Mt Ali or Alishan was a source of cypress logging during the Japanese occupation in the early 19th century. The Alishan Forest railway was built to transport these logs down the mountain. It was designated as the Alishan Forest Recreation area after WWII and is now one of Taiwan’s major attraction.
The most popular way of seeing Alishan is via the train. Touted as one of the world’s highest elevation railway, the train climbs to an altitude of 2000m and passes through the changing flora and fauna reflecting 4 climates (from tropical to subtropical) in a zig-zag manner. The journey takes about 4-1/2 hours from Chiayi to Alishan.
There are many trekking trails here of varying degrees of difficulty. The following are recommended for day trippers.
From Alishan Annex to Alishan House:We took a "shortcut" (about 10 minutes downhill walk) that starts from Jhaoping train station, through the Jhaoping park and the plum garden before ending at the cafe balcony of the Alishan House. This short trail is highly recommended in spring when the alpine flowers are in full bloom.
From Alishan-gou Hotel (about 40 minutes), the Forest Bath trail:Enter this trail and visitors will be entranced by the cedar and cypress trees that loom overhead. Hikers are encouraged to inhale deeply as they hike through the forest to rid themselves of the stress and tension of everyday life. The path led us to the Sisters pond, the magnolia garden and eventually to the trail of the Giants. We u-turned just before the magnolia garden as we had already trekked the Trail of the Giants earlier. The highlights of this trail: the Sisters pond and the 3 brothers, their story is described
here. Look out also for the fascinating tree formations and their equally interesting names like "Forever one" and the "Dragon and Phoenix." Many make perfect picture backgrounds for hikers to pose for souvenir photographs.
From the Sacred Tree station (Senmu):There are special train services on weekends from Alishan station to the Sacred Tree station (Senmu) for just NT50 1 way. The short journey on a refurbished electrical engine train was enjoyable and perfect for those who are unable and cannot hike the entire length of the trail. It meanders through the mountain flanked by red cypress and fir trees before ending at Senmu, the site of the Sacred tree. This sacred tree is a 3000 year old red cypress which was damaged by an earthquake. The iconic tree now lay at the side of the railway track. Hikers begin the Giant Trees trail in gradual ascent. The highlight are the red cypresses some as old as 2300 years. There are 36 Giants in all spread along the trail and bifurcates into trail 1 and 2. For the tireless, hikers can continue the trail that would eventually lead them back to Jhaoping station and Alishan station via the Forest-bath trail. We chose to conserve our energy and took the train back to Alishan station.
From journal Naruwan Taiwan!