the time I got off the Kuo-Kuang Express to the time the train arrived. I saw that the first Zhushan Line sunrise-watching train had already left, and there was only one person waiting for the train in the entire passenger service center. In fact, I do have some small worries in my heart.