Maolan Mountain Trail

❗️Please note that the Maolan Mountain Trail summit facilities – public restrooms and observation deck – will be temporarily closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays starting April 1, 2025, due to construction at the weather station and operational adjustments. We apologize for any inconvenience.❗️Maolan Mountain, one of the 'Four Beauties of Sun Moon Lake,' stands at an elevation of approximately 1020 meters and is renowned as a hidden gem trail around Sun Moon Lake. The entire trail is approximately 4.6 kilometers long, with low difficulty and gentle slopes, making it suitable for families and beginners for a relaxed hike. A round trip takes about 2 to 2.5 hours. The trail boasts a serene environment, featuring asphalt paths, stone steps, and dirt roads. Along the way, visitors can enjoy the tranquility and beauty of the natural mountain forests. Near the trail entrance stands a commemorative bronze statue of Yoshijiro Arai, a Japanese agricultural scientist who came to Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period. He is revered as the 'Father of Taiwanese Black Tea' for his outstanding contributions to the cultivation and improvement of Assam black tea in the Sun Moon Lake area. This statue was donated by Chimei Chairman Hsu Wen-lung and is one of four such statues; the others are housed in the Chimei Museum, the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration, and Arai's hometown in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. The memorial pavilion not only marks the starting point of the trail but also symbolizes the history and development of Taiwan's black tea culture, serving as an important landmark for visitors to learn about the tea-producing region's heritage. Visitors can begin their hike from the stone steps next to the statue, immersing themselves in Maolan Mountain's tea fragrance and natural scenery. Along the trail are extensive black tea plantations, as well as a well-preserved Japanese-style tea factory and the Yuchi Branch of the Taiwan Tea and Beverage Crop Experiment Station, Ministry of Agriculture. This tea experiment station has been dedicated to the trial cultivation and improvement of black tea since the Japanese colonial period, profoundly influencing the development of Taiwan's tea industry. The observation deck outside the tea experiment station's office is an excellent spot to watch the sunrise over Sun Moon Lake. Early morning hikers can enjoy magnificent sunrise and sea-of-clouds vistas. As the tea experiment station is a research institution, it has not accepted group visits from travel agencies since 2015. General public wishing to visit must apply two weeks in advance under the name of an organization or unit, providing details of the visit and the number of participants for arrangements. At the trail's end is the Sun Moon Lake Weather Station of the Central Weather Administration, situated at an elevation of 1020 meters, making it the third-highest weather station in Taiwan. Equipped with various meteorological instruments, the weather station provides local weather observation data, making it a unique attraction on the trail. Upon reaching the summit, visitors can enjoy panoramic views of Sun Moon Lake, Mt. Jiufen'er, and Mt. Jiji, offering a vast and magnificent scenery that is truly refreshing.