3.00pm Complimentary Guided Tour - Part of Fenqihu Trail System by Fenchihu Hotel @ Taiwan

I was quite surprised when the receptionist for Fenchihu Hotel took out a sheet of paper during check-in and explained that guests can participate in a few guided walking tours for free! 

Since we had the intention to check out a few trails around the railway town of Fenqihu, we figured it would beneficial to join the complimentary tour instead. Hence, here we were, in front of the trail system map, with our friendly guide, Shujuan! 

Making our climb.

Doesn't the above look like a gun battery?

Following Shujuan's direction; as you can see, we were the only guests following her, which meant we had her full attention. The job suited her as she was both knowledgeable and friendly!

Reaching our first destination; the scenic outlook which was said to provide a panorama of the small railway town. And I love to take panoramas! 

Sure didn't disappoint.

Overlooking the fenqihu railway station, it's a pity that we didn't manage to catch the sight of a train rolling in / out of the station. Just a note to those who love to take photographs of sunset, this looks out to the west! 

More walking; those who are older can consider trekking poles.

p.s. this particular tour was said to take 1.5 hours. 

Crossing the road, which I had assumed to be a rural road that no one will drive along unless they have specific destinations that result in no further road continuation.

Turned out it was part of the County Highway Route 169! Glad that I did turn my head, both ways, to ensure there was no vehicle before crossing. 

Continuing our climb....

Thousand-mile light flowers (千里光花) with its tiny clusters of yellow blossoms; they are actually the same family as the chrysanthemum and said to have the medicinal effect of improving eyesight.

In the midst of stands of towering bamboos. Now, I am quite scare to get too near to bamboos as I heard from the Lau Sisters that they were favorites of snakes! 

We did manage to 'catch' some terrifying looking caterpillars though; please be assured that I was doubly assured by Shujuan that the secretion isn't poisonous! And I can confirm as I was well for the next few days.

More of them on the plants! 

Now, I bet you know that caterpillars would transform into butterflies but would you be able to identify which butterfly they will transform into by the look of their caterpillar state? At least for this caterpillar, I can. Thanks to Shujuan! 

Sharp, spiky leaves! I was informed what it was, in Mandarin, but I was too slow to catch it! For me, they looked a bit like mimosa leaves, also known as touch me nots.

Shujuan removing the skin from the stem of a plant so that we can eat it for the fun of it! Turned out to be a bit bitter. Well, I didn't die for it. On second thought, maybe this neutralized the poison from the caterpillar's secretion.

Can't remember what this was.

Some plants with needles growing upwards! Just wondering if the aboriginal tribes in the past would use them as weapons for bow pipes, and maybe put a bit of poison on the tips to paralyze the prey...

Arrival at the shinto shrine ruins.

Ruins don't quite fascinate me as there's nothing much for me to see and visualize, and I am also worried I would do something disrespectful since I don't know where is what. 

Shujuan estimating the age of the felled tree using the growth rings. This method is known as Dendrochronology (how do you even pronounce that?). Estimation of tree age: at least 60 years of age. 

Rest station.

Hiked up further! According to Shujuan, our climb would reach to about 15 floors high and based on Singapore's calculation, it should be about 45 meters high.

All to see the Luding Sacred Tree! Information I found on the web mentioned "Perched at an altitude of 2,375 meters, Lulin Giant Tree is a 2700-year-old Formosan cypress with the height of 43 meters"! 

Information plaque for reference.

Making our way down! I checked the timing on the photos from start until this point and the journey took us about 40 minutes, which wasn't that bad honestly.

Bamboo stalks that appeared fell, maybe due to bad weather like typhoon that Taiwan was accustomed to having on an annual basis. Frankly, they looked dangerous.

Downwards.

Crossing the bridge and noticing that we were nearing County Highway Route 169 again. I was thinking; would anyone be coming up all the way to check out Luding Sacred Tree at night? There's no gate preventing anyone from doing that actually.

And I do think it might be a bit eerie. The aboriginal tribes do believe in forest spirits and there were many urban legends in Taiwan regarding the paranormal; like the little girl in red, the mountain gremlins etc. 

Let's just concentrate on walking down.

Wouldn't want me tumbling down all the way.

Staircase we came down from. 

More stairs! I can imagine if my elder sister were with me since she ever mentioned that flight of stairs was her greatest enemy! p.s. referenced from our hike up Hallasan! 

Reached the town, and conclusion of our guided tour! Thanks to Shujuan for being such a great guide! p.s. she is a big fan of Malaysian durians! 

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Route

As above in red.

Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)