Tucked away in the foothills of Taiwan’s central mountains, Sun Moon Lake is the kind of place that feels like its own little world. With its serene waters and misty mountains, it’s no wonder this lake has become one of Taiwan’s most iconic destinations.
Exploring the lake’s beauty, though, comes with its challenges. Most of the sights are scattered around the shoreline, and we quickly found that relying on infrequent buses or expensive taxis wasn’t ideal.
That’s when we decided to rent bicycles. Cycling around Sun Moon Lake is hugely popular, and rentals are easy to find.
However, while the lake’s bike paths are scenic and well-maintained, some sections require riding on the road, making the journey an unexpected mix of lakeside trails and roadside cycling.
In this article, I’ll share everything you need to know about cycling around Sun Moon Lake, including how to rent a bicycle and where the best places to ride are.
Sun Moon Lake Cycling Complete Guide
Riding a bicycle is hands down the best way to explore Sun Moon Lake. While some people prefer driving, riding a boat, or taking a cable car — cycling reigns supreme as it provides the combination of freedom and scenery.
But before you hop on your bike, there are a few things you should know to make your ride around Sun Moon Lake as smooth as possible.
First, while the lake is known for its beautiful bike paths, don’t expect a continuous, uninterrupted trail all the way around. Some areas, like the western shore, have well-maintained bikeways that hug the lake’s edge. But other areas, especially near Ita Thao, have no bike paths at all, meaning you’ll need to ride on the road and share it with cars.
Another thing to keep in mind is that while the route is stunning, it’s not completely flat. The roads around Sun Moon Lake are hilly, and some sections involve steep inclines.
Some sections of the bike path are so steep that they’ve been designed as staircases. These staircases have smooth ramps along the sides, allowing you to walk your bike up or down them.
If you plan to cycle all the way around the lake, it can be tiring on a regular bike, so we recommend renting an e-bike instead — especially if you’re not used to cycling.
However, if you’re only planning to ride around Shuishe or Xiangshan, a normal bike should be just fine. The bike paths around there are relatively flat and easy to navigate.
Finally, don’t forget to pack water and snacks, rest areas with refreshments are few and far between. It’s also a good idea to bring is a rain jacket. While the weather at Sun Moon Lake is usually calm, sudden rain showers do happen.
Our Sun Moon Lake Cycling YouTube Video
How to Rent a Bicycle at Sun Moon Lake
Renting a bicycle at Sun Moon Lake is simple, but where and what you rent can make a big difference in your experience. Here’s everything you need to know:
Where to Rent a Bicycle
There are bike rental shops on both sides of Sun Moon Lake, but we recommend starting in Shuishe. It’s the largest town around the lake and is home to most of the accommodations and bike rental shops. The main street in Shuishe is packed with rental shops, so you can just walk through and pick a shop that suits your needs.
Another excellent option is Xiangshan, located on the lake’s western shore. Xiangshan has a huge bike rental shop and easy access to some of the most scenic sections of the bike path. Its an ideal starting point if you’re short on time or want to focus on the lake’s most picturesque areas.
If you’re staying in Ita Thao, you’ll find a few bike rental shops there as well, but the selection is much more limited. When we rented our bikes in Ita Thao, we quickly realized this wasn’t the best choice. The bike paths around Ita Thao are less developed, and cycling from there to other parts of the lake required navigating hilly roads and sharing space with cars.
What Type of Bike to Rent
The type of bike you choose will depend on how far you plan to cycle:
- Regular Bike: If you only intend to ride around Shuishe or along the flatter sections of the path, a regular bicycle should be sufficient. These areas are well-paved and relatively easy to navigate.
- E-Bike: If you’re planning to cycle the entire 30-kilometer loop or ride to the opposite side of the lake, we highly recommend renting an e-bike. Some of the roads around Sun Moon Lake are hilly, and e-bikes make the climbs much more manageable, especially if you’re not an experienced cyclist.
When we rode bicycles at Sun Moon Lake, we rented our bicycles at Ita Thao and rode to Shuishe. This is the opposite of what I recommend. You’ll find out why in the section below.
Cycling around Sun Moon Lake: Our Experience
While most people flock to Sun Moon Lake’s western shores, we rode the less popular eastern side of the lake.
We began our day at Ita Thao by renting a tandem bicycle. It didn’t take long for us to learn why a tandem bicycle is a terrible idea at Sun Moon Lake.
Our initial thought was that it would be cute to ride a tandem bicycle around the lake. However, the narrow bike path and hilly roads made riding a tandem bicycle challenging.
After 10 minutes, we went back to the rental shop to exchange the tandem bicycle for two electric bicycles instead. Lesson learned.
Once we both had our own bicycles, it was game on. Our e-bikes didn’t look cool. But wow, they were fast. Plus, the e-bike had a throttle control. I didn’t even need to pedal to speed down the road. It was more like riding an electric scooter than a bicycle.
We finally began our Sun Moon Lake bicycle adventure by exploring the Yidashao Lakeside Trail at Ita Thao. The trail follows the lake shore and then connects back to the road.
As we started cycling along the path, I finally understood why Sun Moon Lake is popular – it’s so scenic and calming.
Eventually, the lakeside trail came to a point where it started going uphill. Normally this would not be a problem, but the trail had steps on it which made it impossible to ride up. I guess it was more of a hiking than a biking trail. We rode back the same way we came, then started going down the road.
Riding on the road was fast and smooth. As we flew down the road, I started getting cold. It was November and a little chilly outside, so I should have expected that.
As we went down the road, we had to keep an eye out for automobile traffic. There were a few blind corners that we had to be extra cautious of when approaching. Riding on the road was my least favorite part of the bike ride.
Luckily, after a few more bends in the road, we reached an entry point for the round-the-lake trail.
The trail took us all the way to Wen Wu Temple. We parked our bikes and walked up to the temple to do a little exploration. The car parking for the temple was full, so it was so nice to be able to not worry about that when cycling. We could just stop and check out the sights any time we wanted.
After visiting the temple, we got back on the bike path and continued around the lake. As we got closer to Shuishe, the path opened up. It became much wider and more developed. It was a nice relief after riding on the road.
We arrived at Shuishe and got our first good look at the town. We were here a few days ago, but only to catch a taxi to Ita Thao. This was our first day actually exploring Shuishe.
We walked the streets of Shuishe, and came across Old Papa Black Tea. Chloe mentioned that Old Papa is one of the famous restaurants at Sun Moon Lake, so we ordered a black tea and sat down for a meal.
After lunch, we hopped back onto our bikes and rode back the same way we came.
It was getting late in the day, but we had a goal in mind. We rode right past Ita Thao and straight to Ci’en Pagoda. The sun was starting to set as we rode into the pagoda’s parking lot.
We had just enough time to hike to the pagoda and climb its spiraling steps to get a view of Sun Moon Lake from above.
What we saw was undoubtedly the best view of Sun Moon Lake. As the sky changed colors, we saw the entire lake from the top of the pagoda.
As the sky began to shift from yellow to orange hues, we left Ci’en Pagoda. Our goal was to stay safe by avoiding cycling along those twisty roads at night. We made it back to Ita Thao just as it was getting dark.
After our day of riding, we worked up a huge appetite and were ready to eat some of the street food at Ita Thao Market!
Are You Following Our Taiwan Blog Series?
We spent 16 days in Taiwan and found so many things to do there—from epic hiking, outdoor adventures, and night markets. To help fellow adventurers, we’ve put together guides to the best places we found. You can check them out by clicking the links below.
- Our favorite night market in Taiwan: Raohe Night Market
- We documented all our Things to do at Sun Moon Lake
- Ita Thao Night Market has some of the most unique food we’ve tried
- Cycling around Sun Moon Lake is one of the most scenic bike rides we’ve ever taken
- Guide to our most epic outdoor adventures in Taiwan: 8 Best Things to Do in Taroko Gorge
- Our most insane hike in Taiwan: Zhuilu Old Road: The Complete Trail Guide
I hope you enjoyed our guide to Sun Moon Lake cycling. Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions! 🐸
