Xiangyang National Forest Recreation Area

Strolling along winding forest roads through tidy plantations of Taiwan red pine and red cypress, you may greet hikers carrying huge backpacks while a Mikado pheasant quietly slips across the trail behind you and flamecrests chirp ceaselessly in the treetops—scenes visitors easily encounter at Xiangyang National Forest Recreation Area. Compared with the famed Jiaming Lake, this small park at the 154k mark of the Southern Cross-Island Highway, at an elevation of 2,320 meters, keeps a much lower profile. It features beautiful plantation forests and gentle trails, where a dozen or so species of mountain birds can readily be heard singing.