Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The tropical island is sacred land to its inhabitants, but it had been mistreated for dec-
ades by a larger colonising neighbour. The opening of the island to tourism in the 1960s,
coupled with controversial government policies, has seen the Tao struggle to retain their
culture in the face of increasing outside influences. The Tao are well aware that most
Taiwanese visitors view them as an oddity, so any visitors to Lanyu should take note of
these sensitivities.
Summer is high season on Lanyu, and plane tickets are hard to get and accommoda-
tions scarce and more expensive. After mid-September, however, and in the spring,
Taiwanese visitors are few and far between (especially during the week), despite the fact
that the weather leans towards the idyllic end of the scale.
Lanyu is made up of two steep, jungle-covered mountains which are surrounded by a
thin strip of coastal land with six villages on it. The 37km road circling both mountains
can be driven in about 1½ hours; a shorter, twisting road winds between both mountains
from just south of the village of Hungtou on the west coast to the village of Yeyin on the
east. This road also branches off to reach the weather observation centre atop Hongtoush-
an (Red Head Mountain).
