Xitou, officially known as Xitou Nature Education Area (溪頭自然教育園區) is a forested nature park in Nantou County Taiwan. The park includes a forest sky-walk, bamboo forests, forest experiments, over 70 species of bird, and a monster themed village. It is a great day trip for nature lovers and hikers, and a unique way to enjoy Taiwan's ecology.
History: The Xitou experimental forest was set up during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan under the University of Tokyo. After the ROC took control of Taiwan, the area was changed to a nature reserve. In 2016, the thousand year old pine tree that once sat in the park fell over after heavy rain, and its seeds were used to plant more trees. Hours: 7 AM to 5 PM every day Price: 220 NT per person. You can book tickets for a discount on Klook here. 100 NT for parking Cherry Blossom Season: Cherry blossoms can be seen in the park from February to late March. Check our our full guide to Cherry Blossom Season in Taiwan here. Tours: There are many tours and activities available in Nantou such as river Tracing, paragliding, Shanlinxi Forest Recreation Area 杉林溪, Cona's Chocolate Castle, Shuiyuan Suspension Bridge, JOJOZOO Park, and Aowanda Forest Recreation Area. You can find more tours of Nantou on Klook here or KKday here. Accommodation: We have stayed at and recommend Jenq Yang Hotspring Hotel (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Trip.com here, or Klook here), a hot spring hotel near the mystical Lushan hot spring, and Maple Leaf Holiday Villa (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Hotels.com here, Expedia.com here, Trip.com here, or Klook here), a lodge with a great view and within walking distance of Cingjing Farm. I also have stayed at and recommend Kirin Villa (you can book on Agoda here or Booking.com here), a mountain resort in Puli near Sun Moon Lake. 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 on the islands. You can also book Wifi and SIM cards for Taiwan on Gigago here. Need travel insurance? Compare prices on Insubuy here. Just to let you know, if you book using the links above, we get some commission at no cost to you, and you can help support our blog. You can click here to receive $5 USD on your first Klook purchase. How to get there: By Car/Scooter: Take county road 151 toward Lugu and Xitou. Xitou nature area is at the very end of the road. If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search Qeeq here, Klook here, KKday here. You can also check out our car rental guide here. Looking for scooter rental in Nantou? Search Klook here or KKday here to search for options. You can also check out our scooter rental guide here. By Bus: There are many direct busses to Xitou from Taichung (also Caotun and Nantou). You can book tickets to travel to Nantou via inter-city bus on Klook here. You can book tickets to Taichung via high speed rail (HSR) on Klook here or KKDay here, or book tickets via the normal train (TRA) on Klook here, then switch to a bus to Nantou. Bicycle Rental: 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: Please see below: Our Journey: I have been to Xitou twice, and enjoyed it both times. It is a nice place to relax and enjoy nature, and it is suitable for the whole family. Most of the trails are pretty flat and paved, and even wheel chair friendly. Our original post from our trip rounding the island in 2014 was written as follows: "5/5/2014: On Monday we went to Xitou (溪頭) which was similar to Alishan but in Nantou. I think the scenery was prettier here. There was a nice rainbow bridge and lots of unique plants. The sacred tree was not as impressive as the one at Alishan though. There was also a nice fishpond and bamboo forest. We didn’t spend any time at the shops, though personally I think the shops at Xitou had a more unique feel than Alishan. Also there were no Chinese tourists here, only Taiwanese people on their regular morning walks."
I have been to Xitou once by car and once by bus. The bus ride from Caotun was fast and we did not have to pay for parking.
There is lots of parking near the entrance, and you have to buy a ticket to enter into the park.
Tickets are 220 NT per person. You can book tickets on Klook here.
Map of the park.
On a Sunny Monday morning, it was very crowded.
Lots of elderly hikers and school children were there. The main path up is actually a paved road and is really easy to walk on.
There are trails that branch off all through the woods here.
A view of the forest.
More trails through the woods.
Path to the giant tree.
Small grassy area in the middle of the park.
Growth study experiments of different trees.
Forest Sky Walk 空中走廊
One of the coolest parts about this place is the sky walk through the forest.
The skywalk goes about 40 feet in the air above the forest floor.
View from atop the catwalk.
Looking down from the skywalk.
Another view from the skywalk.
You can also see the very tops of the trees from the sky walk.
Another view looking down.
One last view of the skywalk.
Some fun facts about trees.
More views of the forest.
Looks like they were expanding the park here.
1000 Year Old Giant Tree 千年神木
In 2014 I went to see the sacred 1000 year old giant tree.
The giant tree has since fallen down, so you can no longer see it. But this is what it looked like. I'm sure there are other big trees around that you can find though.
At the time I recall they told us the tree was dying, and you can see it looks half dead here. So maybe it was just time for it to go.
In it's prime, it stood at 46.2 meters and was 5.5 meters in diameter.
Another explanation of the giant tree.
School children going crazy over seeing white people...
Dried up river bed.
Bamboo Forest 竹林
One of the coolest places in Xitou is the bamboo forest.
Jian Zhen (堅貞), meaning faithful.
More of the beautiful bamboo forest.
Cuihong Bridge 翠虹橋
Cuihong Bridge (翠虹橋), the only suspension bridge in the park.
Sea of Clouds Platform 雲海瞭望台
Higher up the park you can get a better view of the valley and see a sea of clouds if you are lucky.
Looking over the beautiful forests.
River running under a rainbow bridge.
The trails also lead to the university pond.
Xitou University Pond 溪頭自然教育園區大學池
The pond has some great views of the surrounding mountains.
You can also walk on a bamboo bridge to an island in the pond.
And you can feed the coy there.
Monster Village 妖怪村
Near the entrance to Xitou is Monster Village, which sells lots of fruit and souvenirs. It seems to be influenced a lot by Japanese animation.
Fruit shop near the entrance.
Some Japanese comic I assume.
Japanese throwing dart.
Some type of Japanese game.
An interesting soup container.
And of course there was tons of wildlife here, but I only captured this squirrel.
There are tons more trails and things to see in Xitou. Go out there and enjoy it! You can book tickets to Xitou for a discount on Klook here. You can find more tours and activities in Nantou on Klook here or KKday here. Check out our full guide to Nantou here and our guide to Sun Moon Lake here. You can also out our full travel guide to Taiwan here.
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Author 作家I am an American expat who has extensive experience living, working, and traveling in Taiwan. In my day, I had to learn many things about Taiwan the hard way. But I have come to learn that Taiwan is one of the best places in the world for Foreigners to live. This blog does not represent the opinions of every foreigner in Taiwan. I am just trying to help others learn more about this beautiful country. Categories
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