Alishan Part 1

Early Cherry Blossom blooms

We traveled by bus to Alishan on a rainy foggy Friday morning. Only a handful of people riding with us which was nice, but because of the weather we ended up having to stop several times on the winding mountain road while crews cleared rubble that had fallen at some point.

A new 7-Eleven was built last year, right outside of the entrance to Alishan. We were a little confused when our driver dropped us off there and then left. Last time we came, we went through the entrance on the bus, got off to pay the fee, then boarded again and driven to the Visitor Center.

We ended up walking to the gate, paying the fee, then walking the boardwalk to the Visitor Center in the misting rain. Thankfully it wasn't very heavy, but it was still a hassle hauling our luggage.

Alishan House, our hotel, sends a car to the Visitor center every half hour, so we were able to catch a ride.

View from our room 

We stayed in that first night, the weather dreary and wet the whole day.

Saturday was our wander the mountain day.

Cherry Blossoms

There are lots of Cherry Trees on Alishan, and last year not one of them had blossoms. This year we were lucky enough to have a few trees with small blossoms. 

Cherry Tree path 

The colors are unbelievable there. The lush greens so vibrant and rich. Even with the overcast sky, and blanket of fog that descended in the evening, everything is just saturated with colors.

Hole through a giant redwood stump

Old giant redwood stump creates an archway over the path

I always feel like we are walking through Endor in Alishan. Wandering the pathways winding around ancient massive redwoods.

Bark looks like leather - colors so rich, it's unreal

 The look of the tree bark on the older giants was so cool looking. Rich reds, vibrant green moss crawling along. The texture like leather, smooth and slick.