Alishan in February

Hi, everyone, I%26#39;m planning to visit Alishan from Taipei in early February. It%26#39;ll be a trip of 4 people (no kids/elderly) I think I%26#39;m going to take the train from Taipei, arriving Chiayi around noon.

I notice that we can either take a bus or train up to Alishan and stay overnight there. I%26#39;m hoping to take the forest rail to go up there . On the website it seems that the rail will be running by the time of my visit (and departing at 13:25), however it says that there will be a 15mins walk to transfer from one station to another.

My question is, if it%26#39;s possible for use to bring our luggage with us on the train, and transfer from station to station on foot. I don%26#39;t think we%26#39;ll have heavy luggage, but at least small suitcase and a backpack per person.

Or if there is anywhere in Chiayi provide lockers that is safe, so that we can leave most of our non-valuable belongs there and just bring what we need up to alishan for the night?

Or if we should just forget about it, and take the bus up there?

Another question, is it a good time to visit Alishan in february, and how%26#39;s the weather?

Thank you

Alishan in February

One more dumb question, if anyone can help me out.

I%26#39;m really confused by the format of taiwan%26#39;s bus schedule.

http://www.cybus.gov.tw/timetable.jsp

on the route to Alishan, am I right that the left column is the departure time (with final destination); and the right column is the departure time (with departure stop)?

Alishan in February

I don%26#39;t understand what you mean by ';transfer';. Right now the tracks between Chia-Yi and Fen-Chi-Hu is still under repair; but once the repair work is done, you should be able to catch the train at Chia-Yi station and ride all the way up to Alishan without a need to switch trains.

The train cars are quite narrow. You can put your luggage either above you on the luggage rack, or in front of your seat. Large suitcases are definitely out of the question, but small suitcases and backpacks should be fine.

Anytime is a good time to visit Alishan. February will be cold, with temperatures about 3 to 5 degrees at night.

Not a dumb question regarding the Chiayi bus schedule, aoikath.

I think your understanding is correct. The left column indicates the departure times, its final destination indicated in brackets. The right column indicates the departure times, its origin indicated in brackets. Departure times on specific days only are also indicated in brackets.

Pcheng, taiwanDIY. Thanks both of you for the information.

About the train, I read on the rail%26#39;s website and on news saying that for the new year, the forest rail (from Chiayi to Alishan) will be up and running again. However, part of journey has to be replced by walking...

Forest rail%26#39;s website is down at this moment, so i%26#39;m going to paste part of the article from udn.com in Chinese.

';宏都阿里山國際發言人滕新富說，阿里山森林鐵路自98年1月16日起，每日固定兩班次上阿里山森林遊樂區，出發時間分別是上午10時及下午13時25分，從嘉義火車站到阿里山車站。

由於阿里山森林鐵路樟腦寮前段，即大約在23.5公里處，因颱風發生走山，必須改用走行接駁方式避開。乘客需步行長約500公尺的登山古道，時間約需15到20分鐘，再搭乘從樟腦寮發車的另一輛火車上阿里山森林遊樂區。

-http://udn.com/NEWS/STOCK/STO5/4669290.shtml

I think i%26#39;ll have to leave my suitcases somewhere before heading up to Alishan than... is the locker service safe to use at the train station?

Or I%26#39;m considering to stay at a hotel at Chiayi after getting down from Alishan. Is it common/possible to leave our suitcases at the hotel (a day ahead), then go to alishan, come back the next day and check in?

Feb would be OK but March /April would be even better for it would be the time for the famous cherry blossoms.

mariatan, That%26#39;s good to know. Unfortunately, I%26#39;m set on going to Taiwan from Feb 01- Feb 07, as my sister will be coming back to Hong Kong from America for over two weeks include those dates, and I really want to travel with her. But thank you, I%26#39;ll keep that in mind.

Hi

I will be going to Alishan in early March.

Can I check ..

If I take the rail from Chiayi, I will reach Alishan abt 3pm.

If I only intend to stay 1nite there, and go for sunrise the next morning and check out by 11am, is it sufficient?

I would like to see the tea garden and yushan, and the cherry blossoms.

Thanks