ALISHAN Easy Trails (阿里山/輕鬆走步道)

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On our trip to Alishan this February we walked a few easy trails in the Xiding and Shizhuo area, including Eryanping Trail, Mist Trail, and Tea Trail. The trails go by awesome tea plantations and also very nice bamboo groves.

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Travel in Taiwan magazine (2020/5-6)
Text: Rick Charette

Eryanping Trail
Another recommended area trail, not part of the Shizhuo group, is the Eryanping Trail, which is informally called the Tea Fragrance Trail. It starts beside Highway 18 at the 53.5km mark in the Xiding village area, a few kilometers below Shizhuo. “Xiding” means “top of the crevice,” indicating the pass/crevice used by early settlers when heading to Mt. Eryanping. The trail is a 1,500m jaunt up the side of the mountain, and takes about 45 minutes one way. There are steep grades in sections, with many rail-tie steps and wood-built staircases to ensure good footing. The pathway winds through bamboo stands and tea fields, with viewing decks along the way. The tea-terrace walls are made of stones dug from the fields; have a close look and you’ll spot shellfish and other fossils.
The multiple adjoining viewing decks at the very top of the trail are busy most every day, assuming good weather, because of the terrific views of the Jianan Plain far off to the west, the often riveting sunsets, and the prime positioning over a deep valley for viewing of two other natural phenomena that are intrinsic elements in the Alishan brand mosaic, “seas of clouds” and “cloud falls.” Note that both of these are more prevalent on winter mornings and evenings, dependent on propitious combinations of cool nights and bright, clear days (or vice versa).

Mist Trail
The steep, stepped Mist Trail, which heads straight uphill through terraced tea fields, is 800m long. This was originally opened by local farm folk as a pathway, in pre-motor vehicle and pre-tea cultivation days, to transport sweet potato, Chinese fan palm, bamboo shoots, and other crops down to Shizhuo. The vista to the east is unfettered, with a long stretch of the Yushan Mountain Range in awesome view. The tea fields on the lower section are dotted with farmhouses, a number of which are homestays; Alishan’s homestays are almost invariably run by local denizens. The tableaux on sunny and wet days are a world apart, with thick mists often rolling in. The trail’s upper section is through dense bamboo, along a farm road and then wood-plank stairs, offering cool shade and rich bird and insect music.

Tea Trail
The Mist Trail ends in tall secondary coniferous forest and connects directly with the Tea Trail, which continues up the mountainside. Here you are beyond the highest-placed farmhouses. The first section is through dense bamboo forest, with the wide dirt pathway soft-carpeted with fallen bamboo leaves. You then emerge among tea fields that are close-surrounded on three sides by either walls of bamboo or, higher, coniferous trees. The fourth side is open, the mountainside here falling away to the northeast, with views down to the highway area beyond Shizhuo and to the close mountains beyond. The Mist/Tea trail combo takes about an hour to conquer, one way.
Taiwan’s coveted gaoshan oolong cha, or high-mountain oolong tea, was developed in the Alishan region, which when experimentation commenced was colder and higher than the island’s established tea-cultivation areas. Today the term High Mountain Tea refers to leaf grown at 1,000m or higher. Such altitudes produce hardier teas that possess a greater concentration of flavor-producing elements.