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County in a, Republic of China
Photo: Linchiachi, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Nantou County (南投縣) is in the Central Region of Taiwan. It is famous for its mountain scenery and is the only county in Taiwan without a coastline.
Contains the major city in the County and is the most lively of the regions.
The region is well-known for its hot springs, hiking, cycling, and coffee.
This region is known for its bamboo forests and its tea.
A popular destination for its hot springs, its suckling pork, and millet wine.
Many people come in through Puli from Taichung by bus or car, especially for Sun Moon Lake.
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Due to the remote nature of the region and fewer urbanisation, hitch-hiking is straight forward. You can easily hitch-hike from Sun Moon Lake into Taroko Gorge, or vice-versa.
By train
By bicycle
Some parts of the county have popular cycling routes. As of 2026, unlike most counties in Taiwan, there's no public bicycle rental system in Nantou.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Taichung (Qingshui) · International · RMQ
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Nantou City (南投 Nántóu in Mandarin, Lâm-tâu in Hokkien; English pronunciation "NAN-toe") is the capital and largest city of Nantou County in Taiwan (though Puli is a close second). Although the county is known for its mountain landscapes, Nantou City is located at its western edge in Taiwan's western lowlands.
Caotun, or Tsaotun, (草屯 Cǎotún in Mandarin) is an urban township in the northwest of Nantou County. It is the largest township in Taiwan by population.
Jiji (集集; also written as Chichi) is a quaint railway town beside the foothills of Taiwan's central mountain range. Besides being on a well-town tourist railway line, Jiji is known as the epicenter of "921", Taiwan's deadly earthquake of the century that shook the whole island in 1999.
Puli (埔里; Pùlǐ) is a town in Nantou County at the geographic centre of Taiwan.
Shuili (水里; also written as Shueli, and pronounced "SHWAY-lee" or "SWAY-lee") is a township in Nantou County. The area has a population of approximately 20,000 spread out over 107 km2.
Ren'ai (仁愛) is a township in Nantou County. The township has a population of approximately 15,000 people (Jan 2026) spread out over 1,300 km².
Jhushan (竹山; literally "Bamboo Mountain", also romanised as Zhushan or Chushan) is a city of about 55,000 people in southwestern Nantou County, Taiwan.
Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area (日月潭國家風景區; rìyuètán) is in Nantou County of Taiwan.
Yushan (玉山 Yùshān), also known as Jade Mountain or Mt. Jade, at 3952m, is the highest mountain in Taiwan.
Xitou (溪頭; pinyin: Xītóu; pronounced like the English words "she toe") is a resort village and recreation area in the mountains of Nantou County, Taiwan. It's popular among domestic tourists for its relatively cool weather, evergreen (coniferous) forest setting, and "Monster Village" (an outdoor shopping plaza with a Japanese-enchanted-forest theme).
Articles and travel topics about Nantou County and Taiwan.
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