Kending-One Weekend Isn't Enough
Text / Steven Crook
Photos / Kenny Wu, Liao Jun-yan, Cai Kun-Long, Vision Int'l
Several of Taiwan's most famous tourist attractions have a long history. Alishan's mountain scenery and Beitou's hot springs have been drawing substantial numbers of visitors since Japan's colonial occupation (1895-1945). Sun Moon Lake has been popular with honeymooners since the 1950s. The beach-resort area in Kending, at Taiwan's southern tip, is an upstart by comparison.
In the 1960s, a few adventurous expatriates ventured down to South Bay (Nanwan). American soldiers and their dependents came in the 1970s; some of them recall beaches so rarely visited that each season a fresh trail had to be blazed through the undergrowth from the road to the sand.
It wasn't until the late 1980s, when for the first time ordinary Taiwanese people had spare cash and free time - and conservative inhibitions about wearing swimsuits and getting suntans began to fade - that Kending really took off.
The area now pulls in upwards of five million visitors per year, with growth continuing thanks to improvements in transportation. Several bus companies link the resort area, at the bottom of Hengchun Peninsula, with Kaohsiung City; the southern stretch of Taiwan's second north-south freeway reaches Linbian, less than an hour's drive north; and the opening in early 2004 of Hengchun Airport has been a boon for north Taiwan residents in a hurry. There's also talk of extending the railroad as far south as Hengchun town, and adding a light-rail link from there to the town of Kending.
A Tour around the Peninsula
Whether you're coming by bus or driving yourself, you'll most likely arrive in the area from the northwest. Unless your ambitions extend no further than your hotel and the nearest beach, get hold of a detailed map and trace a counter-clockwise route around the outside of the peninsula. There's a lot to see and do in Kending - nature has blessed the area with dense forests, high hills, and spectacular cliffs as well as sun, sand, and surf.
Looking at the northwest corner of your map, you'll notice that the main road from Fangliao to Kending town, Provincial Highway 26, veers inland between two sets of hills: the modest peaks of Gueishan and Wuguashan to the west, and a more imposing inland range that includes the 647-meter-high Old Buddha Mountain.
Many visitors don't slow down until they hit the beach resorts, but if you can, budget three or four hours for the twenty-odd kilometers between the entrance to Kenting National Park - just south of the small town of Checheng - and the beach-resort area centered on Kending town at the peninsula's southern edge.
Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium
First up is the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium (tel: (08) 882-5001; www.nmmba.gov.tw). Located west of the main highway (just outside the park) down a clearly signposted (in English and Chinese) side road, this museum - which features whales and many other sea creatures - is interesting for people of all ages. Some but not all Kaohsiung-Kending town buses detour to the museum; if you don't have your own vehicle, but want to make a stop here, check with the various bus companies around Kaohsiung Train Station before buying tickets.
Hengchun
Sitting astride Highway 26, the town of Hengchun, still outside the park, is where area residents go for secondary-school learning, shopping, and visits to the doctor or dentist. For tourists, it's notable mainly for its surviving city gates - vestiges of the lawless eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when bandits, rebels, and unhappy native peoples made Taiwan a somewhat dangerous place.
Longluan Lake
Southwest of Hengchun is a place that draws nature lovers and eco-tourists. Longluan Lake - we're in the park now - 175 hectares of marsh and lake, offers excellent birdwatching opportunities.
Including migrating birds, Kenting National Park has recorded 310 avian species. Even disregarding creatures that can be found in the sea, some impressive statistics bolster the park's claim to be a biodiversity hotspot. There are 59 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 21 kinds of freshwater fish. The national park also has 216 different types of butterflies - very nearly as many as Sri Lanka, a country that promotes itself as an eco-tourism destination.
Guanshanyan and Maobitou
Due west of Longluan Lake is Guanshanyan, a limestone plateau where sunset aficionados gather as dusk approaches. If you'd like to catch the sunset (or sunrise) with your significant other, check the park's bilingual website, www.ktnp.gov.tw, for times.
South of Guanshanyan is Maobitou, literally "Cat's nose head," a promontory where parts of the cliffs are slowly crumbling into the sea.
Houbihu
Returning to the main road to continue your counter-clockwise journey around the peninsula, you'll pass through Houbihu, a sizeable fishing port and location of one of Taiwan's few yacht marinas. In the warmer months you can see flying fish and umbrella swordfish being unloaded here; in winter, the catches are mostly white and black swordfish.
Nanwan
Nanwan can be thought of as a smaller, down-tempo version of Kending town. There's no shortage of restaurants and nightspots, souvenir shops, and dive-gear establishments, but everything here is a little less manic - especially after dark.
These days, you'd never guess that during the Japanese colonial era this village was a base for whalers. Now the main attraction is a 600-meter-long sandy beach.
National Park Visitor's Center
A largish building stands on the inland side of the road, just east of Nanwan. This is the Kenting National Park Visitor's Center, which offers information on accommodation and transportation, and exhibitions, multimedia presentations, plus a selection of books and souvenirs.
On January 1, 1984, Kending became the first national park in Taiwan's history. Responsible for 18,084 hectares of land and 15,185 hectares of sea, the reserve's managers do not merely promote tourism. To protect places of ecological importance and sensitivity, the park authorities limit access to certain sites, such as Nanren Lake, through a system of permits. If you have special interests or tour requirements, contact the center ahead of time.
Kending Town
The town of Kending is the hub of the area's tourist industry, and needs little introduction. This is where the swankiest hotels, the liveliest nightspots, and the most bustling restaurants can be found.
There's no shortage of accommodation options, with homestays to four/five-star establishments and everything in between. Note, however, that at certain times of year - especially during the summer - rooms can be very hard to come by.
After dark Kending Road, the section of highway that serves as the town's main street, is an excellent place to stroll, people-watch, and browse for souvenirs. Unless you're going primarily for the nightlife, try to visit Monday through Friday. You'll avoid the crowds - and probably get a better hotel deal, too. (For more info on dining and shopping in Kending, see other related articles in this issue.)
Kending Forest Recreation Area
In the hills behind Kending town, surrounding 318-meter-high Dajianshan (Mt. Big Point), you'll find Kending Forest Recreation Area. This is one of the few places in the national park that charges admission, but it's well worth the cost of a ticket. The 467 hectares of tropical monsoon forest here includes hundreds of indigenous and exotic plant and tree types, plus geological oddities such as coral reefs that tectonic forces have pushed more than 100 meters above sea level.
Sheding Nature Park
If you can't get enough of the region's botanical and animal treasures, add Sheding Nature Park, right by the forest area, to your itinerary. Part of this park is devoted to the protection and study of the Formosan Sika Deer, a hill-dwelling creature that has been successfully reintroduced to the wild after being driven close to extinction through hunting.
Eluanbi
The very southernmost part of Taiwan, called Eluanbi, is a short drive south of Kending town. This grass-covered promontory is fringed by slumping cliffs. There's a picturesque heritage-site lighthouse, plus a monument explaining the location's geographical significance. To the east you'll see the Pacific Ocean; gaze southward and you'll be looking at the Bashi Channel, which separates Taiwan from the Philippines .
Fongchueisha
Heading north, now along the eastern side of Hengchun Peninsula, you'll soon come to a place called Fongchueisha. The name means something like "wind blows sand," and it's entirely apt. Every time it rains, sand is washed down onto the seashore. Then, when the wind blows - which it does here hard and often - the sand is propelled back inland and upward, much of it ending up on or beside the road. Dunes like these are seen in very few other places in Taiwan.
Jialeshuei
After crossing the most southerly river-mouth in Taiwan, that of the Gangkou River, you'll face a choice: turn left and take a road that leads through the peninsula's thinly-populated and very scenic interior, or turn right to coastal Jialeshuei. The latter is a dead-end road, but one well worth going down.
When people think of Kending, they tend to think of sandy beaches. But Jialeshuei - one of the most interesting stretches of coastline, and a place increasingly popular with sightseers - is rocky in the extreme. The area features geological forms that have been hollowed, pitted, and sculpted by wind and wave. Some of the results are surrealistic.
Around two-and-a-half hours are needed to walk the entire length of the Jialeshuei tourist footpath. As with the Forest Recreation Area, an admission fee is charged.
End of the Line?
That brings our semi-circular tour of the peninsula to an end. Many of the places described deserve at least an hour or two. Others - especially the Forest Recreation Area - could take half a day. In one weekend you can't possibly exhaust all the sights - but you can make a good start.
And what do you do if and when you've explored every land corner of the national park? The answer, of course, is to begin exploring those parts under the sea!
If you're coming for snorkeling and scuba diving, avoid the summer months; typhoons tend to stir up sediment, and that greatly reduces visibility. Some diving enthusiasts recommend October to early December - the weather is usually decent, and because it's a "shoulder season" prices are somewhat lower. Two hundred and fifty of the world's 700 species of stony coral can be found in the ocean here. (For more info on diving and other outdoor activities in Kending, see related article in this issue.)
How to Get Around
If you do plan on exploring the peninsula, rather than simply staying close to the beach, rent a car or a motorcycle/scooter in Kending. Renting a scooter is straightforward and inexpensive (about NT$500 a day); an international driver's license is required.
Having your own vehicle also means you can seek out the best weather. In the winter months, especially, conditions can vary hugely from one side of the peninsula to the other. It may be raining in one place, but sunny in another.
If you rely on public transportation, you can use the Kending Shuttle bus service, which covers most of the places mentioned above. There are two bus lines, Blue and Red, both starting at Hengchun, but heading in opposite directions. Buses of the red line head north from Hengchun and follow either a western loop with stops at places like the Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium and Maobitou, or an eastern loop that first follows the inland route to Jialeshuei before following the coast south to Eluanbi and then back east to Hengchun via Kending town.
Buses on the blue line follow the same route but start southward from Hengchun headed south. Tickets are priced NT$20 for the shortest trip (between two stops), with NT$5 added for each successive stop. You can also buy a 1-day ticket for NT$150 or a 2-day ticket costing you NT$250. During weekends and holidays there is a bus every 20 minutes, while during weekdays frequency is one bus every 40 minutes. In order to make taking the bus even more convenient, at each bus stop along the routes the expected arrival time of the next bus is displayed and on the bus the name of the next stop is announced.
What's in a Name?
In reference to the island's most southerly region, travelers will sometimes see "Kending," sometimes "Kenting." Taiwan officially uses Tongyong Pinyin for transliterations, and thus "Kending." However, the original spelling is still officially used for Kenting National Park. Note, however, that the area referred to by Kending and Kenting National Park are one and the same.