Sun Moon Lake → Hualien 日月潭 → 花蓮

From Wuling Peak, instead of continuing north through the central mountain ridge, you can descend through the stunning Taroko Gorge all the way to Hualien at sea level, and then cycle via the ancient cliffside road of the famous east coast Su'ao Coastal Highway 蘇澳公路. This option is one day longer than the mountain route via Lishan.

The full way from Sun Moon Lake to Hualien is more than 200 km with 5,000 m up, so it doesn't come as a surprise that we advise splitting it up. If you're bold enough to do it in one day, take the “simpler” route via Puli (−20 km and −700 m), but if you're splitting it into two days, go via the beautiful Bukai/Aowanda valley road.

Once in or after Ren'ai, you'll find multiple hotels and homestays, all in the vicinity of Qingjing Farm. The next day, continue on to Wuling Peak (3,275 m) and a marvellous descent through Taroko. Your final destination, Hualien 花蓮, is a great city with a big night market and a chill downtown.