Orchid Island

Orchid Island or Lanyu (蘭嶼 Lán yǔ) is a beautiful island located in Taitung County off the coast of Taitung.

Villages

The main area for hotels is Hongtou Village, a couple kilometers southeast of the airport.

Other destinations

Understand

Its population is about 5,000 of mostly Taiwanese aboriginals, not Han Chinese. Most people live in one of the six villages along the coastal road that traverses the island's perimeter.

Get in

Daily Air (website in Chinese only) has around 6 flights a day from Taitung to Orchid Island's airport on the central west coast. You can easily become stranded on the island for days when winds pick up even during non typhoon weather. Daily Air will cancel flights when the winds are even as low as 35 miles per hour. You can also take a ferry from Taitung, but be aware that the seas can be VERY rough.

Get around

Other than walking, the only practical means of transport for tourists is hiring a scooter. These can be hired from an area next to the ferry port, which is also the location of the only petrol station on the island. Hitch hiking is also possible, although you may have long waits between rides due to the low number of vehicles on the roads.

There are basically only two roads on the island - the loop road following the coast circumnavigating the island, and the mountain road, dissecting the island in two (east-west).

See

Visit churches: Christianity is pretty big here; each of the six villages on the island has exactly one Catholic and one Protestant church. (The Protestant ones are larger and in better repair.) Access and times of services vary. Ask around!

Do
  • Tour the beautiful island on a scooter.
  • Talk and dine with the local Yami people.
  • Enjoy relaxing on this quiet island

Eat

Tribe Bar is probably the most popular place for western tourists and offers a mix of Asian and Western dishes.

Drink

Stay safe

Go next

Getting out is not always so easy. Winds can be very strong which makes flying and boat travel not possible at times. Leave yourself at least four extra days in case the flights are cancelled if you have onward travel plans.


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