Kenting National Park
Kenting National Park is an awesome place to visit and it was so much better than what I was expecting. This national park is situated in the southernmost region of Taiwan. It has nice weather and nice beaches that make it a bit of a tourist destination, although the beaches wasn't the reason I came. The park was recommended to me by a friend and I included it in my itinerary mostly because I wanted to visited the southernmost point of Taiwan. I thought it would be interesting to visit both the northernmost and southernmost points of Taiwan and so in that way, span the entire length of a country. I remember looking at all the green sections on Google maps in this region and thinking that there must be some kind of hike I could do there, and that was my goal. So when I arrived I visited the Kenting National Forest Recreation Area (a smaller part of the larger national park built up with many walking trails) and I was so surprised to find this forest to be incredibly beautiful.
The defining feature of Kenting Forest are these limestone outcroppings, situated at the top of the hill and broken into segments, they are surrounded by lush green jungle. The limestone was created by coral that grew in the sea, then it was pushed up above sea level by tectonic plate action. The limestone coral, full of nutrients, became perfect fertiliser for the forest that grew around and on top of these rocks. Some of the trees literally grew right on the rocks, their roots digging into the limestone. I had never seen limestone formed from coral before and it looked so unique, with a pitted jagged texture, and I wondered if the holes on the surface continued throughout the rock. Being limestone there were also a few caves in the area, and a couple of them were accessible to the public.
Not only did the park host these awesome natural phenomenon but there were multiple arboretums and gardens set up featuring flora from all over Taiwan and the world. What was originally meant to be a half a day visit became a full day activity. Even with a full day I still did not have enough time to fully appreciate all the amazing plants on display. I walked through the entire park, first through the garden areas and then to the limestone rock formations. The park also hosted an observation tower with a little cafe where I stopped for lunch.
I loved these trees that were so frequent throughout the park. Some of their branch and root systems were so thick and dense that they combined with their neighbours, creating a mess of foliage where it was difficult to tell where one tree began and another ended.
The Looking Glass Tree. This tree has the largest buttress roots in Taiwan. The darker brown section at the top of each roots is the part that is still alive and indicates that these roots are still growing.
My first sight of the coral limestone visible on either side of the trail. I already thought this was fantastic but it was only the beginning.
This was the biggest ravine I saw, called the First Ravine. I believe it was used historically as a pathway to get from one side of the mountain to the other. I was especially fascinated with the texture of the rock, visible everywhere but especially here.
I passed through more valleys, with limestone cliffs on either side overgrown with trees.
The plant life was literally growing from the rocks. In some places, the trees grew into cracks in the stone and in so doing they formed seemingly grotesque but fascinating shapes around the rocks.
The Fairy Cave, the first of the two caves I visited. The access to the cave was well maintained, although I did have to duck my head to get through a couple of tight sections.
The Silver Dragon Cave, so named because the erosion patterns within the cave look like the scales of a silver dragon.
From the Sea View Tower I could see the southernmost point of Taiwan, Cape Eluanbi.
While I did go through the arboretum and botanical garden areas of the park, I didn't spend as much time there compared to the limestone formations and I didn't take as many good pictures. Hence I haven't uploaded any of them here and decided to instead focus on the limestone formations that I found so unique and interesting.
This forest was truly the highlight of the region for me and I felt so blessed to have explored another beautiful nature area of Taiwan. Here I had a more tropical environment compared to the forests I visited in the mountains, or up north in Taipei. I had an absolute blast hiking through the park, and for me, this is the reason to visit Kenting and not the beach. But, for my readers who love the beach, you will be happy to know I did visit briefly and here are some pictures for you.
Kenting Beach. It was nice enough and empty in winter time.
Thanks for reading – Edward
Written 4th of February 2025