Taiwan's sacred lake — mist on jade water, Thao aboriginal culture, and the world's best cycling loop
Sun Moon Lake is Taiwan's largest natural lake, sitting at 762m in the mountains of Nantou County and regarded as the island's most scenic inland destination. The western half is round like the sun, the eastern half crescent-shaped like a moon — giving the lake its name. The surrounding mountains are home to the Thao people, Taiwan's smallest indigenous tribe, whose ancestor worship ceremonies take place at the sacred Lalu Island in the lake's centre. The 33km lakeside cycling path is considered one of the world's top 10 cycling routes by CNN, and the hand-drip coffee at Ita Thao village and…
Sun Moon Lake was developed during the Japanese colonial period — the power station completed in 1934 was then the largest in East Asia, and the Japanese built the Wenwu Temple, roads, and tourism infrastructure. The Thao people, who had lived around the lake for centuries before, were displaced to Ita Thao village and their numbers reduced drastically by Japanese-era policies. Today a Thao cultural renaissance is slowly recovering traditions including the pestle music that UNESCO lists as cultural heritage.