Cueifong Lake Circular Trail

Google Street View :

Location：West Entrance: Cueifong Scenic Road 15.5K; East Entrance: Cueifong Scenic Road 16.5K. 

Total length: 3.95 km

Elevation：1926m

Cueifong Lake is situated between Taipingshan and Tayuan Mountain at elevation 1,840 m. Its largest area can reach 25 hectares in rain season and Cueifong Lake is also the largest high mountain lake in Taiwan. Cueifong Lake Circular Trail is built on the old tracks of forest railway and is about 40-minute drive from Taipingshan Villa. The entrance of the trail is at 15.5 k of Cueifong Scenic Road. The trail starts from the slope on the west side of Cueifong Lake, then circumvents north of the lake and intersects the Pingyuan Nature Trail on the east of lake, just like two arms embracing a sapphire. The total length of Cueifong Lake Circular Trail is 3.95 km and the elevations are between 1,900-2,000 m. Visitors can appreciate the different views of Cueifong Lake in four seasons. Since this trail is deserted most of the time and the surface of trail are well protected by ground cover plants, mosses and forest floor, it still keeps the original outlook of tens of thousands years ago. By the way, the whole trail is built by ecological engineering method to keep intact the habitat and environment. It is a trail of primeval vitality as well as nostalgia.

At 800 m of Cueifong Lake Circular Trail, there is a Ching-feng exhibition warehouse which is renovated from former fuel storage for locomotive. The exhibition space preserves the old structure and is strengthened with wooden planks. It is also environment friendly to build the sunlight window letting in natural light as its major source of light. Inside the exhibition warehouse, interpretive signs and photos are displayed to tell the story of environment and forestry of Cueifong Lake. Furthermore, outside the exhibition warehouse, there is a 40 m-long track and a bogie on it to testify the history told by the photos inside the warehouse.

Next to the exhibition warehouse, there is a wooden staircase leading to the two-deck lake viewing platform which is raised to prevent from disturbing the habitat of animals and plants on the ground. From the lake viewing platform, visitors can survey the full view of calabash gourd-shaped Cueifong Lake and watch the winter migrant birds, teals and mandarin ducks playing in the lake. Especially, Cueifong Lake is located at the lowest latitude of global distribution of mandarin duck, which endorses the importance of Cueifong Lake as a safe haven in conservation. Moreover, at any time of the day, it is always the best occasion to visit Cueifong Lake and to watch the ever-changing scenic beauty.

The air of Cueifong Lake Circular Trail is cold and humid, which is the best habitat for tundra plants. Especially on the section of last 200 m of the trail, there are countless mosses existing in the gully. The low-lying peat moss presents a sharp contrast to the towering Taiwan Cypress on both sides of the trail. This section of the trail is built on low-raised deck to protect the habitat of tundra plants.