Taipei Northeast Coast: Yeliu Geopark, Jiufen & Sky Lanterns

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/27

Duration8h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · KO +3

PickupAt your hotel

Yeliu's Weathered Rocks & Lanterns Over Shifen: A Taipei Day Beyond the City

You spend the day moving between three distinct places — a geological park, a retro street market, and a lantern village — without arranging transport, timing yourself, or figuring out which stops fit into one afternoon. The guide handles navigation and context; the van handles weather and comfort. You write a wish, light a lantern, and watch it disappear into the sky.

Step-by-step itinerary

Northeast Coast Natural and Cultural Tour

Visit Yeliu Geopark
Explore weathered rock formations
Taste street food at Juifen Old Street
Fly sky lantern at Shifen Old Village
See Shifen Waterfall

The Experience

The rocks at Yeliu Geopark don't look like anything you'd expect. Centuries of wind and rain have carved them into shapes that seem almost deliberate — a queen's head, a candle, a mushroom — but they're all accident, all erosion. You walk among them for the first part of the day, and your guide (licensed, 15 years on the job) points out the layers, the grain, the way the stone fractures. It's the kind of place where you stop thinking about your phone and just look.

After Yeliu, you head to Jiufen, the old street that fills with tourists by noon but still smells like it did fifty years ago — stinky tofu, sesame oil, grilled sausage. You taste your way through: bubble tea, taro ice balls, pineapple cake, the things that show up in every guidebook but taste different when you're standing in the crowd eating them. The street is narrow, the vendors know what they're doing, and your guide navigates it like someone who's walked it a hundred times, which he probably has. Then there's Shifen, the old coal-mining village where the real moment happens. You write your wish on a paper lantern — and yes, it feels a bit touristy, but the moment you light it and watch it rise above the railway tracks with dozens of others, something shifts. The lanterns drift up into the dark, and for a second the whole thing feels less like a photo op and more like something that matters.

The Taipei day tour runs 8 to 10 hours depending on which route you pick — northeast coast (Yeliu, Jiufen, Shifen, plus the waterfall) or city (National Palace Museum, CKS Memorial Hall, 101 Tower). Either way, you're in a new Mercedes van with a driver-guide who's been doing this long enough to know where to stop, when to move on, and how to handle the rain (he brings raincoats and umbrellas). Hotel pickup is included, and he'll drop you back where you started. Water and WiFi are on board. If you run over time, it's NT$500 per hour — worth knowing upfront.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup and drop-off, a licensed driver-guide in a Mercedes van, water and WiFi on board, raincoat and umbrella, and your choice of two routes: the northeast coast (Yeliu Geopark, Jiufen street food, Shifen sky lanterns, and Taiwan's largest waterfall) or the city tour (National Palace Museum, CKS Memorial Hall, and Taipei 101). Entry fees to attractions are paid separately.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Phyllis Chartered tour

Is this one for you?Best for travelers who want to see multiple sides of Taipei — natural landscape, street culture, and a moment of ritual — without renting a car or piecing together transport and timing. The fixed route and experienced guide mean you move through the day without decisions; the Mercedes van and included weather gear mean you're comfortable doing it.