Taiwan: Chi-tou scenic area near Lugu township, in Nantou County

For Taichungers, good place for a fast escape from a noisy city is Chi-Tou scenic area, near Lugu (鹿谷鄉), which belongs to Nantou county. It is one of seven National Taiwan University's experimental forests, and are built mostly by students hands. It's all about walking over mountain trails like this:

If you like the feeling, then it's your's. Of course, as it is with all such locations in Taiwan, it is better to come weekdays, otherwise, those trails will be overcrowded same as in city, and place will lose it's beauty. So, as official government website for area says:

The air is fresh, and there are no undesired noises. Visitors can enjoy a leisurely and carefree walk in the quiet, secluded forest, experiencing the tranquil, dark green, natural environment.

...it will be truth weekdays only, IMHO. Anyway, we were visiting the place Monday, mostly 老人家 (as I call them), from Mainland China were sneaking over the trails. As you might imagine, travelers from Mainland China differs from local 老人 mostly by noise created - they are much louder.

Taiwan fir, China fir, red cypress - those are everywhere, but for me personally, I like this feeling of bamboo jungle:

Different areas of the forest are connected by wooden or concrete footpaths and bridges:

During the winter, water in those small rivers almost disappears.

Time after time you can take a rest at such shelters. You will want, especially, if your interests in your facebook profile does not mentions "hiking".

Those trees were planted here in 1950's, and according to the signs, they were testing a distances - will it be OK, if distance between trees are that short? Well, for me they look pretty well, so experiment should be successful.

Once you spend some time in Taiwan, you'll quickly become familiar with a local phenomena I call "blue small trucks". Their exceptionally outrageous driving and almost 100 % presence over the island are proven also here in Chi-Tou.

Some of the trails are covered by wooden chippings, they smell great, walking through them is really a pleasure - add the fresh mountain air, and you will get the picture.

Another "important" point for the area is university bridge and pond.

The bamboo-arched bridge crosses over the blue waters of the pond.

There is a restaurant as well, however, I suggest a more special one, just down the road in Lugu - will
be introduced below.

You can't lost here, as signs are everywhere, you can grab a map at the entrance of the area. Eating is important. Right? So, I suggest this restaurant down the road - you will see the signs everywhere on a road:

As you can see they say 30年老店 - 30 nian lao dian, it's 30 years old.

This corner seat offers best view, but it's quite hot there, especially at summer.

You can choose to sit inside...

Or outside. Note the table on the right - that's a coffee - restaurant owner growths his own coffee. Below are some of the dishes you can get here:

Fish soup and bamboo...

Another fish dish

MuEr (木耳） - this restaurant kindly offered it as bonus. Taste is really like a sashimi!

Egg cake