Sun-Link-Sea Forest and Nature Resort is situated at an altitude of 1600 meters, providing a consistently cool temperature. With beautiful natural scenery and diverse ecosystems throughout the year, it has always been a famous attraction in Nantou. Visiting during autumn is particularly rewarding, as it’s the season when the cypress trees turn golden. Sunglungxi offers a variety of floral displays in different seasons, so I hope to come back several more times and capture the diverse landscapes to share with everyone.

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The scenery along the Shu lin Trail

Most of the trails here follow along the stream, and throughout the route, you often encounter gorge-like terrain as shown below. Of course, there’s also a park shuttle available.

Walking through the forest, just enjoying the sunlight streaming through the many cedar trees makes me really happy. I was initially worried about thick fog, not being able to see anything.

The wooden stairs and gravel paths are the main trail constructions in Shuilinxi, and you can tell they are well-maintained. You can confidently enjoy the scenery.

The ground is often covered with plenty of ferns. Being near the stream, the humidity here is relatively high.

The main types of maple trees here tend to turn red and shed their leaves early. When I visited this time, there weren’t many left. For enjoying fall foliage, it’s better to come around mid to late October.

In the evening, you can enjoy a sky full of stars on the forest trail! It’s really beautiful. On that day, I stayed to watch fireflies. Due to the high number of visitors on holidays, I didn’t specifically capture the fireflies that were further away. What’s special is that the fireflies here don’t twinkle; their light remains steady.

Metasequoia glyptostroboides

The main highlight for me this time in Sun-Link-Sea was the Metasequoia glyptostroboides. Fortunately, I caught it during its changing colors. It’s located behind the flower center, and it takes roughly a little over an hour to walk from the entrance.

I recommend coming here for photos around midday. At this time, the sunlight is direct, and the play of light and shadow is at its most beautiful. Due to the nearby mountains, around 4 or 5 in the evening, the sunlight doesn’t reach here, and the colors of the leaves are not as vibrant.

The Flower Center

Inside the center is a sea of green, and each plant is labeled with a name tag. It’s hard to find any withering or dead leaves; they really take good care of it! There’s also a dining area next to it, perfect for grabbing a meal after taking photos of the flowers, around noon.

Really love these plant walls!

A large area is planted with angel’s trumpet flowers. At first, I thought they were lavender.

The golden trumpet flower has a quite charming appearance and is one of the six famous flowers in Shuilinxi. At that time, it was blooming abundantly in the flower center. In the high-altitude area, they bloom all year round. Taking photos of these flowers also took quite a bit of time!

Flower Center

The Flower Center displays a wide variety, more than thirty types. I didn’t manage to capture each one individually.

Matsutaki Village, Matsutaki Rock Waterfall

After passing through the cypress forest from the Flower Center, you can reach Matsutaki Village in less than an hour. There’s also a dining area here.

At the back of the village are Matsutaki Rock and the Matsutaki Rock Waterfall. The entire massive rock cave is quite spectacular; you have to go in and walk through it to truly appreciate it. Be cautious as some parts of the cave floor may be slippery due to seepage.

In the center of the photo below, there’s a small stream, and that’s the waterfall! Due to the visit in mid-November during the fall season, there isn’t much water. Can you still see the waterfall?

Beneath the cave is a green area, mostly covered with ferns.

The Eternal Red Cypress

From Matsutaki Rock Waterfall, walking the Heavenly Eye Trail will lead you straight to the Eternal Red Cypress. The red cypress, over a thousand years old, appears to have fallen, leaving behind a thick and sturdy base. The guide mentioned that long ago, people used to burn gold paper in front of these ancient trees as an offering. Due to the rich essential oils in the thousand-year-old red cypress, this practice sometimes led to unintentional tree fires.

The Heavenly Eye

The Heavenly Eye is the final attraction in Shuilinxi. You have to climb a short slope to reach it. Formed by years of wind and rain erosion, it looks like two eyes and a nose bridge. It also resembles an owl!

Ecology

There are many bird species here, but I could only capture a limited number in a short time. One common example is the Rhyacornis fuliginosa (male), as shown in the picture below. You can almost see it wherever there is water along the trail! It’s one of my favorite bird species~

It’s my first time seeing this bird, Cinclus pallasii. It’s all dark brown, and it’s quite amusing to watch as it buries its head in the water for a while to catch fish for a meal.

Enicurus scouleri is also a common bird species in Taiwanese streams. Its black-and-white contrast in feathers makes it easily recognizable.

Myophonus insularis has a very loud call; you can hear it before even seeing it. There are many of them inside Shuilinxi.

Onychostoma barbatulum can be seen everywhere in groups.

It’s not surprising to encounter Formosan macaques here. Perhaps due to their familiarity with a large number of visitors, they leisurely search for fruits to eat on the trail.

Affordable Accommodation Nearby

Ginkgo Hotel：

Conveniently situated in the Xitou part of Nantou, this property puts you close to attractions and interesting dining options. Don’t leave before paying a visit to the famous Cingjing Veterans Farm. This 3.5-star property features restaurant to make your stay more indulgent and memorable.

PlaceOfHeart:

Xitou Star Homestay:

Featuring mountain views, Xitou Star Homestay provides accommodation with balcony, around 3 km from Xitou Nature Education Area. This property offers access to a terrace.