On our way out, we first stopped by a temple on the way and climbed its pagoda:

lots of scenic roads, although not always very wide

We then arrived to our another hike in Taroko National Park, to a cave with waterfall within. That was unusual and worth the small trek. The hike actually starts in the middle of a tunnel which you enter on foot:

lots of swallows in that tunnel

even found some bats with my flashlight

I got a tiny bit wet in the waterfall cave, but not too much :)

After that, we had a longish drive across the Taiwan Alps (peak is 3200m, not too shabby), on a road that was one lane wide half the time. That made for interesting driving in a crappy underpowered rental car (it sure was struggling that high, had to downgrade to 1st gear several times), but I probably took 1h off the normal drive time, curvy roads are my bread and butter :)

this is a 2 lane road of course

quick stop at the peak (3200m or so)

We didn't have much time to stop for pictures on the road because we had an appointment with a guide for a private tour in English of the Chung Tai Chan Monastery. Despite my best efforts, and lots of passing on a no passing road, we got there 40mn late, but they were still able to accomodate us, and boy was that worth it. It's the biggest buddhist monastery in the world, and we got to see inside rooms on the 16th floor and above that are not open to the public (including a room with 2000 bouda statues):

And after more driving, we finally we arrived at Sun Moon Lake in the evening for some rest: