Kinmen National Park

Kinmen is a low island of weathered granite, flat enough to cycle end to end, with Taiwu Mountain as its only real high ground and a coastline of shallow bays, oyster fields and tidal wetland. The national park protects most of that ground. Ci Lake and the lagoons behind the western shore are the reason birdwatchers come: the flats fill with waders and wildfowl through the winter, and the island sits on a migration route that puts unfamiliar birds on it each spring. Inland the fields are sorghum, grown for the liquor the island is known for and cut in low blocks between granite walls. Stone paths climb Taiwu Mountain from the road and reach the top in under an hour.

What you actually see

• Ci Lake and the western lagoons - shallow water and tidal flats worked by wintering waders and wildfowl.
• Taiwu Mountain - the island's only high ground, climbed on stone paths in under an hour.
• The granite coast - shallow bays, oyster fields and low rock along the western and northern shores.
• The sorghum fields - low blocks of grain between granite walls, cut through the autumn.

When to go

October to April is dry, cool and the season for migrating birds on the wetlands; it is also when the island is at its most pleasant for cycling. Summer is hot and humid with little shade. Sea fog is common in spring and regularly delays or cancels flights, so leave slack in a schedule that connects onward.

Honest expectations

Flights are the only practical way in and fog grounds them for days at a time in the spring, which strands people. The island is spread out and public transport is thin, so you need a scooter, a bicycle or a hire car. The lagoons need binoculars and patience, and outside the winter months there is not much on them. Evenings are very quiet.

Nearby

The smaller island of Lieyu is a short ferry from Jincheng, with more granite coast and villages.