Tsaoling Historic Trail
Located up in the northeast corner of Taiwan is the Tsaoling Historical Trail. This trail was originally used as a short cut across a small peninsula in this part of Taiwan.
The trail connects the cities of Dali and Fulung, and its origins date back some 200 years to the Ching Dynasty. It apparently fell into disuse after the advent of the highway and railroad, but has since been resurrected as a tourist hiking trail.
The hike from Fulung to Dali is about 8 kms, and takes about 4 hours at a leisurely pace. Along the trail, there are good views of the coast line, and also a clear water stream.
There are a couple of rock carvings of interest along this trail, which date back about 130 years. One is the Chinese letter for "Tiger", and the other says something like: "Exhibit Gallant Spirit in the Face of the Fierce Elements" I wrote down the exact quote for this, but unfortunately, due to too many post-hike Heinekens, the scrap of paper that I wrote this on was irretrievably lost...
For a complete day, I'd recommend a morning hike along this trail following by Heinekens/Cohibas while lounging on Fulung Beach, which is close by. (There are worse ways to spend one's leisure time, you know...)
|
