After nearly a week of city hopping around Taiwan, we were ready for a change of pace. So on the morning of day 7 of our road trip, we pointed our rental car inland, destination – the misty highland town of Cingjing. Located in Nantou County around central Taiwan, Cingjing is nestled over 1,700 meters above sea level, bringing relatively cool temperatures and ethereal foggy landscapes.
The drive from Sun Moon Lake to Cingjing took just under two hours as we watch the scenery become progressively more mountainous. We passed through quaint small towns and made pit stops to admire valley outlooks along the winding but well paved highway. Upon arriving into Cingjing Farm, we were greeted by a literal sea of fog blanketing the area – almost magical! We could barely make out the lush, rolling hills characteristic of this region.
After checking into our homey A-frame farmstay accommodation, we headed straight for lunch to Little Switzerland Cafe, likely Cingjing’s most popular eatery. We fuelled up on baked potatoes piled high with fixings, cabbage salad, bratwurst sausages and mugs of rich hot chocolate – perfect comfort food to brace us for the cooler climate. Fortified, we walk off lunch by exploring the Cingjing Sky and Grassland Trail located right behind the cafe.
Despite the thick fog obscuring some views, we thoroughly enjoyed meandering through the hills on wooden boardwalks and nature trails. Taking in the lush greenery all around us while breathing fresh, crisp mountain air was incredibly rejuvenating. Spots of sunlight piercing through the mist added an ethereal quality to the landscape. We even made friends with some local cows munching grass!
In the late afternoon, we took the car down to Zhiishan Village, one of Cingjing’s tea plantation areas. The sun had come out by then, treating us to splendid views of terraced rice fieldsBLANKETED by undulating rows of tea bushes. We learned about Taiwanese high mountain oolong production and had our share of fragrant tea tasting too. Watching the golden sunset while strolling through the plantations ended our first day in Cingjing on a serene note.
After enjoying hot pot using fresh local vegetables for dinner, we headed back to our cottage anticipating day 8’s adventures through Cingjing’s phenomenal highland scenery, now that the bothersome fog had (hopefully) passed! I hope you enjoyed reading our Taiwan Road Trip, Day 7 (Cingjing).