Nestled in the mountains of Chiayi, Fenchihu is a charming railway village along the switchbacking line to Alishan. Due to its location in the middle of the route, it became a convenient refuelling stop for steam locomotives and flourished with shops selling bento boxes to waiting passengers.
Stroll along atmospheric Fenchihu Old Street, which is lined with stores selling traditional trinkets and local delicacies such as pastries and aiyu jelly. If you’re travelling along the spectacular Alishan Forest Railway, you can pick up bento lunch boxes before continuing your journey into the mountains.
Hiking trails wind their way through the Fenchihu Scenic Area, with one accessing a majestic bamboo forest. In the spring and summer, hundreds of bats create a wildlife spectacle nearby. Rock climbers can challenge themselves at Hero Cliff, which has a gradient of between 60 and 90 degrees.
Getting there
Fenchihu is just over an hour’s drive from Chiayi City and Chiayi Airport, which has regular flights to Kinmen and Penghu. The much larger Taichung International Airport is two hours away. Regular trains connect from Chiayi to the Fenchihu railway station while the village is small enough to explore on foot.