The East Rift Valley

The East Rift Valley runs for about 180 kilometres down the eastern side of Taiwan, from Hualien to Taitung, built up by the plains of the Hualien, Xiuguluan and Beinan rivers, a flat-bottomed corridor between the Central Mountain Range and the lower Coastal Range, and it is the most beautiful farmed landscape in the country: paddy fields that turn from brilliant green in early summer to gold before the harvest, backed by mountains on both sides and threaded by lanes with no power lines to spoil the view. The best known stretch is around Chishang, where a straight tree-lined farm lane became famous after appearing in an advertisement and is now cycled by everyone who comes, and the town's rice is regarded as the finest in Taiwan and sold in its own branded lunchboxes. Around it are hot springs, tea plantations, a valley where the aboriginal Amis hold harvest festivals, and, in summer, a hot-air balloon festival above Luye.

Highlights

• The Chishang rice lanes - tree-lined farm roads through the paddies, cycled by everyone.
• The rice seasons - green in early summer, gold before the autumn harvest.
• Luye and the balloon festival - the plateau above the valley with summer ballooning.
• Amis culture - the aboriginal communities and their harvest festivals.

When to go

The paddies are green from around March to May and gold in the weeks before the two harvests, in summer and again in autumn, and those are the times worth timing a visit for. Typhoon season from summer into early autumn can bring closures. Weekdays are far quieter on the famous lanes.

Before you go

The single most famous lane is small and, at weekends and holidays, thick with cyclists queueing to photograph the same tree, which rather undoes the point; go early or on a weekday, or simply ride the quieter lanes nearby, which look the same. Between harvest cycles the fields can be bare mud. Public transport reaches the towns but not the lanes, so a bicycle or scooter is needed.

Nearby

Taroko Gorge is north beyond Hualien; the east coast road and Taitung are close.

Key facts