Taiwan is known for its cherry blossoms (櫻花 or ying hua in Mandarin, sakura in Japanese) and is without a doubt one of the best places in Asia to view them.
The cherry blossom season in Taiwan lasts from late January to early April, but the best months are February and March. The exact timing at each spot varies depending on the weather, elevation, and type of cherry blossom.
In this article, I’ll introduce the best places to see cherry blossoms in Taiwan, roughly when you can expect them to bloom at each spot in 2024, and my recommended cherry blossom viewing tours.
I will update this article as the season progresses and travelers report their hanami (花見 or “flower viewing”) experiences in my Taiwan Travel Planning group.
Taiwan Cherry Blossoms Forecast Map
Here’s a map I created showing the best cherry blossoms spots around Taiwan, with their typical annual blooming forecast. Note that the exact times vary every year (see 2024’s blooming status below).
2024 Blooming Status Table
Here’s a table showing the cherry blossoms forecast for various locations across in Taiwan. I’ll further introduce each of these sakura spots and link to their exact locations in sections further below.
In 2024, the season has started earlier than usual, as you will notice in the right side column.
| Month | Locations | Normal Blooming Times | 2024 Blooming Status |
| January | Baoshan Erjituan Park (Kaohsiung) | Early Jan to to late Feb | Started 2nd week of Jan, finished 1st week of Mar. |
| Pingjing Street Lane 42, and Xiangshan Park (Taipei) | Late Jan to late Feb | Started 2nd week of Jan, finished last week of Feb. | |
| Wulai Waterfall and Yun Hsien Resort (New Taipei City), but not many | Late Jan to early Feb | Started in mid-Jan, finished last week of Feb. | |
| Aowanda (Nantou) | Late Jan to Mar | Started in 3rd week of Jan, finished 3rd week of Mar. | |
| February | LOHAS Park (Taipei) | Mid to late Feb | Started 3rd week of Jan, finished 1st week of Mar. |
| CKS Memorial Hall (Taipei) but only a few | Feb | Started 1st week Feb, finished 2nd week of Mar. | |
| Tianyun Temple (Tamsui, New Taipei City) | Early to mid Feb | First round started 3rd week of Jan, finished last week of Feb. See below for second round. | |
| Yangmingshan National Park (Taipei) | Late Feb to early Mar | Started 4th week of Jan, finished 2nd week of March. | |
| Big Bear Cherry Blossom Festival (Sanxia in New Taipei City) | Mid Feb | Started 2nd week of Jan, finished last week of Feb. | |
| Juguang Environmental Park and Lalashan (Taoyuan) | Mid to late Feb | Started first week of Feb, finished 3rd week of Mar. (Juguang) or 4th week (Lalashan). | |
| Hsinchu Park (Hsinchu) | Mid Feb | Started 2nd week of Feb, finished 3rd week of Mar. | |
| Xieyun Temple (Miaoli) | Early to mid Feb (just starting end Jan) | Started 1st week Feb, finished last week of Feb. | |
| Wuling Farm (Taichung) | Feb | Started end of Jan, finished 3rd week Mar. | |
| Sun Moon Lake, Cingjing Farm, Aowanda, and Caopingtou (Nantou) | All Feb | Started end of Jan, finished 3rd week Mar (Caopingtou end of Mar) | |
| March | Yangmingshan National Park (Taipei) | Late Feb to early Mar | Started 4th week of Jan, finished 3rd week Mar. |
| Tai’an Police Station and Wele Cherry Blossom Park (Taichung) | Late Feb to mid Mar | Started 2nd week Feb, finished last week of Mar. | |
| Tianyun Temple’s second round (Tamsui in New Taipei City) | Mid Mar | Started 3rd week Mar, finished 1st week of April. | |
| Wuling Farm (Taichung) | Late Feb to mid Mar | Started end of Jan, finished 3rd week Mar. | |
| Aowanda (Nantou) | Late Jan to mid Mar | Started in 3rd week of Jan, finished 3rd week Mar. | |
| Shizhuo (Chiayi) | Mar | Started blooming 2nd week of Feb, finished 3rd week Mar. | |
| Alishan (Chiayi) | Mid Mar to early April | Started last week Feb, finished 2nd week of Apr. | |
| Wushantou Reservoir (Tainan) | Early to Mid Mar | Started 1st week of Mar., finished at end of Mar. | |
| April | Alishan (Chiayi) | Mid Mar to early April | Started 1st week of Mar, finished 2nd week of Apr. |
If you miss the cherry blossoms, there are still many other flower-viewing opportunities in Taiwan. You can see various flowers year-round at Zhongshe Flower Market in Taichung.
Top 5 Places to See Cherry Blossoms in Taiwan
I’ve selected the below five as the best places to see cherry blossoms in Taiwan. My decision is based on these factors: accessibility, number of trees, and overall beauty.
However, these spots will inevitably be crowded when the cherry trees are blooming and they do attract the most tourists. For some more local / off-the-beaten track spots, skip to the next section below.
Yangmingshan National Park (Taipei)
One of the largest and most accessible collection of cherry blossoms in Taiwan can be found at Flower Clock (陽明山花鐘, here) in Yangmingshan National Park.
The cherry trees are found throughout the large park around this famous tourist attraction. The park also has a bronze statue of Wang Yang-ming, a pond, a waterfall, and a few historic buildings.
The national park calls it the Yangmingshan Flower Festival (Feb 7 to Mar 17), but the cherry blossoms are usually best viewed in the last week of February and first week of March.
Besides Flower Clock, a few other spots in the national park have cherry blossoms, including this secret spot not too far away from Flower Clock, the park across from Yangmingshan National Park Tourist Information Center, and Qianshan Park in Yangmingshan village.
Find all the bus info and my suggested flower viewing itinerary in my guide to getting to Yangmingshan. You can also take this Yangmingshan cherry blossom tour or hire a driver.
There are also cherry blossoms just outside the national park, at Pingjing Lane Cherry Blossom Street. These ones come earlier, usually starting in late January (see the Taipei section below for more info about that spot).
Tianyuan Temple (New Taipei City)
Wuji Tianyuan Temple (淡水無極天元宮) in Tamsui District of New Taipei City is one of the most gorgeous cherry blossoms spots in all of Taiwan. Mainly this is due to the sheer number of cherry trees there and the grand temple setting.
There are two main types of cherry blossoms at Tianyuan Temple. The three colored cherry blossoms (三色櫻) at the back of the temple bloom first, usually around early to mid-February. In warmer seasons, they can start as early as late January.
After those disappear for a while, a second major blooming occurs at the temple. Yoshino cherries usually bloom there for a few weeks in mid-March. Both blooming periods attract hoards of visitors. Follow this Facebook page for the temple’s cherry blossom status reports.
To get there, take bus 866, 875, 876, or 877 from Tamsui MRT (last stop on the red line) and get off at Tianyuan Temple stop (天元宮). The ride takes about 15 minutes. There’s more info about the temple in my Taipei temples guide.
Sun Moon Lake (Nantou)
Sun Moon Lake is one of the most popular tourist destinations and cherry blossom viewing locations in Taiwan.
The largest collection of trees (more than 5000!) is in Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village (九族文化村).
This is an amusement park and aboriginal culture center located on the back side of a mountain next to the lake. There are eight different varieties of cherry blossom here, but many of them are a darker pink variety.
To get there from the lake, take the Sun Moon Ropeway to the top of the mountain (with amazing lake views on the ride), then transfer to another gondola at the top to go down into the park. Buy tickets for the park and cable cars here.
Buses from Taichung to Sun Moon Lake also stop at Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village just before reaching Shuishe, the main town on the lake.
Besides Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village, you can see cherry locations at several other spots around the lake. Find more visiting info in my Sun Moon Lake guide.
Wuling Farm (Taichung)
Wuling Farm is a small mountain resort famous for various types of flower viewing year-round, including larger numbers of cherry blossoms in February. Sometimes the cherry blossoms last into early March, after which they are replaced by peach blossoms.
Although it’s technically in Taichung city, which is on the west side of Taiwan, the farm is actually best reached from Yilan county on the east coast.
If you come from Taichung city center, there’s no bus access, and you’ll have to take a long drive past Cingjing Farm, Hehuanshan, and Lishan to get there. See my guide to driving in Taiwan.
This is the most remote and difficult-to-reach spot on my top-5 list. There are only a couple very slow buses from Yilan, few hotels in the area, and the narrow road to the farm gets clogged with traffic in cherry blossom seasons.
Because of this, the best way to get there on this cherry blossom viewing tour from Taipei.
Wuling Farm is also the starting point for hikes up Snow Mountain (permit required).
Alishan (Chiayi)
Alishan is Taiwan’s most famous mountain resort and one of its most popular places to see cherry blossoms.
Due to its higher elevation (2200 meters), the cherry blossoms at Alishan bloom later here than most other places in Taiwan. The normal blooming period is from late March to early April, but in warmer years they can start from early- to mid-March.
The best collection of cherry blossoms at Alishan is here, beside the Alishan Forest Railway tracks, just before the train reaches Chaoping Station, and a few steps away in front of Alishan Police Lodge.
Cherry blossom season is extremely busy at Alishan, so getting a hotel room there at that time can be very difficult. Buses from Chiayi also fill up – the only way to reserve a seat is at FamiPort machines in any FamilyMart – in this article, I tell you how to reserve seats via FamilyMart’s online booking system.
Otherwise, it’s first-come-first-serve, whether you purchase this deal or swipe your EasyCard to get on. Line up early! See the bus times here and read my guide to getting to Alishan. Another option is to hire a driver so you don’t have to worry about crowded buses.
Consider seeing the cherry blossoms at Shizhuo instead, which is halfway betweren Chiayi city and Alishan (see Chiayi section below for more info). Also find more info about visiting in my Alishan guide.
Where to See Cherry Blossoms Across Taiwan
There are of course many other cherry blossoms viewing spots across Taiwan. I’ll now go through the various cities and counties of Taiwan and recommend the best sakura viewing spots in each one.
While some of these spots are less known by foreign tourists and may require a car to get to, most of them will still be crowded with locals when the cherry blossoms are blooming.
Taipei City
In Taipei City, some of the earliest cherry trees to bloom are at Pingjing Street Cherry Blossom Street (平菁街櫻花巷, also called Pingjing Street Lane 42 or 平菁街42巷). These usually start in late January and people flock to see them, as they are the first in the city.
Most of the cherry trees there are in the yards of private residences, with a long cement wall separating them from the street.
In early February, cherry blossoms usually start blooming at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Xiangshan Park (the park you have to walk past to reach the Elephant Mountain trailhead).
From mid- to late-February, LOHAS Park in Neihu (Donghu station on the Brown MRT Line) becomes a cherry blossom hot spot.
Yangmingshan National Park steals the show from late February to early March (see Top 5 section above).
Lunar New Year always falls sometime during cherry blossom season. If you’re visiting during that time, see my guide to surviving Chinese New Year in Taipei.
New Taipei City
New Taipei City is a sprawling city which totally surrounds Taipei. Due to its large size and mountainous landscape, it’s no surprise that it has many cherry blossom spots.
Wulai Waterfall (see my Wulai guide) is another of the earliest cherry blossom spots in Taiwan, usually starting in late January. There are only a few trees here, but they make for beautiful photos with the waterfall in the background. if you take the cable car up to Yun Hsien Resort, there are more trees up there, but the resort is very old. Also watch for trees along the road when driving or taking the bus (1 hr) from Xindian MRT station.
Wuji Tianyuan Temple’s cherry blossoms attract masses when they bloom in February and again in March (see top-5 section above).
In Sanxia District, the Big Bear Cherry Blossom Festival (三峽大熊櫻花林) takes place here in mid-February. You’ll need to drive or hire a driver, and it’s a long, winding road to get there from the Sanxia city center or Taipei.
See the event’s Facebook page for flower status updates.
Taoyuan City
There are several places to see cherry blossoms in Taoyuan city. For an easy-to-reach-spot in the Zhongli city center, try Juguang Environmental Park (莒光環保公園). There, cherry blossom trees line either side of a small creek from mid- to late-February.
Around the same time, but in a far more remote spot up in the mountains, make your way to Lalashan (拉拉山). Many cherry blossom trees can be found around Loving Farm (恩愛農場), a peach farm which also has some cabins where visitors can stay. You’ll need to drive here or hire a driver.
Hsinchu
In Hsinchu city, the best and easiest place to see cherry blossoms is at Hsinchu Park (新竹公園) in mid-February. There are hundreds of cherry trees of different varieties throughout the park.
The park lies a short walk east of Hsinchu train station. Besides all the cherry blossom trees, the park also has a Confucius Temple, Insect Museum, Hsinchu Zoo, and Hsinchu Glass Museum.
If you make your way to the mountain regions of Hsinchu county, such as Neiwan Old Street, Jianshi hot spring area, or Lavender Forest Jianshi Store, you will spot random cherry blossoms along the way. Smangus, a super remote aboriginal village known for its huge trees, also has some.
Miaoli
Miaoli’s most famous cherry blossom spot is here at Xieyun Temple (協雲宮). It’s a lovely spot, but not possible to reach by public transportation. If you’re driving to Dahu for picking strawberries or Tai’an Hot Spring, you could make a detour up the narrow, winding road to the temple.
Another remote temple in Miaoli, Liantai Wonderful Sound Sanctuary (蓮臺山妙音淨苑, here), also has cherry blossoms. It’s not very far from Xieyun Temple, but up a different winding mountain road. The cherry blossoms are lining the entrance road to the temple, with a few more around the temple (see photo above).
I also saw a few cherry blossoms at Lion’s Head Mountain, which is on the border between Hsinchu and Miaoli.
Taichung
If you’re in Taichung, the best place to see cherry blossoms is at Tai’an Police Station (泰安派出所櫻花林 here) and Wele Cherry Blossom Park (中科崴立櫻花公園 here). These are both in Houli district, which is north of the Taichung city center.
The flowers bloom a little later in these spots, usually starting around the end of February and going until mid-March.
Both spots are about 20 minutes’ walking distance from Tai’an Train Station (take a local train from Taichung station), but in different directions. Because they are the most popular spots near Taichung city, they can get very busy in season. If you drive, you may have to park a ways away and walk in.
Wuling Farm (see top-5 section) is technically in Taichung city but it’s best accessed from Yilan on the east coast.
Nantou
Nantou, a mostly mountainous county in the center of Taiwan, has numerous cherry blossom viewing spots, mostly blooming throughout February.
Besides Sun Moon Lake (see the top-5 section), you can also see cherry blossoms at the popular Cingjing Farm, including Swiss Garden and on the farm itself. See more Cingjing Farm guide for more info.
There aren’t so many cherry blossom trees there, but combined with the surrounding mountain scenery, they are quite a sight.
Read how to get to Cingjing here. You can also join a day tour like this – and watch for more cherry blossoms on the drive from Puli to Cingjing and from Cingjing to Hehuanshan.
A more remote spot to see cherry blossoms in Nantou is Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area (奧萬大國家森林遊樂區, here). You’ll need to drive – it’s a 45-minute detour from the main highway to Cingjing – or take this Aowanda tour. The park is best known for its autumn foliage, but does have cherry blossoms too.
One more lesser-known cherry blossom spot in Nantou county is Caopingtou Tea Farm (草坪頭玉山觀光茶園). It is here, not far from Yushan, the tallest mountain in Taiwan. You would only really go here if you were driving from Alishan to Sun Moon Lake or vice versa, which is a 3-hour winding but very beautiful drive.
Chiayi
In Chiayi county, Alishan (see top-5 section) is the big draw, but the crowds in cherry blossom season can make it difficult to visit for most of March and April. Hotels sell out far in advance.
Fortunately, there are other options. I saw cherry blossom trees here in Xiding (隙頂), near the start of Tea Mist Trail. See my guide to Eryanping and Tea Mist Trail for more info about this extremely beautiful hike and sunrise/sunset location.
Near Xiding, Shizhuo (石棹) is known for its hikes through bamboo forests and tea plantations, plus the chance to stay on a tea farm. One of the town’s five famous trails, Alishan Sakura Trail (櫻之道, here), is lined with cherry blossoms. Even without the cherry blossoms, the views from here are magnificent.
See my Shizhuo guide for all the info you need. The cherry blossoms at Xiding and Shizhuo are a lower in elevation than Alishan, so they bloom a little earlier, usually around mid-March (Alishan’s are usually late-March to early-April).
Tainan
Cherry blossom viewing in Tainan is limited. One option is here at Wushanto Dam and Reservoir (烏山頭水庫). There are only a few cherry blossom trees along a long lane here, which runs parallel to the dam, but they are unusually large trees (see photo above). They don’t bloom until early- to mid-March.
Besides the cherry blossoms, the scenic area features a round temple resembling Beijing’s Temple of Heaven, and views of the reservoir. There’s a TWD 100 fee (plus 50 for parking) to enter the scenic area.
You’ll need to drive, take a train + bus ride from Tainan (1.5 to 2 hrs) or hire a driver to get there.
Kaohsiung
In Kaohsiung, you’ll need to venture quite a ways up into the mountains to see cherry blossoms. The best place is Baoshan Erjituan Park (寶山二集團櫻花公園, here), also known as Baoshan Cherry Blossom Park.
There, a hillside is covered in cherry blossoms trees, with beautiful mountain views all around. The flowers there bloom unusually early, especially considering how far south this is in Taiwan. They usually start in mid-January and last until early February, but have been known to start as early as the beginning of January.
You’ll need to drive to get here.
This is such a great post and blog. Very informative and the pictures are amazing! Thank you!