Geology & Adventure School Trip to Taiwan
Famed for centuries as Ilha Formosa (Beautiful Isle; 美麗島; Meilidao), Taiwan is an island with more faces than the 11-headed Guanyin. Towering sea cliffs, marble-walled gorges and tropical forests are just the start of your journey, which may take you as far as Yushan, which at 3952 meters forms the highpoint of the island. In Taiwan, you can trek through mountains on ancient hiking trails or cycle on a lone highway with the blue Pacific on one side and lush green hills on the other. Wherever you’ll look, you’ll find classic landscapes to enjoy.
Sample Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive in Kaohsiung and meet your local guides at the airport.
Transfer to your hotel for check-in. Visit Hamasen Railway Cultural Park to begin a series of language adventure activities at the charming red-brick British Consulate Residence and ending at the Pier-2 Art Center, which features art installations and old railway tracks, making it a perfect place to join locals at sunset, enjoy a picnic and fly kites. Have a welcome dinner.
Day 2
Transfer to the Wushanding Mud Volcano Geology Park for Geology Survey #1 – explore the geology park as you climb and jump around, even finding a small cave and watching the mud bubble out of the volcanic cones.
Engage in a walk through history: explore Fengshan Old City and the Naval Juancun (眷村, Military Village) to gain a deeper glimpse of Kaohsiung’s port town past.
Experience a Juancun Cooking Workshop, making your own dumplings and bubble tea for dinner.
Day 3
Transfer to Taitung by train (2.5hrs) Head over to Nanliao Port and take the ferry to Green Island (50 minutes). After lunch and hotel check-in, visit the National Human Rights Museum, located in a former island prison, to discover the prison’s hidden stories and hear a widespread romantic song which is said to have been written by a prisoner here. Experience snorkeling in the late afternoon. Follow our expert naturalist for a night exploration along the coastline. (Optional: Relax at a local ocean hot spring.)
Day 4
Engage in Geology Survey #2 – go on a road trip around Green Island to explore its lava pillars and learn about costal erosion. Participate in an exchange with a local school, where students will engage in a series of fun activities, including an ocean knowledge challenge and a kayaking competition. Take the ferry back to Taitung and have dinner there. (Optional: perform at a flash concert at Tiehua Music Village, which was built on the site of an abandoned train station. (Permit required.)
Day 5
Have breakfast, check out of your hotel and get ready for a 3-day biking trip in Huadong Valley (total 175 km)! Cycle from Taitung to Luye (32 km) in the morning, a trip during which students will be able to enjoy a variety of views including mud volcano, rivers, mountains, highland and endless rice fields. Continue biking to Fuli (35km), enjoying the breath-taking scenery and fresh air of the rice fields.
Day 6
Bike from Fuli to Yuli (25km). En route, stop by the junction of the Eurasian Plate and Philippine Sea Plate, where you may “set foot on” both plates at the same time. Continue biking to Ruisui (25km) on a route that will require you to conquer 300 meters of altitude difference. Get to the top to enjoy panoramic views of tea plantations and take a triumphant photo at the Tropic of Cancer monument. Relax at a local hot spring in the evening.
Day 7
Bike from Ruisui to Fenglin (35km). On the way, stop by Danong Dafu Forest Park, which in the last century used to be a sugar-cane field. Continue biking to Hualien (38km).
Check into your hotel and get refreshed. Afterwards, visit the biggest night market on the Taiwanese east coast and enjoy the famous Taiwanese night market atmosphere!
Day 8
Eat breakfast and check out of your hotel in the morning. (Optional morning activity: visit the Children Are Us Foundation.) Transfer to Taipei Taoyuan Airport for your international flight home.
Day 9
Eat breakfast and check out of your hotel in the morning. Transfer to Taipei Taoyuan Airport for your international flight home.
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