Alishan travel guide is about how to visit Alishan by the train or bus and the other informations of Alishan as well. Alishan is the must visit place while traveling in Taiwan. Not only Alishan is known for its sea of clouds but sunrise as well as sacred trees. A trip to Taiwan is incomplete without a visit to Alishan.
Content
Where and when to visit Alishan ?
Forest railway to Alishan
・How to get the forest railway ticket
・Train time-table and fare of Alishan railways
・Bus time-table and fare – Fehchifu station to Alishan (by bus)
Taiwan shuttle Bus to Alishan
・Bus time-table and fare
・How to get the bus ticket?
How to go back to Chiayi city from Alishan?
Alishan National Scenic Area Entry fee
Conclusion & Recommend of Alishan trip
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Where and when to visit Alishan ?
When people mention the Alishan,they WOULD probably talk about Alishan National Scenic Area, located Chiayi country . Becacse Alishan is consist of other mountains and places(like Fenchifu). And Chiayi in the southern of Taiwan, 250km far away from Taipei city. (Chiayi guide here)
When to Visit Alishan?
By Seasonal
The cherry blossom will start late Feb. and end of early March.(depend on the weather)
By weather
In Taiwan , Apr.~Jun. is rainy season and the typhoon will hit Taiwan from July to Sep. Except weather, Alishan is good to visit for the 4 seasons which comes different views.
How to visit Alishan?
Upon you are in Chiayi, there is only one route(Provincial highway 18) to visit there from Chiayi. however, there are 3 kind of transportations can be selected：
- Ride forest railway to Fenchifu and then take a bus to Alishan
- Taiwan shuttle bus to Alishan
- Rent a car or local agency
Around 2004 , the typhoon damaged the railroad line a lot and the renovation haven’t completed yet. Nowadays, Alishan railway will stop at Fenchifu station and then you have to get on the Transfer Bus to Alishan from Fenchifu.
Alishan forest train still has 4 routes left:
1.Forest main line.(Chiayi main station to Fenchihu)
2.Zhaoping line
3.Zhushan(for sunrise)
4.Sacred Tree(for sacred tree trails)
*2~4 line is in the Alishan National science area
(You might also like this:)
Main line will lead us to Fenchifu.
relative link:Alishan railway × 4 routes you could Ride
How to get the forest railway ticket?
Basically you can get the Alishan train ticket Online 、 agency or at the entrance of Chiayi station.If you are interesting in taking the main line train. I recommend that get the ticket in advance due to the ticket will sold out soon.（You might also like：Alishan Forest Railway Ticket guide | How to get it ?）
Price：NTD384 one way
Time：around 2hr and 20 mins
Train time-table and fare
Everyday：09:00 a.m
Sat.&Sun. ：08:30 、09:00 and 09:30
Holiday：09:00 a.m and 09:30a.m
Bus time-table and fare – Fehchifu station to Alishan (by bus)
After waliking around Fenchihu street and enjoy lunch box, you can catch the 12:50 or 14:00 bus up to the Alishan. (it is too rush to drop on 11:30 bus) Price is around NTD100 and pay the fee directly while you get on the bus.(by cash or easy card)
Taiwan shuttle Bus to Alishan
If you don’t want to take the forest train from Chiayi station and then bus is the other option for you , the price is way cheaper and faster than railway.Price and traveling hour is depend on where would you get on the bus.
Normally , There are 4 routes of Taiwan suttle bus Alishan.
From Chiayi main station
No.7329
No.7329A(via Fenchifu)
From Chiayi THSR station
No.7322C
No.7322D(via Fenchifu)
By the way, don’t get confused of each station. Chiayi THSR is half hour away from the city city center by shuttle bus.
Bus time-table and fares
Alishan Bus Time-table(uphill)
Here is the time-table of bus to Alishan and you just notice that there are two buses go to Fenchihu first and then up to the Alishan. if you don’t have any plan to visit Fenchifu it is better for you to skip those two buses. On the other hand , if you are going to Fhnchifu , you have to drop on those two buses which departure at 9:35 and 12:05
Heading to Alishan bus station
Price：around NTD240
Time：around 2hr and 30 mins
Heading to Fenchiu station
Price：NTD175
Time：around 2hr
check for more detail of Bus time-table
How to get the Bus ticket?
Generally , there are 3 kinds of way to get the ticket.
1. In counter
If you try to get the ticket by person, the Daya station is only station where you can get from. Price is NTD251 from Daya staiotn. However, it is not even convenience for tourist due to the locations. In fact, every bus will definitely pass through Chiayi bus station(in front of Chiayi train station or main station whatever it called) before head up to Alishan so that I will say that is no need to come here for the ticket. I recommend you can just get on the bus at Chiayi bus station. In case of the seat vacancy , buy the tickets via Family mart or pay the free by cash when you get on the bus.
2.Get the ticket via Family market
Family mart is super easy to be found and then you can get the one way or round ticket easily via the Famiport. The price is NTD240 plus NTD10 processing fee. The staff will give you the ticket right away.
Check here for the guide:How to get the ticket via Famiport?
3.Waiting in a line and pay by cash
Third , just waiting in a line at the Chiayi bus station and pay the fare by cash or easy card.
It is a bit risky because the driver will let the people who hold a ticket get on the bus first. if you are worry there is no space for you. It is better to get the ticket first.
Pice：NTD240
Parking fee : NTD100
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How to go back Chiayi city from Alishan?
Alishan Bus Timetable(downhill)
The best way back to City is by bus and just remember the last ride is 17:10. Please make sure you have enough time there, otherwise you need to stay one night at Alishan.
Here is where you drop on/off when you take the bus. At the mean while , you can buy your downhill ticket in the 7-11(if you don’t have ticket yet)
・・・
Alishan National Scenic Area Entry fee info.
Price：forgien:NTD300,
Promo：if you hold a bus ticket , you can get the NTD50 off.(Please the bus drive to get a recipe)
Parking fee：Car NTD100元，Motorcycle NTD20元。
For more information>>check here
Things to do in Alishan
Catch the sunrise
Ride a Alishan Forest Railway 
There are three route runs in the Alishan nowadays. You can decide to catch one of the route you need and get the ticket at the station. Basically , I enjoy the trail a lot so that I just walk all of the trails into Alishan and then take the Alishan forest railway(sacred tree route) when I back. (relative article:)
Hiking in the forest 
The most beautiful thing to do is walking in the Huge forest with phytoncide. It is so hard to describe the how the atmosphere is but it worth to try it.
Where you can eat in Alishan
7-11 convenience store
There is a convenience store in front of the entry gate(where you drop off) and the other one is in the Alishan.(smaller). I would like to recommend that prepare the snacks in advance during your hiking.
Alishan food court – near tour information and the other one is near temple)
・Hot pot
・Taiwanese meal
・Coffee
Alishan food court – near Shou – zhen temple)
・Lunch box
・Coffee
・Dumpling
・Street food
Anyway, not much options up the mountain but enough for your day trip.(even two days)
Conclusion & Recommend of Alishan trip
．Arrange the time for your visiting and buy the ticket.
．Make sure you have the ticket back to the Chiay city.
．Ask the trekking information from the tourist center in advance.
．Grab Supplies with your trekking such as water, cookie etc.
．Bring your warm cloths due to the weather could be change quickly on the mountain.
I write this blog to the people who might interest in Chiayi, Taiwan. Therefore, if you have any question or need a help, please leave a comment below , I will reply as soon as possible.
Have fun! Greeting from yucheng.
