For Westerners, Taiwan is not a very trendy touristic destination, so I had very little expectations… And yet, I was mesmerised by the richness of this small country. Torn apart between China and Japan, Taiwan forged its own identity: welcoming and smily citizens, amazing street food everywhere and intense cultural background! I spent almost a month in Taiwan, there is a lot to see and public transports are not really adapted to tourists who want to go off-the-beaten track. Without a car, it is not easy to visit the mountainous inside of the island without spending days on buses.

I focused mainly on the perimeter, starting from Taipei and the northern region (Yangmingshan National Park, Jioufen and Keelung and its impressive Shen’ao Elephant Trunk Rock), and traveled clockwise to Hualien to bike around the incredible Taroko Gorges, then Taitung and Kentig National Park, the most southern point of the island. Going back north, Kaohsiung, Tainan, and the Sun Moon Lake before getting back to Taipei.