Taiwan's mountain heart — the island's only landlocked county, holding Sun Moon Lake, the geographic center of Taiwan, high-mountain tea and roads into the clouds.
台灣的山中之心——全島唯一不臨海的縣,擁有日月潭、台灣地理中心、高山茶,與直上雲端的公路。
Nantou is Taiwan's mountain heart — the island's only fully landlocked county, the single county that touches no coastline. It also holds Taiwan's literal center: the Geographic Center Monument (台灣地理中心碑) stands at Mount Hutou in Puli, marking the geometric midpoint of the island. This is high country, where four of Taiwan's five great mountain ranges meet.
南投是台灣的「山中之心」——全島唯一不臨海的內陸縣,是唯一完全沒有海岸線的縣。全島的正中心也在這裡:位於埔里虎頭山的台灣地理中心碑標記了島嶼的幾何中心。這是一片高山之地,台灣五大山脈中有四條在此交會。
Nantou shares Taiwan's highest peak, Yushan / Jade Mountain (玉山, 3,952 m) — whose summit sits where Nantou, Chiayi and Kaohsiung meet — and the alpine ridge of Hehuanshan (合歡山), one of the few 3,000-metre zones in Asia you can reach by road. For centuries these valleys have been home to Indigenous peoples: the Thao (邵族) of Sun Moon Lake, the Bunun (布農族) of Xinyi, and the Atayal and Seediq (賽德克) of Ren'ai.
南投與嘉義、高雄共享台灣最高峰玉山(3,952 公尺)——其主峰正坐落於三縣市交界——以及可開車抵達、亞洲少見的三千公尺高山稜線合歡山。數百年來,這些山谷是原住民族的家園:日月潭的邵族、信義鄉的布農族,以及仁愛鄉的泰雅族與賽德克族。
That history includes one of Taiwan's most significant episodes of resistance. In October 1930 the Wushe Incident (霧社事件) erupted in the mountains of Ren'ai, when Seediq communities led by Mona Rudao (莫那魯道) rose against harsh Japanese rule; the uprising and the reprisal that followed are remembered as a story of dignity and resistance. Modern Nantou is also defined by catastrophe and recovery: at 1:47 a.m. on 21 September 1999 the "921 Earthquake" struck with its epicenter in Jiji, Nantou — Taiwan's deadliest in a century. Through it all, Puli endures, famous for clean spring water, Shaoxing wine, flowers and handmade paper.
這段歷史也包含台灣最重要的抗爭事件之一。1930 年 10 月,霧社事件在仁愛鄉山區爆發,賽德克族人由莫那魯道率領反抗嚴苛的日本統治;這場起義與隨後的報復,被銘記為一段關於尊嚴與抵抗的故事。現代南投也由災難與重建所定義:1999 年 9 月 21 日凌晨 1 時 47 分,「921 大地震」以南投集集為震央爆發——這是台灣百年來最致命的地震。歷經一切,埔里始終以清澈泉水、紹興酒、花卉與手工紙著稱。
Taiwan's largest lake, in Yuchi, ringed by mountains and home to the Thao people. Sacred Lalu Island sits at its center; the shore holds the 46-metre Ci'en Pagoda (built by Chiang Kai-shek for his mother) and the colorful Wenwu Temple, with a cable car and lakeside cycling path.
A high-alpine area above 3,000 m on the Nantou–Hualien border, where several peaks are reachable near the road. One of the few places in Taiwan with regular winter snow, it is prized for stargazing (a designated dark-sky area) and sunrises.
A high mountain pasture around 1,700–2,000 m, nicknamed "Taiwan's Little Switzerland." Famous for roaming sheep, daily sheep-shearing and sheepdog shows, a European-styled "Small Swiss Garden," and a high-altitude skywalk with sweeping views.
In Lugu, Xitou is a serene cedar-forest recreation area with walking trails, ponds and a skywalk. Beside it sits the playful, Japanese-themed Monster Village (妖怪村), with its mascots Kuma and Badu.
A beloved branch railway running from Ershui to Jiji, Shuili and Checheng. Jiji town — near the 921 epicenter — is famous for its restored wooden station and the Green Tunnel (集集綠色隧道), an avenue of arching camphor trees.
The terminus of the Jiji Line, a former Japanese-era logging village now revitalized as a charming wood-themed old town, with its timber-industry heritage on display.
In the geographic-center town of Puli stands one of the world's largest Buddhist monasteries: a 136-metre modern stone tower (built 1990–2001) whose form evokes a seated, meditating monk.
In Taomi Village, Puli, this paper-tube church was first built in Kobe, Japan after the 1995 earthquake, then donated and rebuilt in Nantou after the 921 quake — a moving symbol of disaster solidarity and reconstruction.
A national forest recreation area in Ren'ai, celebrated as "the home of Taiwan's maples." Each December the valley turns crimson and gold, drawing visitors for one of the island's best autumn-foliage seasons.
About 40 minutes beyond Xitou, this higher forest recreation area in Lugu is known for waterfalls, flowers in season, and its own high-mountain oolong tea.
Nantou's culture rises from its tea hills, its Indigenous peoples, and the clean spring water of Puli.
Nantou is Taiwan's tea heartland: Lugu is the home of Dongding oolong (凍頂烏龍茶), "Frozen Summit" tea, alongside high-mountain oolong and Sun Moon Lake's Assam black tea. The valleys are home to the Thao (Taiwan's smallest recognized Indigenous people), the Bunun — world-famous for their Pasibutbut (八部合音) polyphonic harvest prayer — and the Seediq of the Wushe story.
Puli's exceptionally clean water sustains famous trades — handmade paper at the Guangxing Paper Mill (one of Taiwan's last fully handmade makers) and Shaoxing wine at the Puli Brewery. And the Paper Dome stands as the emblem of community rebuilding after the 1999 earthquake that struck the county at its heart.
The Seediq leader who led the 1930 Wushe Incident against Japanese colonial rule from the mountains of present-day Ren'ai. A genuinely Nantou-tied historical figure, remembered respectfully as a symbol of Indigenous resistance and dignity — and brought to a wide audience by the 2011 film Seediq Bale.
Nantou's identity rests most authentically on its Indigenous peoples: the Thao who keep watch over Sun Moon Lake, the Bunun whose Pasibutbut eight-part harmony is sung the world over, and the Seediq of the high valleys — distinct nations whose languages and ceremonies still shape the county.
Held annually around the Mid-Autumn Festival, this roughly 3,000 m mass swim is the one day each year swimming is permitted in the lake. It draws tens of thousands and is listed in the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
A major autumn tea festival with tastings, tea-garden tours and markets, drawing very large crowds to celebrate Nantou's status as Taiwan's tea heartland.
A traditional Bunun rite of passage held around April in Xinyi, centered on hunting skill and the coming-of-age of boys — closely tied to the famous Pasibutbut eight-part harmony.
Roughly early-to-mid December, when Aowanda's maples turn red and gold — Nantou's signature autumn spectacle, paired with crisp mountain air and clear stargazing skies on Hehuanshan.
Nantou's table is built on tea, lake and mountain — Dongding oolong, Sun Moon Lake fish, plum and bamboo from the high valleys.
Taiwan's most classic roasted oolong — tightly rolled, with an orchid-like fragrance — grown in the hills of Lugu.
Lugu 鹿谷Rich Assam-style red tea grown around the lake since the Japanese era — a smooth, malty brew.
Yuchi 魚池The "President Fish" (曲腰魚) once served to Chiang Kai-shek, plus lake shrimp and wild-boar dishes in Thao style.
Sun Moon Lake 日月潭Local rice noodles and dishes cooked with the town's famous Shaoxing wine, born of Puli's clean water.
Puli 埔里A tender, pale shoot, a Puli specialty nicknamed "beauty's leg" for its slender shape.
Puli 埔里Xinyi is Taiwan's plum capital; the Plum Dream Factory turns the harvest into plum wine, dried plums and candy.
Xinyi 信義Bamboo country — Zhushan is famous for fresh, sweet bamboo shoots and its sweet potato.
Zhushan 竹山Cool-climate vegetables and fruit from the high country, plus sweet bananas from the warmer Jiji valley.
Jiji 集集Taiwan's only landlocked county and the island's geographic center.
Taiwan's largest lake and the home of the Thao people.
Lugu's "Frozen Summit" oolong and the island's finest mountain teas.
Drive-up alpine country with snow, sheep and stars.
The Thao, Bunun and Seediq and the Wushe Incident history.
Handmade paper, Shaoxing wine and the 921 reconstruction story.
Introduce Nantou to a visitor — tap 🔊 to hear each sentence. 用英文向訪客介紹南投,點 🔊 聽聽看。
Campuses in Nantou that already have a bilingual site in the hub. ｜本縣已建置雙語校網的學校。
Sources · 資料來源:南投縣政府、日月潭國家風景區管理處、交通部觀光署、文化部、維基百科等公開資料整理。