Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost tip

The beautiful lighthouse at the end of the world

Eluanbi (鵝鑾鼻) is Taiwan's southernmost tip. The name "Eluan" (鵝鑾) originates from the word for "sail" in an aboriginal language, while the Chinese added "bi" (鼻), which means nose and refers to the shape of the cape (source). The word is sometimes spelled as Oluanpi or Ngoluanpi in English. The most famous part of the small cape is a historic lighthouse called Eluanbi light (鵝鑾鼻燈塔), built during the Qing dynasty in 1888. It's the only fortified and armed lighthouse in the world, it used to be protected with canons and a thick wall. Eluanbi cape is part of the Kenting National Park (墾丁國家公園). We went to the cape on our second day in Kenting, we rented a scooter at the South Bay and needed about 30min to reach there.

There's a big parking lot before you enter the park, because the area is a famous tourist destination and especially Mainland Chinese like to visit with buses. You have to pay admission fee (here is an overview of the prices and discounts), we paid 40NTD each (May 2010). Once you pay, you need to walk around by yourself, there are marked paths with maps. You walk through the jungle and visit various pavilions with nice views. Your tour starts and ends at the famous lighthouse.

These are the photos I made during the short visit of Eluanbi:

The parking lot upon the entrance.

The famous lighthouse. We didn't see it from close, we did that later, when we ended the tour.

The warning sign should be taken seriously. And we did so.

Those rocks used to be under the water many many years ago.

A path through the jungle in the Eluanbi park.

We went up to the big Sea pavilion, that has a breathtaking view.

The famous Kissing rocks and a fisherman on the other side.

The view from the Sea pavilion.

Another view from the Sea pavilion, this time on the Sand island.

The view on the Luzon strait.

I seldom saw the sea so deeply blue.

The skyline seems endless.

The sky and the sea are melting on the horizon.

The clear blue water along the fringing reef coastline.

We were headed to another pavilion.

This one is called the Guests pavilion and also has a nice view.

The same fisherman we saw through the kissing rocks.

We left the jungle and finally saw the famous Eluanbi lighthouse 鵝鑾鼻燈塔.

The lighthouse from another angle. You can see the wall and cannon holes.

The Eluanbi memorial of Taiwan's 8 magnificent sceneries and a crowd of Chinese tourists.

The famous Eluanbi lighthouse again. We had to say goodbye here.

Heading downwards and back to the entrance. It was an unforgettable tour.

Eluanbi is really one of most amazing spots of Taiwan. If you have the chance, go and visit it. You'll feel like you're at the end of the world. One thing is sure, you're definitely at the end of Taiwan. The views are magical and you can spend numerous romantic moments with your loved one, if you choose to travel as a couple.

[My KAOHSIUNG page][My TAIWAN page][Info: Kenting homepage][All photos by MKL, 2010]