Jiupeng Desert 九棚大沙

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The Jiupeng Desert (aka Jioupeng Desert 九棚大沙漠 or Gangzhi Desert 港仔大沙漠) is a row of sand dunes along the coastline near Jiupeng Village, Manzhou Township, Pingtung County, and are the largest sand dunes in Taiwan. The area is not actually a desert but is formed from strong northeast winds along the coast, creating large dunes of sand despite the fact that Taiwan is a wet, tropical island.

Background:
The area around Jiupeng Village was named because of nine villages in the area. The first settlers in the area arrived in the early 1900s during the Japanese era. 
The population in the area is about half what it was in the 1980s as younger people have moved to big cities for better work opportunities. Even though there are over 300 registered households, only about 100 people regularly live here. 
The sand dunes have become a popular spot for ATVing and off-roading, however some accidents and liability issues have hampered the industry. 
​Usually you will not see many people here because the area is so remote. 

Hours:
24/7

Price:
Free

Where to stay:
Looking for a hotel? Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here. We recommend booking through Agoda here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation in Taiwan.
I have stayed at many hostels and hotels in Pingtung, and even almost bought a house here. Some places that I have stayed at and can recommend are Nanwan Kiki (book on Agoda here, Booking.com here), a B&B next to Nanwan Bay, Kenting's most popular Beach. There are also a few decent hotels near Kenting Street Night Market like Kenting Star Inn 888 (book on Agoda here, Klook here, or Booking.com here), or Kenting Dajianshan Hotel (book on Agoda here or Booking.com here). You will notice that none of these hotels are five star resorts (I do not come to Kenting to waste my time at a resort, but you can still search Agoda, Booking.com, or Klook here for those) but they are in my opinion the above have the best value for the money. 

Tours and Activities in Pingtung:
There are many activities available in Kenting, such as Riding ATVs (four wheeling) on the beach snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing. 
You can find more tours of Kenting on Klook here or KKday here. 

How to get there:
By Bus: You can take bus 304 or 304A to Gangzai Nei station, and the sand dunes are about a half hour walk away. You can book tickets to travel to Pingtung via inter-city bus on Klook here. 
By Car/Scooter: Take County Highway 200 to Jiupeng in Pingtung. The sand dunes are very big and obvious along the coast.
Looking for scooter rental in Pingtung? Click here or here to search for options.
If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search Qeeq here, Klook here, or  KKday here. You can also check out our car rental guide here.  
By Bicycle: Cycling is the best way to enjoy Taiwan's landscapes if you have the time and energy. Looking for bicycle rentals in Taiwan? You can search on KKday here and search for tours on Klook here. You can also check out our Taiwan cycling guide here. 

Map:
​See below:

Our Journey:

I have been to Jiupeng Desert once. I always wanted to visit but it is a little far and out of the way. It took me an hour to drive there via car over mountain roads and an hour back. However the roads there were not too bad and I don't think it would be easy to get car sick. 

Please note there are no gas stations or convenience stores around, so if you are driving make sure you have enough food and gas while you are here. 

See our drone video above for an overview of the area. 

360 degree aerial view above Jiupeng Desert / Sand Dunes in Pingtung, which sits at a relatively remote part of Taiwan,...

Posted by Foreigners in Taiwan 外國人在台灣 on Monday, July 31, 2023

Or check out our 360 degree panorama above. 

This is the first view of the coast coming east on the 200, but you can't really make out sand dunes here. 

Ay Gangzai, you will notice there are a lot of ATVs everywhere.
I overheard a conversation between a government official and an ATV rental operator as I was flying my drone. The government says they can legally run the business as long as they get insurance. The problem is no one is willing to insure them. I remember not too long ago someone died in a Jeep accident here and the industry probably has never recovered. 

Map of the area. 

This sign basically says that you should not step on any plants and ruin the ecology. 

Road down to the sand dunes.

Looking toward the sea.

View further south. They have put up some wind fences.

View looking south toward the dunes. 

Another view of the dunes from further down the road.

View of the dunes from the air. 

Another view from above. 

View of Gangzai Village. 

Another view further down the coast. 

View further up the road of Jiupeng Village. 

Another view of Jiupeng Village. 

If you go into town you will notice a lot of Jeep and ATV operators around. 

And some abandoned Jeeps.

Also if you have time, you can head down the road to Nanren Fishing Harbor. Nanren Fishing Harbor is known as the loneliest fishing harbor in Taiwan. It lies at the dead end of Nanren Road at the northern end of Kenting National Park, the end of the road along the east coast between it and Jialeshui. Here you can find pristine landscapes, an amazing shoreline, and more cows than people. ​

You can check out our full blog on Nanren Fishing Harbor here. 

The road ends here, but it is a nice place to enjoy the scenery. 

You can also see cows graze along the coastline. 


You can check out our full blog on Nanren Fishing Harbor here. ​

View of the sand dunes from the south. 

Closer view of the sand dunes. 

Abandoned house. I would say half of the houses here are abandoned. 

Stairway to heaven. 

A lone fisherman at Zhongshan Fishing Harbor 中山漁港 further down the road. 

Please note there are no gas stations or convenience stores around, so if you are driving make sure you have enough food and gas while you are here. 

More photos above. 

There are many activities available in Pingtung such as Riding ATVs (four wheeling) on the beach, snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing. 
You can find more tours of Kenting on Klook here or KKday here. 

Check out our full guide to Kenting here.

Also you can check out our full guide to Pingtung County here. 

You can also see our travel guide to all of Taiwan here. 

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