Location: Tainan City/Kaohsiung City
Distance: 76km Elevation Gain: 969m
We have stated previously that it is our desire to cover at least one popular route or loop for each city/county in Taiwan. A quick scroll through our previous posts will show the reader that we have fulfilled that objective in about a dozen counties so far. We have also, where applicable, included routes that are annual cycling events.
This time we are in the ancient capital of Tainan. A must-stop for most tourists, with perhaps the highest concentration of historic buildings and temples, not to mention an abundance of snack foods at its markets. There is a lot more to Tainan than buildings and cuisine; it has some great riding for cyclists, as can be seen in the four other posts covering the city.
Having said all that, it is by far one of the most complicated cities to navigate for traffic – the Bermuda Triangle has nothing on it. To keep it simple, we have chosen the most direct way to escape the city limits, with a starting point of Tainan train station.
When you exit the station on the east side, head one kilometer south to access County Road No. 182. You’ll have approx’ 10 kilometers of urban flat riding to get out of the city limits. Once you get past this section, it’s a lot quieter and hilly, making it a great training ride and popular with local cyclists. After 34 km, you reach the end of the No. 182, where it intersects with Provincial Highway No. 3. You need to pick up refreshments here.
Head north on No. 3 for a few kilometers until you see a left fork to Local Rd. Kao 127. There’s a sign on the corner indicating that this is the turnoff for Caoshan 308. This ride is the Tainan equivalent of the Fengguizui (FGZ) route in New Taipei – dozens of cyclists ply this route every weekend, and it’s signposted all the way to the top.
Now the climbing begins; there are several sections with a gradient over 10%, but these are short. Great views of Caoshan Moon World, which is a popular tourist attraction.
You’ll notice that the primary crop around here is longan fruit, with trees lining the road. After 5–6 km of gut–busting ascent, you’ll reach Caoshan 308, which has a famous chicken restaurant right on top with great views over the surrounding hills.
Now it’s time to start the descent, which is really tricky. A very technical section on switchbacks where you need to be on the brakes and paying attention to cars coming up. It’s a really narrow road with no room for two cars to pass. There are a lot of small interconnecting roads in this area, so you must get on Local Rd. Nan 168 heading for Xinhua Forest Area, which is another popular tourist area for hikers.
At the end of the descent, get onto Provincial Highway No.20 (South Cross-Island Highway), which is featured in #005 of our series. Then it’s a straight run back into central Tainan to the train station.
Here is the GPS information: