Green
Island might not be a lot of people’s to-do list when visiting Taiwan, but it
is certainly deserving of a top spot as one of Taiwan’s most beautiful
places. It’s great for a short get away
from Taiwan’s hustle and bustle and offers some great attractions and sights
that you will find no where else in the country. Some strong words seeing that the first day
there was possibly the worst experience I’ve had since being in Taiwan (more about that here).
Green
Island is a small island off the southeast coast of Taiwan infamous in
Taiwanese history as serving as a penal colony for political prisoners during a
time known as the Kuomintang, and especially in the White Terror. Though that time is long past, the island
still holds a prison on its shores who’s walls once housed Taiwan's most
dangerous criminals and gangsters.
Today,
Green Island is a small peaceful place that, in the height of tourist season,
brings in thousands of tourists. When I
say small, I mean that it is really small.
The road that circles around the shores of this island is only 19 km
long. The entire island can be
circumnavigated by scooter in about an hour (with no stops, but what is the
point in that!) and you can hike across its center in about 1.5 hours. With it being so small you can easily see all
of the sites in just a day, but I suggest spending two nights on the island so
you will have an entire day free to explore (plus you don’t want to experience
the ferry twice in a day).
How to Get There
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| Walkway up Niutou Mountain |
The best time to go to Green
Island is during the height of tourist season, April – October. We went during the first week in March and it
was like a ghost town. Being dead had
its pros, like our views being mostly people free and getting good deals on
scooters and hotels, but the con was that many of the restaurants were closed
so it was hard to find food. There are
two options of travel to Green Island; by plane or bus/ferry.
By Air
To fly
to Green Island, you will first need to make your way down to Taitung Airport,
which can be done by plane or train.
There is only one airline, Daily Air, that makes the hop to Green
Island, so you will need to book your flight well in advance if you hope to use
this option. The flight only lasts 15
minutes and saves you from the worst ferry ride known to man, but that all
comes at a cost. You can use this
Skyscanner widget to find the cheapest flights!
By Ferry
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| The ferry ('Vomit Comet’) |
The
second option of transportation to Green Island, and most frequented, is the
ferry. The ferry ride is always an
adventure (it didn’t get the nickname ‘The
Vomit Comet’ for nothing), but getting there can be too if your time is
off.
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| Xiaoyeliu campground in Taitung |
You
can take the train to Taitung, and then from the station catch a taxi or bus to
the Fugang Harbour. This trip takes
about an hour. Once at the harbor you
can buy your ticket for the ferry. You
will want to make sure that you don’t get there to late, especially during the
off season, because there are not many options for hotels near the harbor. There is a campground just above the harbor
though, so if you travel with a tent like we do you can stay there for
cheap.
The
ferry has a fierce reputation for being a really rough ride, even more so
during bad weather, but it is by far the cheapest option. The ferry costs 420 TWD/14.32 USD one way and
is about a 50-minute roller coaster ride.
Where to Stay
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| View of the ocean from the Little Great Wall |
There
are many options for accommodation by the harbor and around the island;
including camping. Our first night we
stayed at Green Island XD B&B, which I wholly do not recommend. On our second night we moved to a different
hotel in town, who we also rented our scooter from, and it was very nice. It also had the added benefit of being in the
middle of town. There is a campground in
the southeast of Green Island with wooden platforms, but it was closed for
construction when we were there. I have
also heard of people just setting up camp on open patches of earth around the
coast.
How to Get Around
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| My scooter at the Little Great Wall |
There
is only really one wat to get around Green Island and that’s by scooter. I have also heard of people walking or biking
the whole thing, but the scooter is much more convenient. As scooters go, you can rent either an
electric or gas scooter. The electric
scooter comes with a second battery that you can change out whenever needed
meaning that you won’t have to buy gas, but I have seen them quoted as much as 600
TWD/20.46 USD per day. A gas scooter
should run you about 350 TWD/11.94 USD per day with gas costing you around 100
TWD/3.41 USD. We were able to barter ours
for 300 TWD/10.23 USD, gas included. That
being said, there is only one gas station on the island and it is in town. So, if you need gas, make sure you buy it
before you leave.
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| My scooter on Green Island |
Before
going I read a lot about them being strict about driver’s license, but that
wasn’t my experience. The lady never
asked to see my license, for a deposit, or if I even knew how to drive a moto
(which, incidentally, was about to be my first time ever driving one).
Where to Eat
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| Noodles and dumplings on Green Island |
The
large majority of restaurants on Green Island are in town. Being a tourist location, many of the
restaurants are more expensive then what we were used to, but we were able to
find a few local spots to fill our stomachs.
As I mentioned earlier, we went to Green Island during the off season so
many of the places were either shut down or closed early. This made it exceedingly hard to find food in
the evenings. There is a 7/11 in town
though, so at the very least you can always get food there. Unlike other 7/11’s, this one doesn’t take
credit cards, so you will either need cash or your Easycard.
Money
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| Me at the Little Great Wall view point |
I
never thought I would have to write this about a place in Taiwan, but this was
a huge problem for us on Green Island.
You will want to take as much money with you as you think you will need,
because there is only one way to withdraw money and it’s expensive. There is only one ATM on the island, but it
doesn’t take foreign cards (so no luck there).
The Post Office does exchange cash but is very picky about the bills it
will take (even turning away bills of the same denomination that they
accepted). 7/11, unlike all the others,
also doesn’t accept credit cards. The
only place I was able to withdraw money is from one of the larger hotels who
charged a 20% fee!
What to Do
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| Sika deer on Niutou Mountain |
There
are so many things great to see on Green Island; from historical sites to
amazing scenery, and even one of the worlds few saltwater hot springs. I recommend taking your scooter around the
island in a clockwise motion so that you see everything and end at the hot spring.
Lyudao Lighthouse
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| Lyudao Lighthouse |
The
lighthouse, located in the northwestern corner of the island, was our first
stop on our tour of Green Island. The
island was built in 1938 with funding from the United States government after
the sinking of the cruise ship SS President Hoover just off the coast. The lighthouse is still in use today so you
can’t climb to the top, but you can still walk around its grounds and see the
amazing views from the area. The
lighthouse and all other buildings and walls are all whitewashed; creating a
stark difference between them and the surrounding nature.
Green Island Human Rights Memorial Park
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| The 'Green Island Lodge' prison |
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| Human Rights Memorial Park |
Green
Island Human Rights Memorial Park represents a dark chapter in Taiwanese
history. An Isolated island of the
southeast coast of Taiwan, Green Island was once used as a prison for those who
did not share the same ideology as the reigning regime. The old prison, known as Green Island Lodge,
still exists and can be toured for free.
Instead of prisoners there are now just information boards. Don’t get this confused with the actual
prison that is still in operation as we did.
They won’t let you in, nor would you want to enter. There is also a park further down the road to
commemorate the history.
Niutou Mountain
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| View from Niutou Mountain |
Niutou Mountain is easy to miss
if you aren’t looking for it. Located
just as you top the hill above the New Life Correction center, it is not a
place you will want to miss. Walking up
the hill towards the top is a peaceful experience and you may even see a few Sika
deer along the way.
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| View from within the WWII bunker on Niutou Mountain |
As you make your way to the top
you will pass an old trench and see a bunker from the WWII era looking down on
you. Both of these can be entered;
giving you a firsthand glimpse at the view those that occupied them during
times of war would have seen. (On a side
note: it’s actually fairly cool inside so it’s a great place to get out of the
heat.)
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| View of Loumen Rock from Niutou Mountain |
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| Goats climbing some rocks on Niutou Mountain |
Passing the bunker and
continuing to the top will take you to the cliffs overlooking the Pacific
Ocean. This is an amazing view! From this point you can look out on the waves
breaking against Loumen Rock or watch goats climb across the cliffs.
Little Great Wall
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| The Little Great Wall |
Out of all the sites
Green Island has to offer, the Little Great Wall was what I was looking forward
to seeing the most. When we arrived, I
was a little disappointed. I was
expecting a wall, if only a small one, but this wasn’t the case; it’s just a
railed pathway leading out to a point.
To give it a little credit though, it does look a little like a small
Great Wall when you look down upon in from the top of the point. All of the being said, I still highly
recommend going out to the point for the view it gives you of the Pekinese
Dog and Sleeping Beauty Rocks, as well as the surrounding area. The view from this point might be the most
beautiful in all of Green Island.
Pekinese Dog and Sleeping Beauty Rocks
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| Pekinese Dog Rock (left) and Sleeping Beauty Rock (right) |
Pekinese
Dog and Sleeping Beauty Rocks are simply just that; rock formations that look
like a Pekinese dog and Sleeping Beauty.
They are beautiful to see, along with the dark blue waters of the
Pacific Ocean as they crash against them.
I mentioned above that the best view of these two rocks is by walking
down the Little Great Wall to the point, but you can also take a trail to the
beach below if you want to get closer.
Zhaori Hot Spring
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| Aerial view of Zhaori Hot Spring |
Zhaori
Hot Spring is a great experience to end your day. It is one of only a very few saltwater hot
springs in the world. The fee to get in
is only 200 TWD/6.82 USD and well worth the price. Upon entering, there are showers for you to
rinse off and change before getting in the pools. There are a few different pools to choose
from, each at a varying level of heat.
The hottest pool is set off by itself and is extremely hot. There are also waterfalls you can turn on if
you wish the hot water to rush over you.
I was told that you can also boil eggs in the hot springs by the ocean,
but these were not open when we were there.
The main pool was also empty when we were there; possibly due to it
being the off season.
Just
outside the hot spring is a large hill that you can climb if you wish. It gives you a great aerial view of the Zhaori
Hot Spring and of the surrounding area.
My drone flies higher than the hill so I didn’t go up there (note for
those with drones: there is a No-Fly Zone over most of Green Island so you can
only get so high before your drone tops off).
Have you been to Green Island?
Drop a comment here if you have and share this with your friends that you want
to visit Taiwan with. Check out my other posts for more ideas on things to do
in in Taiwan.
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