Top Trips for Scenic Train Journeys

This gorgeous island nation off the coast of China glistens with the green of its rice paddies, forests and valleys, not to mention a huge coastline. Our Taiwan trip is an almost perfect loop of the island, starting at the northern tip in the capital, Taipei, heading down the west coast to Taichung and Kaohsiung in the south, before heading up the east coast to Hualien and back to Taipei. Every journey between the country’s skyscraper cities offers a beautiful insight into rural Taiwan, but the locomotive highlight of our trip has to be the eastern stretch. We’ll wind directly along the stunning East Coast National Scenic Area, sandwiched between the island’s luscious greenery and the shimmering blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. You’ll pass mountains, volcanic rock formations, sandy beaches and coastal terraces, spotting a diverse array of flora and fauna as you go.