Cherry Blossom Viewing in Nantou County
One of the joys of living in Taiwan is the explosion of pink blossom that coats the mountains each spring. If you’re here at the right time, you can usually see few trees wherever you go, but for blossom aficionados, there are a few hotspots that are worth seeking out. Caopingtou Yushan Tourist Tea Garden — with its 4,000-plus fruit trees — is one such hotspot. From January to March each year, the slope is awash in blossoms ranging from white to deep pink and (if you can tolerate the crowds), it’s an absolute delight to experience.
Distance: 1-3 kilometres – It depends on how far you feel like going.
Time: 1-2 hours – Again, this depends on how far you want to go and how into the blossom photography you get.
Difficulty (regular Taiwan hiker): 0.5/10 – This is barely a hike. It’s a stroll up and down a hill.
Difficulty (new Taiwan hiker): 1-2/10 – There’s a bit of an incline, but there are no steps and there’s no way you can get lost.
Total ascent: Under 100 metres.
Water: It’s so short and easy that you could probably get away without taking any. Also, there are some stores along the way.
Shade: There is little to no shade on this walk.
Mobile network: Perfectly clear reception throughout.
Enjoyment: This is one of the top spots to enjoy blossom in Taiwan. That means the blossom is stunning if you go at the right time of year, but it also means it gets incredibly busy.
When to visit Caopingtou: The peak blossom season runs from late January to early March.
Accessibility considerations: This walk is semi-accessible in that it can be done exclusively on paved roads, so it’s ideal for anyone who prefers to avoid steps. However, the whole route is a slope and (aside from the various stores and vendors along the way), there’s no seating provided.
Bathroom facilities: There is a public toilet block about halfway up the road.
Route type: There and back.
Permit: None needed, but you do need to purchase tickets and pay for car parking. (More on that below.)
Jump to the bottom of this post for a trail map and GPX file.
If you’re self-driving, you will be given a slip at the entrance with a number indicating which carpark you’ve been assigned to (although the guy staffing our carpark said we could have stopped in any of them).
We just so happened to get allocated carpark number two, which was almost right at the very top of the Caopingtou Gardens area. The downside of this was that it means walking uphill to finish (unless your driver kindly agrees to take one for the team and collect you from somewhere further down. However, there is an upside in that you get to preview all the garden areas as you’re on your way up so you can figure out where it’s worth stopping.
When we visited, the whole of the uppermost carpark was awash with white plum blossom.
Dotted amongst the blossom there were several orange-pink plums and honeybees danced from blossom to blossom.
Lanes fan off on either side of the main road passing tea gardens and farms growing all sorts of greens (sugar snap peas seemed to be a common crop).
Several of the farms had their own mini reservoirs which were covered in a floating layer of blossom. And stalls selling local produce, snacks, and that lined the main thoroughfare. I imagine most of these are seasonal stalls that come and go with the blossom and tomato picking calendar.
Set back from the road there were also more established places selling coffee, tea and hot pots. And if you venture beyond them, you can find quiet corners with beautiful views of the distant mountains.
Rows of different types of cabbages covering the hill.
We visited very early in the blossom season (late January), so the white plum blossom was most abundant, but there were also quite a few Taiwan mountain cherries already flowering. Later on in the season, several other varieties including the lighter pink Yoshino and Fuji cherries take over.
How to get to Caopingtou
Google Maps address: Caopingtou is located halfway up Provincial Highway 21. You will need to purchase tickets in order to drive up to park in one of the carparks (in 2024 these cost NT$100 per car and NT$50 per passenger). If you come in the peak season, you might also find yourself being directed around a specific route to buy tickets before you even approach the area. It felt a bit sketchy, but it seems to be being done to avoid jams on the road by the entrance to the blossom area.
GPS location: N23 33.420 E120 52.495
Public transport: There’s no public transport to this area, but services like KKDay and Klook offer day trips to Caopingtou each spring.
Further reading: I briefly wrote about Caopingtou for an article in Travel in Taiwan Magazine that looks at a few other spots in Nantou’s Xinyi Township.
Caopingtou Blossom Trail Map
GPX file available here on Outdoor Active. (Account needed, but the free one works just fine.)
Taiwan Trails and Tales 