For you expats or foreigners who have never left Taipei, Miaoli is a large rural county in central Taiwan. For years I myself never visited, because I didn’t know what was there and had no reason to go. It turns out there are quite a few attractions here in this secret paradise. Below I will list out some of the best places in Miaoli that I have visited. I will be sure to update this blog as I visit more places later.
🏯 Planning your trip to Miaoli? ☀️
Here are some top travel tips for you:
- Best time to visit: Summer when it is warm and less windy
- How to get there: Taiwan High-Speed Railway and Inter-City Bus
- Best place to stay: Beautiful Landscape Resort or Yuan Motel
- Book tours and activities in Miaoli on Klook
- Stay connected with a local SIM
- Rent a car to explore distant sights
How to get around in Miaoli?
As always, we recommend renting a scooter as the best way to see Taiwan. However, you can also a great deal of Miaoli by taking the train, inter city bus, or local bus. Getting around in a car is also a convenient option as there is plenty of parking pretty much everywhere in this less crowded county.
By scooter: Looking for scooter rental in Miaoli? Check out Klook here or KKday here to search for options. You can also check out our scooter rental guide here. You can also check out our car rental guide here.
By car: If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search Qeeq here, Klook here, or KKday here. You can also check out our car rental guide here.
By bus: You can book tickets to travel to Miaoli via inter-city bus on Klook here.
You can book tickets to Miaoli via high speed rail (HSR) on Klook here or KKDay here.
Book tickets via the normal train (TRA) on Klook here.
By Bicycle: 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.
Tours:
There are many tours and activities available in Miaoli such as Schokolake Chocolate Factory, Shangshun World, West Lake Resortopia, Suweila Manor, Baba Kengdao, Hobbit Valley, Zhuo Ye Cottage Duck Box and more on Klook here or KKday here.
Where to Stay:
We have stayed at and recommend Beautiful Landscape Resort, a fish farm and resort near Nanzhuang Old Street (you can book on Agoda here or Booking.com here), and Yuan Motel, a high-class car motel which includes a great breakfast buffet (you can book on Agoda here or Booking.com here). We also recommend Flying Cow Ranch which includes cabins and camping right on the tourist ranch; you can book a room on Agoda here, Booking.com here, or Trip.com here.
Looking for a hotel? Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here.
Map:
You can see a map of all the places that we will visit in this blog below:
Here is our list:
Miaoli Hakka Roundhouse 苗栗客家圓樓
Price:
Free
Hours:
9 AM to 5 PM, closed Mondays.
You can book tickets to travel to Miaoli via inter-city bus on Klook here.
Miaoli Yingcai Night Market 苗栗市英才觀光夜市
Hours:
Friday: 6:30-11:30 PM
Saturday: 5-10 PM
Sunday: Closed. Moves to Houlong Night Market which is open from 5-11 PM.
Wednesday: 5-10 PM
We have stayed at and recommend Yuan Motel, a high-class car motel that includes a great breakfast buffet near downtown Miaoli.
Longteng Broken Bridge 龍騰斷橋
Hours:
24/7
Price:
Free
You can book tickets to Miaoli via high speed rail (HSR) on Klook here or KKDay here.
Sanyi Old Mountain Rail Train Ride 三義舊山線小火車
Hours:
Train times: 9:20-11:05, 11:40-13:05, 14:20-15:45, 16:20-17:45
Price:
200-275 NT per person
Website:
https://www.oml-railbike.com/_pages/info/index.php
We have stayed at and recommend Beautiful Landscape Resort, a fish farm and resort near Nanzhuang Old Street.
Zhuolan Grand Canyon 卓蘭大峽谷
Price:
Free
Huoyanshan 火炎山
Price:
Free
Hours:
24/7
Time needed to hike (round trip):
3-4 hours, easy hike
Book tickets via the normal train (TRA) on Klook here.
Flying Cow Ranch 飛牛牧場
Hours:
7 AM to 10 PM every day
Price:
220 NT per person (including a free dairy product)
50 NT per car
You can book tickets to Flying Cow Ranch for a discount on KKday here or on Klook here.
Accommodation:
3000-5000 NT per night (1000+ NT per campsite), you can book a room here.
Website:
https://www.flyingcow.com.tw/en/
Sanyi Wood Sculpture Museum 三義木雕博物館
Price:
80 NT per person
Hours:
9:00 AM to 4:30 PM
Website:
https://wood.mlc.gov.tw/eng/content/index.aspx?Parser=1,15,62,54
You can also book Wifi and SIM cards for Taiwan on Gigago here.
Liyutan Reserviour 鯉魚潭水庫
Hours:
24/7
Price:
Free
Tongxiao Beach 通霄海水浴場
Hours:
8 AM to 5 PM (from May to October)
Price:
May, June, September, October: Free
July and August: Roughly 100-200 NT per person (can be spent at local shops along the beach)
Looking for a hotel? Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here.
Guangsheng Old Street (廣盛老街)
Nanzhuang Old Street 南庒老街

Nanzhuang Old Street is legit. It’s like the Jiufen of Miaoli. You should visit.
Valley of the Gods Waterfall 神仙谷瀑布

View from above the Valley of the Gods Waterfall in Miaoli. This is one of the locations where Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale was filmed.
Hobbit Village 哈比丘森林

You thought Hobbiton was in New Zealand, but actually it’s in Miaoli, Taiwan. Just kidding this is just a tourist trap on a recreational farm, but it was still fun to go to. When one of my friends first came to Taiwan, he mistook a Taiwanese graveyard for a hobbit village. Interestingly enough the hobbit village in Miaoli sits right next to a Taiwanese graveyard.
Jialishan 加里山

View of Jialishan from Nanzhuang in Miaoli, a popular hike that has great views of the central mountain range and western Taiwan.
Lion Head Mountain 獅頭山

View from the top of Lion Head Mountain in Miaoli looking toward Nanzhuang and Shei-pa National Park. This mountain may have the highest concentration of temples and hiking trails in Taiwan.
Dahu 大湖

Dahu is the strawberry-growing capital of Taiwan. This small valley in Miaoli is hot during the day and cool at night, providing the perfect environment for growing these small fruits.
Places we missed:
Schokolake Chocolate Factory 巧克力雲莊
Taiwan Hakka Culture Museum 台灣客家文化舘
Tai’an Hot Springs 泰安溫泉
Shei-pa National Park 雪霸國家公園
Mt. Sylvia (Dabajianshan) 大霸尖山
Shangshun World 尚順育樂世界
West Lake Resortopia 西湖渡假村
Suweila Manor 蘇維拉莊園
Baba Kengdao 八八坑道
Hobbit Valley 哈比屋
Zhuo Ye Cottage 卓也小屋
Duck Box 三義鴨箱寶
Don’t wait for a blog to tell you where to go, just take the train or rent a scooter, look on Google Maps, and start exploring!
You can also check out our full travel guide to Taiwan here.