Collected here are a series of dreamlike photos from a road trip into the misty mountains of Lugu in Nantou, central Taiwan. I undertook this trip with a friend in July 2014. Our goal was the Lotus Forest 忘憂森林 (pinyin: Wàngyōu Sēnlín), also known as the Misty Forest 迷霧森林, a high mountain bog formed in the aftermath of the catastrophic 921 earthquake when a landslide altered drainage patterns, forming a small lake and drowning part of the existing forest. At an elevation somewhere close to 2,000 meters, the Lotus Forest is often shrouded in thick fog, imbuing it with an eerie mystique that attracts Taiwanese people from all over the island.
The entrance to the Lotus Forest is located about 15 kilometers from the popular Xitou Monster Village 溪頭怪物村 on the way to Sun Link Sea 杉林溪 (pinyin: Shānlínxī), a recreational forest at the end of the road. Getting there is a bit of a mission as there are many switchbacks leading up highway 投95 and a fair amount of traffic for such a remote place.
High mountain tea plantations hug the slopes surrounding the steep access road to the misty bog. We took the shuttle bus to the top to spare us a precipitous 40 minute climb. Besides, what’s not to love about the signs from My Neighbour Totoro?
After a bumpy, jarring ride up the mountainside we found ourselves in the fog-shrouded heights. More tea is grown here, as you can see, and the landscape is much less steep in parts. With the fog it was impossible to determine whether there are mountains beyond—or if this is a high mountain plateau of some kind.
After a short walk along muddy trails we arrived at our destination, the Lotus Forest. My friend was disappointed that I had seen a bog before but I still found it very interesting. Bogs may be common where I’m from but I seldom have an opportunity to leave the city and see one up close—especially not in the fog. It was a mesmerizing experience, especially given where we were. This is not the sort of scenery most people would expect to find in Taiwan!
After making a short tour of the lake area we hiked out through the forest back to the tea farming area near the top of the access road and took the shuttle back to the highway.
It had been raining on and off since we made it into the mountains and daylight was fading in the interminable haze. We decided to strike out for the end of the road to see what else there was to see before heading back to earth.
The mountain roads beyond the Lotus Forest were completely empty. There was nary a soul out there—just us on a tiny scooter, trundling along roads in various states of disrepair. In one bend an entire lane was missing. It had been swept away by gravity to places unseen. Similar problems plagued the road outside the last tunnel on the way to Sun Link Sea forest. We passed through to the other side to take a quick look but opted to turn back in the interest of health and safety. Riding a scooter down steep mountain switchbacks in the dark was not an appealing prospect. And so we began our descent…
Conditions did not improve as we retraced our path down the mountainside. The fog closed in as we made our descent, reducing visibility to just a few meters in places. It was as thick as cotton candy at times and we took several breaks on the way back down. Traffic was light, at least, and other drivers were generally taking it easy around sharp curves.
Eventually we made it down from the misty mountains and through the bamboo forest to the “monster village”, a gaudy tourist trap at the end of highway 151. I won’t share any photos of our time there for fear of spoiling the mood.
Unsurprisingly, the Lotus Forest is popular with Taiwanese bloggers. Read more about it in Chinese here, here, and here (or simply Google the Chinese characters 忘憂森林). And if you’re feeling really adventurous you can also cycle there, as Michael Turton demonstrates in this resourceful post.
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