The Sicao Green Tunnel (四草綠色隧道) is a 30-minute boat ride down an old canal where the mangroves on both banks have grown together overhead, so you glide through a tunnel of green. People call it Taiwan's little Amazon. It sits on the coast just north of Anping, inside Taijiang National Park (台江國家公園), and it's the easiest way to see Tainan's wetlands up close.
The boats are run by Sicao Dazhong Temple (四草大眾廟), and you buy tickets and board right beside the temple. Times and fares below come from the temple's own notice, posted in September 2026.
Why go
It's a short, quiet, shaded ride, and a real change of pace from temples and old streets. The waterway is about 800 meters long, lined with mangroves where fiddler crabs, mudskippers and great egrets live. At the far end, the trunks and their reflection in the still water make a shape people call the Angel's Kiss, or the Green Eye. It's an easy outing with kids, and for anyone who doesn't want a long walk.
A little history
This was a working canal long before it was a sight. Taiwan's Tourism Administration describes it as a man-made channel once used to move salt, sugar and other everyday goods. The temple calls it Taiwan's first man-made canal, the Bamboo Raft Harbor (竹筏港), and adds that the lagoon here, Sicao Lake, had its golden age in the 19th century as the old Taijiang inner sea silted up. Sicao Lake silted up in turn after the Yanshui River flooded in 1906, and faded further once the Japanese dug a new canal in 1922.
The mangroves took the old channel back. In 1988 the Taiwan Provincial Government made the waterway a mangrove reserve, and the temple counts three mangrove species along it: mostly grey mangrove (海茄苳), with Lumnitzera racemosa (欖李) and a few Rhizophora stylosa (紅海欖). In 2009 the area became part of Taijiang National Park, Taiwan's eighth national park, which takes in the wetlands, estuaries and lagoons along this coast, including the black-faced spoonbill refuge further north.
The two boat rides
- Green Tunnel route (綠隧航線): about 30 minutes there and back on a small raft through the mangrove tunnel. Sailings run from 08:15 to 16:00. A raft leaves once 30 people are aboard, or after a 30-minute wait.
- Taijiang route (台江航線): a larger tour boat, about 70 minutes there and back, out on Sicao Lake with views across to Anping Old Fort, the Anping Tree House and the bird park, past oyster farms and along the old canal. It sails at 15:10 on weekdays, and at 10:30, 13:20 and 15:10 on weekends and holidays, though the temple says times depend on that day's groups and passengers.
Only the rafts go into the green tunnel itself, so if you have time for one, take the Green Tunnel route.
Good to know
- Hours: Green Tunnel sailings 08:15 to 16:00 daily. Travel Tainan lists the site as open 08:00 to 16:00.
- Fares (same for either route): NT$200 full price; NT$100 for primary school children aged 7 to 12; NT$100 for visitors with a disability card, plus one companion; NT$30 for children up to 6 and visitors 80 and over, with proof of age.
- Free extra: the small sperm whale exhibition hall by the temple (四草抹香鯨陳列館) is now free to visit.
- Address: No. 360, Dazhong Road, Annan District (臺南市安南區大眾路360號), beside Sicao Dazhong Temple
- Booking: walk up, or book a sailing on the temple's website. Phone 06-2841610.
- Getting there: the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle 98 (Fucheng Taijiang Route, 府城台江線) runs from Tainan Station through the old town and Anping, then on its extended section to the Sicao Ecological Cultural Park (Dazhong Temple) stop. There's a YouBike station by the dock. It's about 8 km from Tainan Station as the crow flies, so a taxi is simple too.
Tips: crowds, sun, tides and weather
- Go early, ideally on a weekday. It's popular. Over the 2019 National Day long weekend, TVBS reported people queuing for three hours. On a quiet weekday, remember a raft may wait up to 30 minutes to fill.
- Bring sun protection and water. You're out on the water in coastal sun, so a hat helps. In summer, the first sailings are the coolest.
- Wildlife depends on the tide. The temple notes that how many crabs, mudskippers and birds you see depends on the tide that day.
- Weather can stop the boats. Sailings follow the city's typhoon-day announcements (the temple stopped them for a typhoon in October 2026), so in typhoon season check the temple's news or call before you set out.
How long, and when
Allow about an hour and a half: 30 minutes on the water, some time in the queue, and a look at the temple and the whale hall. Add an hour if you take the Taijiang cruise as well. Mornings are best, for cooler air and shorter lines.
Combine it with Anping
Sicao is just across the water from Anping, and the 98 shuttle links the two, so it pairs well with a morning at Anping Old Fort and the Tree House. The Taijiang National Park visitor center on Sicao Boulevard is free and open 09:00 to 17:00, closed Mondays, if you want the bigger picture of the wetlands. Then in the evening, swap the mangroves for city lights on the Anping canal cruise.
→ Anping guide · Anping Old Fort · Canal night cruise · Qigu and the spoonbills
Sources
Boat times, fares, routes and the free whale hall: Sicao Dazhong Temple's route and fare notice (September 2026); history of the canal and the mangrove reserve: the temple's Green Tunnel page; typhoon stoppage: the temple's notice (October 2026). Description, length and wildlife: Travel Tainan and the Taiwan Tourism Administration; the national park and visitor center: Taiwan Tourism Administration. Shuttle 98 route: Travel Tainan. Holiday queues: TVBS (October 2019). Checked October 2026.