Hehuanshan

Hehuanshan is the exception among Taiwan's high mountains: a road runs over it. Provincial Highway 14A crosses Wuling Pass at about 3,275 metres, the highest point on a paved road in Taiwan, and from the pass and its neighbouring car parks several summits above 3,400 metres can be reached in one to two hours of walking on made paths. That puts alpine country, dwarf bamboo slopes and Yushan rhododendron within reach of people with no mountaineering experience. It is also one of the few places on the island where snow falls most winters, which brings a rush of traffic, and the area has been certified as a dark sky park, so the night sky here is genuinely dark by East Asian standards.

What's there

• Wuling Pass - the highest paved road point in Taiwan, with alpine slopes either side.
• The short summit walks - made paths to peaks above 3,400 metres in an hour or two.
• Rhododendron in late spring - Yushan rhododendron flowering across the dwarf bamboo slopes.
• The night sky - a certified dark sky area, with the Milky Way visible on clear nights.

When to go

October to April is clearest, with cloud building most afternoons in summer. Snow usually falls somewhere between January and March and closes or chain-restricts the road, while simultaneously drawing enormous crowds up from the lowlands. Sunrise is the classic time and the car parks fill in the dark. Nights are cold in every season.

Things to know

You drive from near sea level to over three thousand metres in a few hours, and altitude sickness is common and occasionally serious. Parking is very limited and on snow days the road becomes a stationary queue. Afternoon cloud regularly erases the view. There is almost no accommodation up top, the lodge books out far ahead, and it is genuinely cold at night year-round.

Nearby

Cingjing Farm is down the same road and the Taroko road runs east from the pass.

Key facts