There’s some great hiking trails with explanations of everything…the sacred tree and elephant tree were pretty cool. Little warning though, it’s a really touristy small town, so unless you don’t mind paying a lot at one of the few restaurants, I’d suggest bringing some packable food (PB&J or something).

If you go during the week, most of the hotels are half price. There were a couple for about 1200 NT during the week…though I don’t remember the name of the one I stayed at. Just try a google search for “Alishan hotel Taiwan”, and it should come up…I think it was a 5 letter name (don’t know how I remember that). The choices are limited.

Oh, also…my fiance’s parents said that though there’s a lot of people at the organized stuff, none of it is really violent, and other than lots of discussion with family and friends, they’ve just gone about their lives as if nothing’s really happening. So, you should be totally safe, cause they live right by the city hall where its all happening.

Lastly, I noticed someone mentioned “Taroko National Park”. That is “Tai-lu-ugh” as I mentioned, but the pinyin is a little funny. No one around Hualien knows what “Ta-ro-ko” is…just “Tai-lu-guh” (emphasis on the Tai part).

Good luck! I wish I was going back!

Yeah, it was named Taroko gorge when the japanese were occupying the island. The Taiwan people pronounce it Tai Roo Guh. It’s probably the most beautiful part of the east coast, which is the most beautiful part of the island. There are natural hot springs converted into hot tubs in the middle of the river, beautiful scenery, and lots and lots of little hikes to go on.

There are trails pretty much everywhere all over the island. Some lead to temples in the mountains, I even followed one that ended up leading to a campground where a bunch of old people had built a shack and were sucking power out of an industrial power line to run their karaoke machine. If you want an adventure, go into a shop and ask somebody where is a fun place to hike. They’ll probably argue about it with their friends, then tell you some place you have no idea how to get to, then offer to go with you.

I spent most of my time in Hualien and in Taipei, so I haven’t got much advice for Ali Shan specifically or the west and south coasts.

Expect to pay much more for food at the touristy spots on the east coast, such as Taroko and Ali Shan. The benefit of such spots is that you can get the native taiwanese food in addition to the more common chinese food available in the cities.