Alishan (阿里山) is not in Tainan. It's a mountain area in Chiayi County, to the north, and the forest recreation area at the top sits more than 2,000 meters up. You can get there from Tainan in a day, but you can't really see it in one: the train up arrives in the middle of the afternoon, after the day's only train down has left, and the sunrise most people come for happens early the next morning. Plan one night on the mountain.
The times, prices and rules below come from the Alishan Forest Railway, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle, checked in October 2026. Mountain schedules change, so check them again when you book.
Tainan to Chiayi
Every way up starts in Chiayi. Which station you need depends on how you're going up.
- For the forest railway: take a Taiwan Railway (TRA) train from Tainan Station (臺南車站) downtown to Chiayi Station (嘉義車站). The forest railway leaves from the same station, which the railway describes as the junction of the Alishan Forest Railway and Taiwan Railway.
- For the A line bus: take the high speed rail from Tainan HSR Station (高鐵台南站) in Guiren to Chiayi HSR Station (高鐵嘉義站), which is in Taibao, Chiayi County, outside the city. The bus leaves from Exit 2, platform 7.
- For the B line bus: it leaves from the bus shelter in front of TRA Chiayi Station.
Look up train times and fares on the official TRA and THSR sites or apps for your day. Leave a good margin before the forest railway, because it runs only a few trains a day.
The Alishan Forest Railway
The narrow-gauge forest railway climbs from Chiayi, 30 meters above sea level, to Alishan Station at 2,216 meters. On the current timetable (in force since 10 January 2025) one train a day runs the whole line in each direction, every day:
- Up: train No. 5 leaves Chiayi at 10:00, stops at Fenqihu from 12:16 to 13:21, and reaches Alishan at 14:56.
- Down: train No. 8 leaves Alishan at 11:50 and reaches Chiayi at 15:45.
- Shorter trains: No. 1 leaves Chiayi at 09:00 and runs as far as Shizilu (十字路), passing Fenqihu at 11:30. No. 2 starts at Shizilu at 13:21, waits at Fenqihu from 13:50 to 14:31, and reaches Chiayi at 16:51.
So the train up arrives about three hours after the train down has gone. That's the simple reason this is an overnight trip.
Fares: Chiayi to Alishan is NT$600 one way on the Alishan trains (the fare table lists NT$540 for Jungshing Express carriages). Chiayi to Fenqihu is NT$384, and Fenqihu to Alishan NT$225. Half fare is for seniors over 65 with an ROC ID card, disability card holders plus one companion, and children between 115 and 150 cm; children under 115 cm ride free.
Booking
- When: online booking opens 15 days before travel, 06:00 to 24:00, on the railway's own booking system. Station counters sell up to 12 days ahead.
- Which sections: online sales are mainly for long sections such as Chiayi to Alishan or Chiayi to Fenqihu. Fenqihu to Alishan opens online only 3 days before travel, if seats are left. Other short sections are sold at stations, with no guarantee.
- How many: up to 6 tickets per ID or passport for each direction.
- Pay on time: pay by the deadline the system shows. Unpaid orders are cancelled automatically, without notice, and three unpaid orders in one month suspend your booking rights for six months.
- Tickets: after paying, use the e-ticket (main line only) or collect a paper ticket at a railway station or a 7-Eleven ibon. Bring the ID you booked with. Screenshots or photos of an e-ticket are not accepted.
Check the status the day before: the railway stops trains when heavy rain or a typhoon is coming, and it did so several times in 2026: in June (a weather front, then a rockfall that damaged the track), in July and August, and on 23 and 24 October, when a typhoon stopped the main line. Check the railway's news page the evening before and again on the morning you leave. Unused tickets bought during a typhoon sea warning can be refunded in full at a station within a year.
Fenqihu: a stop, or a fallback
Fenqihu (奮起湖), at 1,403 meters in Zhuqi Township, Chiayi County, is the halfway town. Taiwan's Tourism Administration says it grew up after the railway opened in 1912: trains carrying timber and workers stopped here, crews and passengers rested, and it became the biggest trading stop on the line and the home of the railway bento. The railway's own station page lists the old street and "the famous Fenqihu railway bento" among its highlights, and the Tourism Administration adds caozai guo (草仔粿) and train cakes (火車蛋糕).
Train No. 5's 65-minute stop leaves time for a bento and a short walk on the old street. If you can't get a seat all the way to Alishan, Fenqihu works as a day trip by train on its own: up on No. 1 or No. 5, back down on No. 8 (13:29) or No. 2 (14:31). Some A and B line buses also run via Fenqihu; on holidays and in cherry blossom season, those buses stop only at the First Parking Lot.
By bus: the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle
- A line (7329, 7329A): from Chiayi HSR Station to Alishan, NT$283 one way.
- B line (7322C, 7322D): from TRA Chiayi Station to the Alishan bus station, NT$254 one way. It stops at Shizhuo (石棹), in the tea country.
- Booking: reserved seats can be booked up to 29 days ahead through Alishan Easy Go, the Chiayi County bus booking system or FamiPort. Check in with the driver in the 10 minutes before departure, and no later than 5 minutes before.
The shuttle site gives no fixed journey time and warns that mountain roads cause delays, so leave plenty of slack. Keep your bus ticket: it gets you the lower admission at the top.
Alishan Forest Recreation Area
The Alishan National Forest Recreation Area (阿里山國家森林遊樂區) is run by the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency. It lies between 2,000 and 2,700 meters and is known for its forest railway, giant trees, sea of clouds, sunrise and cherry blossoms. The tallest of its sacred trees, the Sianglin Sacred Tree, is about 2,300 years old.
- Hours: the park is open 24 hours. The visitor service center is open 08:00 to 17:00.
- Entry: NT$300; NT$150 if you hold a bus or shuttle ticket, and for children aged 7 to 12; NT$200 for Taiwan citizens with ID.
- Address: No. 59, Zhongzheng Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County. Daytime phone 05-267-9917.
- Getting there: the forest railway to Alishan Station, or the A or B line bus.
Sunrise: the Zhushan train and the park bus
The sunrise viewpoint is Zhushan (祝山), 2,451 meters up and 6.25 km from Alishan Station on the Zhushan branch line.
- Fare: NT$150, half fare NT$75.
- Departure time: it follows the sunrise. The railway posts the next morning's time at 16:30 the day before, on its booking site, at Alishan Station, the park gate and the visitor center.
- Online: from 14 days ahead until 12:00 noon the day before. Branch lines have no e-tickets, so collect a paper ticket at a railway station or 7-Eleven ibon.
- At the station: Alishan Station 2F sells tickets 08:30 to 16:30. On the morning itself, Alishan Station 1F sells that day's tickets from 30 minutes before departure, with a limit per person on holidays and busy days.
- The park bus: a sunrise bus also runs, timed to the sunrise each day. Buy at the Visitor Center Station before 16:40 the day before.
Go for the trip, not a guaranteed view. On 1 January 2026, UDN reported more than a thousand people waiting at Zhushan in about 7°C while fog hid the sunrise, the fifth New Year's Day in a row. A clear sunrise or a sea of clouds is a bonus, never a promise.
Staying overnight
A night on the mountain is what makes Alishan work. The train up arrives mid-afternoon, the sunrise train leaves before dawn, and the only through train down leaves before noon. Book your room before your train tickets, and keep it flexible if you can, since a weather suspension can cancel the train. If you'd rather start fresh, spend the night before in Chiayi City and catch the 10:00 train in the morning.
Altitude and weather
Alishan Station is 2,216 meters up and Zhushan higher still, so the mountain is far colder than Tainan, above all before dawn. Pack warm layers, a hat and a rain jacket whatever the season, and shoes with grip for wet paths. Mountain afternoons often cloud over, which is another reason to arrive early and save the walking for the next morning.
Tsou communities and community-led experiences
Alishan is also home to the Tsou (鄒族), one of Taiwan's Indigenous peoples. CNA, citing the Chiayi County Culture and Tourism Bureau, reported in 2024 that there are fewer than 7,000 Tsou and that most live in Alishan Township: in Laiji, Leye, Dabang (which includes the Dabang and Tefuye settlements) and Lijia in the north, and in Shanmei, Xinmei and Chashan in the south.
These are separate villages, not part of the Alishan Forest Recreation Area, and the forest railway doesn't stop in them. Driving, or arranging transport with your host, is the practical way to get there. A few township buses do run, but they need planning and booking ahead (see below). Fitting a village into the same trip as the railway and the sunrise usually means another night, which is often the more practical plan anyway.
The best way to visit is with the community's own hosts. These three are listed by the community itself or by Chiayi County.
Laiji: village tour and crafts
The Laiji Community Development Association (來吉社區發展協會) runs tours and hands-on experiences in Laiji (來吉), a village below Tashan (塔山), which the association describes as the Tsou sacred mountain. Its website lists:
- Village tour (部落導覽): a guided walk through the village, 90 to 120 minutes, for at least 4 people and at most 30.
- Wild boar handicraft (手磨山豬): a hand-finished wild boar craft, 40 to 60 minutes.
- Archery (射箭): up to 10 minutes each.
- Hand-washed aiyu jelly (手洗愛玉): making aiyu jelly by hand, about an hour.
- Roasting and brewing coffee (烘/泡咖啡): for a group of 2 to 6, about an hour.
The association's site listed prices in 2022; ask when you book for current prices. Book on the association's online form or call 05-2661002. Sending the form is only a request: the form says your booking is confirmed once the association's staff call or email you back.
Tefuye: a cultural walk with an elder
Peisu Coffee (飛鼠咖啡), in Tefuye (特富野), lists a Tsou cultural walk (鄒部落文化巡禮) on Chiayi County's official family travel site (see the listing). A community elder leads it. It takes about 60 minutes and costs NT$800 a person, with a minimum of 4. The listing is titled for ages 12 and up. Booking is by LINE (@330iyqpu), by reservation only, ideally 10 days ahead, and groups of two can ask about a small-group option at extra cost. Listed hours are 10:00 to 17:00.
Dabang: the hunter's packed meal
The same county site lists a hunter's bag experience (鄒族獵人包體驗) at Zoufengguan (鄒風館部落餐廳), a restaurant in Dabang (達邦). The listing explains that this was the meal Tsou hunters carried into the mountains: glutinous rice, millet, salted fish and wild boar wrapped in large leaves. It costs NT$350 a person, takes 90 minutes and needs booking at least 2 days ahead (phone 0938-867380). The restaurant's listed hours are 11:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 19:00, closed Tuesdays, and on Mondays it closes at 14:00.
The county site says the hosts' own notices take priority over its listings, so check details with your host before you go.
Getting to the villages by bus
Public transport to these villages exists, but it is limited, mostly has to be booked, and takes planning. For most visitors, driving or arranging transport with your host is the more practical choice.
- Laiji: Happiness Alishan Bus Route 2 (幸福阿里山2路), run by the Alishan Township Office, goes from Shizhuo (石棹) via Fenqihu (奮起湖) to Laiji, stopping at Laiji Catholic Church (來吉天主堂) and Laiji Presbyterian Church (來吉長老教會), and on to Fengshan (豐山). Its timetable lists runs on Tuesdays and Fridays (leaving Shizhuo at 06:30 and 16:50, and Fengshan at 07:50 and 18:10) and runs on request between 08:00 and 16:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. All of them are marked as booked runs: book at least five days ahead, or five working days for the Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday runs. The B line bus stops at Shizhuo.
- Tefuye and Dabang: the forestry agency's trail guide gives two bus routes: Route 7314 from Chiayi to Dabang (達邦), or Route 7322A (the Fenqihu detour) to Shizi Village (十字村), then the booking-only Happiness Alishan Bus Route 3 (幸福阿里山3路) to Tefuye. Route 3 runs from Shizi Village via Tefuye and Dabang to Lijia (里佳) on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays between 08:00 and 16:00, booked five working days ahead. But Chiayi County's bus office says Route 7314 stops short at Shizhuo until 30 November 2027 because of a road closure, so for now it doesn't reach Dabang.
- Booking: call the Alishan Township Office on 05-2562547 ext. 175, or book on Chiayi County's iBus booking page.
The timetables give times only at the ends of each route, and we couldn't confirm from them that a same-day return works, so don't count on one. Ask about the return trip when you book.
Visiting with respect
- Homes first: these are living communities where people live and work. Book ahead rather than turning up.
- Follow your hosts: go where they lead, and ask before you touch or enter anything.
- Photos: ask before you photograph people.
- Ceremonies: these belong to the community. Don't assume one is open to visitors because it happens during your trip.
Pair it with
→ Shizhuo tea farms on the way up, where you can pick and roll tea by booking.
→ A night in Chiayi City first, the town where the railway starts.
→ All day trips from Tainan
Sources
Timetable, fares, booking and ticket rules from the Alishan Forest Railway: main line timetable, ticket prices, ticket directions, ticket purchasing guide, stations and Fenqihu Station. Suspensions from the railway's news page (for example the October 2026 typhoon notice). Recreation area fees, hours and sights from the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency. Bus routes, fares and booking from the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle A line and B line. Fenqihu history and food from the Taiwan Tourism Administration. The 2026 New Year sunrise from UDN. Tsou population and villages from CNA, citing the Chiayi County Culture and Tourism Bureau. Laiji experiences and booking from the Laiji Community Development Association's website and booking form. The Tefuye walk and the Zoufengguan hunter's bag from Chiayi County's official family travel site: Peisu Coffee listing and Zoufengguan listing. Township bus routes, stops, days and booking rules from Chiayi County's iBus booking page and its route pages for Route 2 and Route 3, with the linked timetables; the Route 7314 closure from the notices on Chiayi County iBus. Bus connections to Tefuye and Dabang from the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency's trail page. Checked October 2026.