茶山行
Nov 14 – 24, 2026 · Moscow ⇄ Taipei · two travelers · ✈️ booked

Ten days of tea,
summits & southern lights.

A slow route through hot-spring villages, GABA farms and a 3,275 m pass — ending in a stadium in Kaohsiung.

10nights
6bases
3,275 mWuling pass
4ride days
3tea regions
BTSSat Nov 21
NT$31.8per US$1 · Oct 6 · ₽100 ≈ NT$37.3
🛬 Taipei→ Wulai 烏來 · day trip→ Taipei 台北→ Sun Moon Lake 日月潭→ Lugu 鹿谷 · GABA farm→ Wuling 武嶺 3,275 m→ Alishan 阿里山→ 🎤 Kaohsiung 高雄 · BTS→ Tainan 台南 ×2 · old capital→ 🛫 Home · from KHH 高雄

The route on the island

路線圖
Map tiles need an internet connection — everything else works offline.
overnight stop Wuling ride day concert night pass-through travel legs (schematic)

Book these first

Six weeks out — order matters.

  1. ✅ Flights bookedCE out Fri Nov 13 16:45 (work Friday till ~13:00) + CZ home from KHH Tue Nov 24, landing SVO 21:15.
  2. 🎫 Concert date confirmed ✓Saturday, Nov 21, 19:00 — Kaohsiung National Stadium. The finale is locked (shows also ran 19 & 22).
  3. 🏨 Kaohsiung ×3 + Wuling dayConcert-weekend hotel spike; confirm a scheduled Nov 17 group ride from Puli exists.

Day by day

行程
Sat · Nov 14

Soft landing in Taipei

台北 Arrival
  • Land 14:00 (flight the evening before: SVO 16:45 Fri 13) → Airport MRT → hotel by 16:30 — unpack once, 2 nights
  • Gentle evening: Longshan Temple lit at night (1 MRT stop, open till 22:00)
  • Early night — jetlag is real (+5 h), tomorrow has a plan
🛏️ Sleep ×2: same Taipei hotel Nov 14 & 15 — no repacking
Longshan Temple roof lit at night
Longshan after dark龍山寺 · 到達之夜
Sun · Nov 15

Wulai + first tea

烏來 · 泰雅 Onsen · AtayalTea №1
  • 09:00 bus 849 up the gorge (50 min) — waterfall, Atayal old street lunch (early beats the Sunday crowds)
  • Afternoon: 90-min private riverside tub; back in Taipei by 16:00
  • 17:00 Oriental Beauty tasting at a heritage teahouse (Wang You Ji / Wistaria) — stock the suitcase
  • Dinner: Ningxia night market
🚌 Transport: MRT to Xindian + bus 849 both ways · day-pack only
Wulai waterfall in the gorge
Wulai falls烏來瀑布 · 白日湯
Ningxia night market neon and stalls
Ningxia night market寧夏夜市 · 晚餐在這
Mon · Nov 16

Lake loop → GABA farm

日月潭 → 鹿谷 Ride №1Tea №2
  • 09:00 HSR Taipei → Taichung + 台灣好行 6670 — lakeside by ~12:30, waterside lunch
  • 13:30 e-bike lake loop together, ~30 km — CNN top-10 route, done by 16:30
  • 17:00 taxi (~40 min) up to the Lugu farm: GABA tasting, roasting, family dinner
🧳 Bags: stored at tomorrow's SML hotel — day-packs only to the farm
Sun Moon Lake ropeway over the lake
Sun Moon Lake日月潭纜車
Terraced tea plantation rows in Taiwan
Tea rows at dusk茶園 · GABA 之夜
Tue · Nov 17

Wuling day · 3,275 m

武嶺 · 台灣公路最高點 Ride №2 · the big one
  • Early taxi Lugu → Puli; group ride day with support van + lunch
  • Husband: longest variant — full ~53 km, 2,300 m of climbing from Puli
  • Wife: e-bike with the group, or shuttle to 翠峰 2,300 m + last 14 km to the pass
  • Summit 0–5 °C — van carries the warm kit; descend by shuttle
🚌 Operators: Giant Adventure 一日武嶺 · 順騎自然 / 樂活單車 (Puli) · ~NT$3,900+/pp · after: bus Puli → SML, check in
Mountain road climbing toward Hehuanshan above clouds
The road to Wuling合歡山公路 · 台14甲
Road towards Hehuanshan tunnel
Into the high ridge昆陽 · 武嶺前線
Wed · Nov 18

SML → Alishan

阿里山 Tsou · high tea
  • Bus 6739 at 08:00 from Shuishe — over Tataka pass (2,610 m) to Alishan (~4 h)
  • Afternoon: giant-tree walkways 神木群, sunset
  • Park lodge night 1
🎫 Reserve: 6739 seats + Alishan nights ×2 (park + Shizhuo tea guesthouse)
Sunrise sea of clouds at Alishan
Sunrise, next morning阿里山日出 · 雲海
Thu · Nov 19

Alishan, the full day

阿里山 · 深遊 Sunrise → slow miles
  • Pre-dawn shuttle: sunrise over the cloud sea at Zhushan (train or bus — book on arrival)
  • Morning: sister ponds 姊妹潭, sacred-tree groves, forest-railway walkways — before the day-trippers
  • Afternoon: Tsou village visit, or descend to a Shizhuo 石棹 tea guesthouse for night 2
🛏️ Sleep ×2: park lodge Nov 18 + Shizhuo tea guesthouse Nov 19
Elder sister pond at Alishan
Sister ponds姊妹潭 · 森林步道
Fri · Nov 20

Descent → Kaohsiung

下山 · 高雄 Southbound
  • Slow tea morning — Shizhuo / 隙頂 oolong & GABA tastings on the way down 台18
  • Bus to Chiayi (~2 h) → HSR to Zuoying, just 25 minutes
  • Kaohsiung by evening; first stroll along the Love River
🚄 Sleep ×3: Kaohsiung near Red Line MRT, Nov 20–22 — booked early for concert weekend
Tea plantation on Alishan
Tea before the train south阿里山茶園 · 1,600 m
Sat · Nov 21

Cijin morning → BTS

旗津 · 世運主場館 Ride №3🎤 Concert night
  • 09:00 ferry → flat Cijin island loop + seafood brunch — back in the city by 15:00
  • 16:30 MRT Red Line to World Games station — stadium early, 55k crowd
  • BTS — ARIRANG World Tour, 19:00
🎫 Tickets confirmed — Sat Nov 21 · legs get a morning warm-up, voices get the night
Cijin lighthouse, Kaohsiung
Cijin lighthouse旗津燈塔 · 島上騎行
World Games Stadium Kaohsiung panorama
Your stadium tonight — Kaohsiung National Stadium世運主場館 · BTS ARIRANG 19:00
Sun · Nov 22

Tainan, the old capital

台南 · 府城 2 nights
  • Sleep in after the show; 11:00 TRA Zuoying → Tainan (~20 min), bags at the hotel
  • Chihkan Tower 赤崁樓, Confucius Temple, old streets and shrine courtyards
  • Evening food crawl: beef soup, danzai noodles, coffin bread
🔄 Optional morning: Sandimen Paiwan craft villages before the train (taxi ~50 min) · sleep ×2 Tainan
Fort Provintia (Chihkan Tower), Tainan
Chihkan Tower赤崁樓 · 舊府城
Mon · Nov 23

Dawn vendors → Guanziling mud springs

台南早餐 · 關子嶺溫泉 Southern onsen
  • Early: Tainan's legendary breakfast-vendor culture — beef soup at dawn, street temples waking up
  • Midday taxi/bus ~1 h into the hills: Guanziling mud hot springs
  • Late afternoon back to Tainan; old tea shops, last-night feast
🍵 Tea: Tainan's old-town tea shops — final stocking of the suitcase
Guanziling hot spring area
Guanziling關子嶺 · 泥漿溫泉
Tue · Nov 24

Fly home from the south

一路順風 Departure
  • 08:30 TRA or taxi Tainan → Kaohsiung airport (~40 min) — no HSR, no backtrack
  • China Southern KHH 11:35 → SVO 21:15 the same evening (via Wuhan)
  • Land at home with ~1.2 kg of tea in the suitcase — work Wednesday

The climb

西進武嶺

Puli → Wuling · 53 km · +2,800 m

Provincial Hwy 14A — steady alpine grades, no timed gates, Cingjing meadows, then the above-the-clouds ridge. Summit cold: 0–5 °C.
3,2002,4001,600800 Puli 480 m Cingjing 清境 1,700 CuiFeng 翠峰 2,300 Kunyang 3,100 Wuling 武嶺 3,275
Husband — full route, road bike Wife — e-bike joins at CuiFeng (2,300 m) Support van follows all day

📨 How to book the climb · 預約武嶺

三條路 · 本週各發一封 · 10月15日前決定
A — FLCA 樂活單車 · two-day group tour
Taichung HSR pickup 10:30 (08:00 bus from the lake). Day 1: 31 km to Cingjing + hotel; Day 2: 24 km to Wuling, Songxue Lodge lunch, back by 20:00. Guide + nanny van + mechanic + insurance; rental NT$500/day flat-bar (lights & helmet incl.); min 4 pax or custom charter: 02-2570-7865 #271/272 · flca.tw. Wife: rides Day 1, van on Day 2.
B — Puli rental + shuttle · day trip (itinerary unchanged)
Rent road bike + e-bike in Puli (順騎自然 etc.), book a 武嶺接駁 shuttle. You ride the full 55 km; wife shuttles to 翠峰 and e-bikes the last 14 km. ~NT$4,000–6,000 for two. Thin English — translation app. The only option that depends on nobody's calendar.
C — Giant Adventure 一日武嶺 · e-bike group day
Giant's own tour: pro leader + follow van, e-bikes to 3,275 m, shuttle down. November dates published only via their LINE/FB — one message away.
🔗 Rental & tour links · 租車與報名
FLCA 武嶺二日遊 Giant Adventure 捷安特旅遊 順騎自然 Puli · FB MathewBike · EN backup
🎒 Bring your own pedals/shoes if you're picky (rentals are flat-bar) · gloves + layers, 0–5 °C at the summit · cash in NT$ for shops and shuttles · decide by Oct 15.
您好！我們想預約 11 月 17 日（二）武嶺單車行程，2 位 — 一位騎公路車，一位租電輔車。
Hello! We'd like to book a Wuling cycling trip on Tue, Nov 17 — 2 people: one road bike, one e-bike rental.
請問：1) 11 月中有沒有出團日期？ 2) 費用包含什麼？ 3) 可以從埔里出發/結束嗎？ 4) 有電輔車嗎？我們住日月潭。
Questions: 1) Any mid-November departures? 2) What's included? 3) Can we start/end in Puli? 4) E-bike available? We stay at Sun Moon Lake.

Ledgers

騎與茶

🚴 Riding · four days

四個騎乘日
🚲
Sun Moon Lake loop — 30 kmBoth on e-bikes — arrival afternoon, Monday Nov 16
⛰️
Wuling 西進 — 53 km / 3,275 mHusband full route; wife e-bike from CuiFeng + van, Tue Nov 17
🌊
Cijin Island — ~10 kmFlat harbour loop after the ferry — concert morning, Sat Nov 21
🌃
Taipei riverside — bonusYouBike evening spin, whenever legs allow

🍵 Tea · three regions, 400 → 2,200 m

從鹿谷到阿里山
🍃
Lugu GABA 鹿谷Farm night + roasting workshop at the source, Nov 16
🏔️
Alishan high mountain 阿里山Oolong & high-grown GABA on the descent, Nov 20
🫖
Oriental Beauty · Taipei tastingOB + stocking up at heritage teahouses (Wang You Ji, Wistaria) on Sun Nov 15 — replaces the Beipu pilgrimage
☕
Tainan old tea shops 台南老茶行Nov 22–23 — OB and high-mountain for the suitcase

Flights & money

航班 · 報價
🎫 Open-jaw in one checkout — ₽133,401 for two, baggage on all legs Into Taipei, home from Kaohsiung — verified: one round-trip order, one payment. China Eastern out (SVO 17:15 Nov 12 → TPE 14:00 Nov 13) + China Southern back (KHH 11:35 Nov 24 → SVO 21:15 the same evening, via Wuhan). One checkout · open-jaw → fallback: KHH leg only Changed your mind about the south? The north-return pair (TPE, lands Nov 25 midday) is ₽14,473 cheaper — see the table.
LegOptionBook2 pax
Out
✅ BOOKED		 China Eastern SVO 16:45 Fri Nov 13 → TPE 14:00 Sat Nov 14 (MU-248 / MU-5007)
1 stop (PVG) · baggage included · work Friday until ~13:00		 Aviasales ref → Trip.com ref → Booked ✓
Out · alt China Southern SVO 14:50 Nov 12 → TPE 14:15 Nov 13
1 stop · baggage included		 Open offer → ₽77,435
Back
✅ BOOKED		 China Southern KHH 11:35 Nov 24 → SVO 21:15 same day
1 stop (Wuhan) · baggage included · home the same evening		 tbank ref → Booked ✓
Back · north alt China Southern TPE 15:30 Nov 24 → SVO 13:00 Nov 25
requires the HSR backtrack + loses Tainan — ₽14,473 cheaper		 Open offer → ₽52,721
Wildcard Nov 9 → Nov 22 round tripcheapest pair
from price calendar — no direct share link; set these dates in the tbank search		 — ₽90,224
Avoid Ural Airlines 3-stop combos
land Nov 15, no baggage — wrecks the plan		 — ₽79k
✈️ Flights booked. Prices on this page are Oct 6 reference quotes. Next milestone: seat selection with check-in.

On the ground: ~US$3,000–3,500 for two, excluding flights & concert — hotels ≈ 1,600 · Wuling day ≈ 250 · trains & buses ≈ 300 · food ≈ 700 · rest buffer.

Booking checklist

預訂清單
0 of 8 done

Reality checks

行前須知
🌦️Late-November weather

Taipei 18–22 °C with rain chances · lake 15–20 °C · Wuling summit 0–5 °C · Kaohsiung 26 °C and sunny. Pack layers, gloves, rain shells, swimwear for the tubs.

🚫Why west, not east

Taroko's famous trails remain closed in 2026, and the east-side full KOM has no scheduled single-day group rides in November — only private vans. The west climb is the more beautiful kilometre anyway.

🚶Alishan is for legs, not pedals

No bike rentals up there — it's shuttle, walkways and sunrise. Your quads will file a thank-you note.

🚉No car, ever

HSR + TRA + 台灣好行 tourist buses + MRT + the odd taxi cover every leg. Group rides include their own support van.