Getting to Alishan by Public Transport - A Guide

Chiayi is the main starting point for a trek up to Alishan. While it is possible to take either the train or the bus to the national park, frequencies are limited and the trains are quickly booked up in advance. There are only a maximum of 3 trains in each direction a day. While buses run a bit more frequently, it's not as scenic and the train is a historic relic that is worth trying.

Trains only go uphill in the morning while the downhill trains leave early in the afternoon shortly after lunch, so for day trips, I would recommend taking the train up and the bus down.

Train up, bus down ...

You can book the train up to 2 weeks in advance on their website with uphill departures from 8:30-9:30am. Note that the train line is only partially open due to earthquake damage so you would need to change to another bus at Fenqihu to continue uphill. Refreshing the train booking engine repeatedly over a number of days, I was lucky to score a seat on the earliest departure, the Jungshing Express, heading uphill at 8:30am.

The Alishan railway's tickets are not integrated with the TRA system. Even with an online booking, you still need to pick up a paper ticket. Upon arriving at Chiayi station, look for a dedicated counter for this service outside to pick up your physical ticket. Then head through the gates and turn right to find a side platform where the small train departs from.

My train did not have reserved seats and there was 1 car with proper front-facing seats while the others had metro-style seating. Despite the old rolling stock, the air-conditioning was strong and it was freezing inside.

The Japanese colonists started building the forest railway in 1906 to exploit Alishan's forests, with the first section opening in 1912. The entire line is almost 72km long with Alishan station at 2216m above sea level.

I took a right window seat and we left on time for the slow but scenic ride uphill. Live commentary on the railway's use and history is provided but in Mandarin only. The views were better on the right and there were many tunnels as we spiralled our way up. This is an amazing piece of engineering.

After roughly 2.5 hours, we reached Fenqihu, a major stop that is famous for its railway bento meal boxes. The town was originally a mid-way mark and repair depot. This special train terminates here, and there is a nice washroom to use in case you've been waiting for a while.

This is only a quick pitstop for me, as I have to continue with the bus heading uphill. I didn't have time to sit down for an early lunch to try out their famed dish. If you are staying uphill for a night, you can spend an hour or two exploring this quaint town.

With about 30 minutes before my 7322 bus is due, I watched my time carefully and quickly walked through Fenqihu's small market street to see what they have on offer.

Finding the 7322 bus stop is a bit more complicated than I thought. The bus actually originates from Chiayi and stops here en route to Alishan. From the front end of the train station, cross the tracks and head up the staircase towards the road, then turn right and head downhill.

You will first pass a bus stop with a shelter, but that's not the right one.

Continue down the road and you will see another bus stop on the other side. That's not right either.

Finally, you will see a huge parking lot with a few food stalls. The right bus stop is just beyond it, and the bus would come from ahead of you, loop around the parking lot, and pick you up. According to the schedule, there is only 1 bus that stops here in the morning at 11:17am.

I did not pre-book this bus fearing any surprises from the train. While there were a lot of people waiting for it, it wasn't full and I sat comfortably for the next hour continuing uphill. Not bad for a weekend.

Upon arriving at the main tourist centre at Alishan's entrance, the driver will hand you a yellow ticket, which gives you half off admission to the national park. You can pay the bus fare using your Easycard by tapping when you get on and off. By now, it's shy of 1pm.

The main reason why I chose to take the bus back down to Chiayi is because it runs far later than the train, with the last bus leaving Alishan at 5:10pm. I budgeted 3 hours to walk around the national park, and pre-booked the 4:10pm bus at the Family Mart's FamiPort kiosk the day before. The interface is in Chinese only but allows you to book a set time and a seat. Afterwards, it spits out a receipt and you go to the cashier to pay cash for the bus ticket.

It is also possible to buy the return bus ticket at the 7-11 in the visitors' centre once you arrive, but I wanted peace of mind and not have any surprises if the last few departures are full. Pre-reserved passengers have a dedicated line and board first while unreserved folks line up next to you and follow.

My 4:10pm departure wasn't full and it was another winding trip back down to Chiayi, taking just a little over 2 hours. The drive was slow and safe due to the terrain so motion sickness wasn't an issue for me.