Gone for the Weekend

Sitou (Nature Education Area and a Forrest Recreation Area)

By eight thirty, we begin our journey as the fast-rising sun has already taken the cool edge of the early morning air and we feel its glowing heat against our faces. We know it’s going to be a hot day. Although still fairly early, we are surrounded by throngs of people. We are separated respectively according to our destination. While our tour guide is busy with his megaphone to blare out requests to wait patiently, we are ready and excited to begin our adventure.

It will take us a long journey before we arrive to our destination because Sitou is located at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain in Nantou County’s Lugu Township, northern part of Taiwan; it is at the source of the Beishih River.

After three hours of travel at last we arrived. As our tour guides instructing us some guidelines, we are busy preparing our belongings to bring because once up in the hills there are plenty of fine walks, both easy and more strenuous. With a map on our hand my friend and I decided to separate from the group to have more thrill and excitement. Aside from being famous in towering ancient trees and trails that lead in all directions and a cold breeze of wind that blows your faces, sitou has a lot to offer they have their University Pond, in which it was created to keep logs moist, and then later became their representative landmark.

The Sky Walk, the first sky walk in a forest in Taiwan. The walkway is 180 meter long and 22.6 meter (that’s seven stories) above the ground. From the walkway, you can experience life in the tree tops and observe how it changes with the four seasons. Walkway enables visitors to touch the trees by walking amidst them instead of just looking up from the ground. You can closely observe the symbiotic relationship the trees have with ferns and orchids and watch the birds perched on top of their branches.

The Giant Tree, there is a huge boulder inside the giant tree, although the center is mostly rotted out and hollow but it lives on. On the front, there is a resting cottage that you can watch from the top of the forest like immersing oneself in a dark green lake.

The Forest Exploration Park, the first park for forest exploration in taiwan wich combined wide spread forest, murmuring stream abundant ecological resources. By three route ways of amphibian, bird and reptile connected with and eight outposts in this park, you can be affected by fresh forest experrience under a series of amazing.

The Bamboo House and Cottages, you will experience the architecturally unique bamboo made cottages and elegant furnitures design by the famous architect Mr. Pao-Teh Han.

If you feel like being exhausted because of your busy schedule, hurrying for the deadline or feel like being strees and you are looking for an adventure i think Sitou is a great place to visit. This would be an impressive place for those nature lover. They have a complete facilities, a hotels for overnight staying, a restaurant with different specialties to choose and even a spa to relax after the hike.

Sad to say the day has gone and the sun is hurrying to hide forcing us to go down as fast as we could because again it will take us a long journey to go back from our origin. The time wasn’t enough we still want to visit the professor Wang Memorial Pavillion, the mount Phoenix Overlook and the Astronomical Observatory. We want to stay but we cant becuase we still have lot of things to do tommorow. We are very tired, tired not because of our work but rather because of our adventure that was filled with trill and excitement. We are ready to face a new challenges, as our body was energized and our mind was refreshed. This was a lifetime experience because we only have three months more to go to stay here in taiwan, but then, if i will be given a chance to go back I will…..I dont know… I hope so…