Huantan and Tannan Areas
The uniquely beautiful Sun Moon Lake area has pleasant scenery everywhere, which attracts numerous visitors from home and abroad. Enjoying the beautiful scenery around the lake with a leisure bike ride is a great way to explore this area.
The whole distance around the lake is approximately 30 km. You will come upon four big temples (Longfeng Temple, Wenwu Temple, Xuanzang Temple and Xuanguang Temple), and other attractions like Songbolun, Dajhuhu, Shuiwatou, Tutingzai, and Mt. Qinglong. The beautiful enchanting scenic attractions include the rich indigenous culture and natural ecosystem. The terrain rises and falls along the way presents a bit of challenge, but is very suitable for folks who like to bike while they take in the beautiful Sun Moon Lake!
Biking Precautions
- The Shuishe Dam section is a wooden trail and biking is prohibited. Please walk your bike here.
- The roads surrounding both sides of Yongjie Bridge and Tongxin Bridge are downhill curves, please reduce your speed or walk your bike around here.
- Along the Yuetan section of the trail is mostly downhill curves. Biking is prohibited. Please walk your bike here.
- Please pick bike routes that are suitable for your personal strength and physical condition.
- Each route will come to a point where it shares the road with other cars, please be sure to follow traffic regulations and signs, and pay attention to your safety.
- Please prepare riding equipment for the entire trip, ie. helmet and gloves, and adjust your bike before taking the trip.
- Please pay attention to safety matters during your ride, like braking safely, road conditions and obstacles, etc.
Various Bikeway Features
- Degree of difficulty:★★★
- Starting point: Xiangshan Visitor Center → Shuishe → Wenwu Temple → Sun Moon Lake Ropeway Station → Ita Thao →Xiangshan Visitor Center
- Distance: Approximately 30 km
- Riding time: Approximately 3.5 hours
Biking around Sun Moon Lake is one of the must-try activities when you visit Sun Moon Lake. There are enchanting sceneries along the way, and delicious Ita Thao cuisine to try. You can also rest at various famous attractions and enjoy the leisure lifestyle that Sun Moon Lake offers. Furthermore, each year during the autumn months of October and November, the Come! Bikeday event is held here. Those of you who love biking should invite your friends to come along and participate in this great event!
- Degree of difficulty:★☆☆
- Starting point: Shuishe to Xiangshan Visitor Center
- Distance: Approximately 3.4 km
- Riding time: Approximately 30 minutes
The 400 meter long Shuishang Bikeway that connects Shuishe to Xiangshan Visitor Center evokes the feeling of riding on water, as you encounter attractions like Shuishe Dam, Sun Moon Lake water outlet, Yongjie Tongxin Bridge, and Xiangshan Viewing Platform.
- Degree of difficulty:★★★
- Starting point: Xiangshan Visitor Center to Lake Tunnel No. 1
- Distance: Approximately 3.4 km
- Riding time: Approximately 40 minutes
Start from Xiangshan Visitor Center and travel south along the Yuetan south shore, pass Toushe Dam and Yueya Bay to the entrance of Lake Tunnel No. 1. Enjoy the ecology and numerous types of trees along the way, especially views overlooking Toushe Basin, open fields and houses that line up like a chessboard from afar.
- Degree of difficulty:★☆☆
- Starting point: Shuiwatou to Sun Moon Lake Ropeway Station
- Distance: Approximately 1.5 km
- Riding time: Approximately 10 minutes
The Ita Thao section of the bikeway connects to Shuiwatou Hiking Trail and Sun Moon Lake Ropeway Station. Visitors can bike to Ita Thao Lakeside Trail to enjoy the beautiful lakeside and mountain views in Sun Moon Lake.
- Degree of difficulty:★★☆
- Starting point: Songbolun to Dajhuhu
- Distance: Approximately 1.5 km
- Riding time: Approximately 20 minutes
This section of the bikeway connects to Songbolun and Dajhuhu and the slope is quite smooth. Visitors can stop by Wenwu Temple along the way and see the beautiful scenery here, or enjoy the beautiful sunset at Dajhuhu.
- Degree of difficulty:★★☆
- Starting point: Shuishe Wharf to Wenwu Temple Year of Steps
- Distance: Approximately 3.4 km
- Riding time: Approximately 40 minutes
Start from Shuishe Wharf and ride pass Jiulongkou along the way. Due to the smooth terrain, a water platform is built here to serve as a small outdoor performance space. Stop here to enjoy the beautiful water scenery and see Ci En Pagoda, Mt. Qinglong and Mt. Erlong from afar.
- Degree of difficulty:★★★
- Starting point: Xiangshan Visitor Center →Toushe →Minhe → Turn left onto Provincial Highway 63 Tannan Road → Tannan → Ita Thao turn left onto Provincial Highway 21 East → Xuanzang Temple → Toushe → Xiangshan Visitor Center
- Distance: Approximately 50 km
- Riding time: Approximately 3.5-4 hours
This section of the bikeway is extremely difficult because most of the section is shared with other cars. Please be sure to ride along the side of the road and follow traffic regulations. There are more businesses in the areas surrounding the lake and villages in Tannan. We recommend that you bring enough supplies and charge your cell phone before departure.
- Degree of difficulty:★☆☆
- Starting point: Provincial Highway 21 & Provincial Highway 21A intersection (close to Toushe Post Office) → Walami Ice Shop → Grandpa’s Open-air Laundry → Turn right → Toushe Basin Agricultural Recreation Association → Toushe Post Office → Turn left → Toushe Branch, Farmer’s Association → Roaming Cloud → Great Grandpa’s Open-air Laundry →Grandma’s Open-air Laundry → Sansheng Temple → Grandpa’s Open-air Laundry → Walami Ice Shop → Provincial Highway 21 & Provincial Highway 21A intersection (close to Toushe Post Office)
The rustic village of Toushe, Nantou County has vast green fields with egrets flying around. Meandering through this tranquil and elegant place on a bike is refreshing and relaxing. Due to thousands of years of growth of water weeds and silting of muds, Toushe is characterized by a special kinds of soil called “peat.” It is thus known as “Field of Mambo,” meaning that when people walk in the fields of Toushe, the soft soil makes them wobble, as if they were dancing. May is the month when orange day-lily blooms in Toushe. In June and July, visitors can find yellow loofah flowers all over mountain valleys. Wanna take a crowd-free trip? Grab your bike and ride along the bikeways here in Toushe. Enjoy its culture and have fun!
Bike Rental Station
Giant Bicycles Sun Moon Lake Station
- Location: Shuishe
- TEL: 049-2856713
- Address: 1F., No. 163, Zhongshan Rd., Yuchi Township, Nantou County 555, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Suong-Meeng Bikeshop
- Location: Shuishe
- TEL: 049-2856691
- Address: No. 18, Ln. 12, Zhongxing Rd., Yuchi Township, Nantou County 555, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Sun Moon Lake Merida Bicycle Rental
- Location: Shuishe
- TEL: 049-2855295
- Address: No. 25-1, Ln. 12, Zhongxing Rd., Yuchi Township, Nantou County 555, Taiwan (R.O.C.)