Watching Sunrise Over Taiwan's Tallest Mountain

travelstheworld (54)in #travel • 7 years ago (edited)

Hello Steemians!

When I was in university in Canada I made friends with people from all over the world and one of my closest friends back then was Terry, he is from Taiwan and had been in school in Canada for almost 10 years. When we finished university he went home to Taiwan and I set off to work to pay off my student loans and I grinded away at that for 2 years before quitting my job and taking a trip through Asia. My first stop was Taiwan for a month touring around the country with Terry and our other friend from university, Nam.

My favorite photo from the whole 9 month trip

The entrance to the park

Yushan National Park

Yushan National Park is the second largest park in Taiwan and it sprawls a massive 1,000 square kilometers and is home to the highest mountain in the country, Yushan. We traveled to Alishan Scenic Area on our tour around the country just to get a chance to view the sunrise over Alishan and Yushan. The scenic area is a massive tourist spot and you can book a tour to get to the viewing platform first thing in the morning for about $5USD and it is worth every penny. We spent the whole afternoon after arriving checking out some walking trails through the forest and seeing some of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen.

Sunsets are really beautiful in Alishan as well

These parks are full of absolutely ancient trees

The Big Day

We got up at 5:00am to get to the viewing platform at 6:00 for a fifteen minute wait for the sun to crest the mountains and we were slow going. We met with the guide and he gave us small sections of polarized plastic to watch the sunset through to not hurt our eyes and we set up against the railing to take pictures of the valleys and wait for the sun to get over the mountains. When it crested the mountains I was blown away by the pure beauty of the moment and the warm sun falling on my face woke me up more than 1,000 cups of coffee. We watched for another 20 minutes while the sun rays lit up every part of the valley and the sounds of nature were in full effect, it was pure bliss.

We were not ready to tackle the day

A few shots of the valley before sunrise

I really like this one, Taiwan always has these foggy mountains

The sun cresting the mountains

The polarized plastic so you cna't hurt your eyes

When it was almost over the mountains

A couple shots of the rays of sunshine falling over the valley

Of all the countries I have visited, Taiwan will always have a special place in my heart, it is such an immensely beautiful country. It has everything you could want from beaches to mountains to massive cities and every time I go I find new places to visit, if you ever get a chance to go to Taiwan do not hesitate and just go! Thanks for reading!