Lan-yu is a beautiful, rocky, volcanic island 65 km off Taiwan's southeastern coast. The scenery can be stunning, especially along the coast, where jagged, black volcanic rock formations are losing their continuous battle with the sea. If you have time to spare, you should walk the island's circumference, 37 km (23 miles) all up.
Lan-yu has a tropical climate and if prone to frequent typhoons. To avoid these typhoons, most of the island's inhabitants have built their dwellings underground. Most of the islanders are Yami aborigines, who are culturally closer to the Philippines than to China and traditionally speak their own dialect, which is very different from Chinese. The Yami make their living cultivating taro and sweet potato and catching fish. There is also a small Chinese community on Lan-yu.
Accommodation is available on the island and it is also possible to camp out. There are several places to eat and transportation around Lan-yu is by taxi. You can get to Lan-yu by plane from Taitung or Kaohsiung. It is also possible to take the boat from Taitung, but that runs via Green Island and takes quite long. Lan-yu is 330 km south of Tai-pei (Taipei).
Find a flight to Lan-yu