Sun Moon Lake Ropeway (Gondola) Guide 日月潭纜車指南

Background:

Sun Moon Lake (aka Zintun in the local Thao language) is the largest natural lake in Taiwan and home of the aboriginal Thao tribe. According to legend, a white deer led the tribe to the lake and is now trapped in a marble stone on Lalu Island, which is sacred ground to them.
The name “Sun Moon Lake” comes from the different colors of the water in the lake, some of it being murky, and in other parts of the lake, clear. Another account says that the name comes from parts of the lake being round like the sun, and other parts of the lake being curved like the moon.
The first hydroelectric plant was built on the lake in 1919 by the Japanese, and it was later taken over by the ROC government. The hydroelectric power is part of a system of hydropower plants running from Wushe to Sun Moon Lake down to Shuili Township and includes at least 8 plants.
Sun Moon Lake Scenic Area was created in 2000. The lake attracts visitors from around the world year-round for its beauty and surrounding sights, and is also known for the annual Sun Moon Lake Swimming Carnival, which thousands of people attend each year.

The Sun Moon Lake Ropeway is an aerial gondola system located in Yuchi Township, Nantou County, Taiwan. It is Taiwan’s first public cable car system built and operated under the BOO (Build–Operate–Own) model by the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village, which began service on December 28, 2009. The line runs 1.877 km between the Sun Moon Lake Station near the lake’s southeastern shore and the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village’s Guanshan Building, with two stations in total. Designed by Austria’s Doppelmayr company, it features 86 cabins, each carrying up to 8 passengers, and can transport up to 3,000 people per hour per direction at speeds up to 6 m/s. The trip takes around 7–10 minutes and offers panoramic views of Sun Moon Lake and the Puli Basin.
The system includes 16 towers, with the tallest about 60 meters high, and cabins equipped with solar panels powering emergency systems. It operates independently from the internal gondola inside the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village.
Operating hours vary between weekdays and holidays, typically from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with maintenance on the first Wednesday of each month. Parking is open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and overnight parking is prohibited.
A future plan aims to extend the ropeway to connect Xiangshan Visitor Center and Checheng Station on the Jiji Railway Line.

Price:

Scenic Area Entrance: Free
Parking: Around 100 NT per day for cars
Ferry Ride (starting at Shuitou Pier): 300 NT per person. You can book tickets for a discount on Klook here.
Paddle Boat Ride: 300 NT per person
Gondola Ride (Ropeway): 500 NT per person
Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village: 980 NT per person. You can book tickets for a discount on Klook here.

Hours:

Scenic Area: 24/7
Parking: 24/7
Boat Ride: roughly 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM every day
Gondola Ride: 10:30 AM – 4:00 PM every day
Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village: 9:30 AM- 5 PM every day

Tours:

There are many tours and activities available at Sun Moon Lake such as SUP / standup Paddleboarding, Electric Boating, Canoeing, and Paddle Boarding, Water bike experience, Ebike Rental, and Kayaking
You can find more tours of Nantou on Klook here or KKday here.

Cherry Blossom Season:

Cherry Blossoms can be seen in the park from February to late March. Check out our full guide to Cherry Blossom Season in Taiwan here. 

Firefly Season

Firefly season at Sun Moon Lake is from May to June. Check out our firefly season guide here.

Where to Stay:

We have stayed at and recommend Kirin Villa (you can book on Agoda here or Booking.com here), a mountain resort in Puli near Sun Moon Lake.
Looking for a hotel? Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here. We recommend booking through Agoda here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation on the islands.

How to get there:

Bus: There are buses (Ubus/Kbus/etc) that leave all day from Taichung Station. You can book tickets to travel to Nantou via inter-city bus on Klook here.
You can book tickets to Taichung via high-speed rail (HSR) on Klook here or KKDay here, or book tickets via the normal train (TRA) on Klook here, then switch to a bus to Nantou.
By Car/Scooter: Take National Highway 6 from Taichung up to Puli, and then follow the signs on Highway 21 down to Sun Moon Lake. You can also take a car/scooter up Highway 21 from Shuili Township further south. If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search Qeeq here, Klook here, KKday here. You can also check out our car rental guide here. Looking for scooter rental in Nantou? Search Klook here or KKday here to search for options. You can also check out our scooter rental guide here.
Boat: You can circle the lake via three spots: Shuise Pier, Xuanguang Pier, and Ita Thao Pier.
Bicycle Rental: Cycling is the best way to enjoy Taiwan’s landscapes if you have the time and energy. Looking for bicycle rentals in Taiwan? You can search on KKday here and search for tours on Klook here. You can also check out our Taiwan cycling guide here.

Map:

Check out the map above.

Our Journey:

I have been up the Sun Moon Lake Ropeway once, and the views were amazing. The price can be steep, especially if you are coming with a large family, but the experience is definitely worth it. It is a must see bucket list destination at Sun Moon Lake.

Near the ropeway is a large parking lot that may actually get full during busy holidays.

You can buy tickets here, or you can buy them for a discount on Klook here.

Scenic Area Entrance: Free
Parking: Around 100 NT per day for cars
Boat Ride: 380 NT per person
Gondola Ride (Ropeway): 500 NT per person
Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village: 980 NT per person. You can book tickets for a discount on Klook here.

Just our luck, there were busloads of kids in front of us.

In front of the pier, you can walk along the lake to Ita Thao Pier and Old Street to the left, or the Statue of Nine Frogs to the right.

The line for the gondola goes up these stairs. I think the signs were telling us there was a 30 minute wait time.

We did wait in line a long time, but the views on the way were pretty incredible.

Slowly moving toward the end of the line.

View of the unrelenting crowd of people.

Finally, we got through the ticketing gate.

First view of the Gondola.

We lined up to get in our rope car.

View of the main building and parking lot.

View over Sun Moon Lake.

View a little bit higher up.

You can see that this part of the lake is much more silty.

Another view of the lake with rope car in view.

Closeup on the silt islands in Sun Moon Lake.

View of Shuitou Village.

Rope car tower.

Going over a hill on the way to Aboriginal Cultural Village.

First view of Aboriginal Cultural Village.

View to the north of the village.

We were able to get out and walk around.

Two large pagodas in the village. Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village is Taiwan’s only large Indigenous-themed amusement park. Here you can find roller coasters, dolphin shows, indigenous dances, museums, and more. You can also visit Sun Moon Lake via the Ropeway/Gondola. It is definitely an experience you don’t want to miss. Check out our full blog on this place here.

Bun and noodle shop.

There are quite a few restaurants here too.

View leaving the theme park. You can see the gondola continues down deeper into the theme park.

View as we came back to the main station.

Crystal Restaurant in the main station.

There was also this souvenir shop.

Check out more photos of the gondola ride in the gallery above.

Scenic Area Entrance: Free
Parking: Around 100 NT per day for cars
Boat Ride: 380 NT per person
Gondola Ride (Ropeway): 300 NT per person. You can book a ticket for a discount on Klook here.
Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village: 980 NT per person. You can book tickets for a discount on Klook here.

Check out our full guide to Sun Moon Lake here.

Check out our full guide to Nantou County here.

Check out our guide to Taiwan here.