South Cross-Island Highway -- place to stay?

I’m going to do this at Chinese New Year. Want to stay a night somewhere along the road. Yakou hostel looks like an obvious place although they might be block booked and anyway it could be very cold up there. Any comments on Yakou or other suggestions?

Meishan’s not that far from Yakou. Anyone stayed there?

Thanks in advance.

Hey Joe… I’ve never stayed over up in the mountains, I’ve always pressed on down to the East coast and stayed in B&B without the breakfast 民宿 type of places around 關山 in 台東縣…

I’d guess your best bet would be either the hostel you mentioned or perhaps one of the hot spring spots near 梅山… be careful with that southern cross… in the beginning there are nice little villages with gas stations every few km’s along the 20 until you get to the last one that’s big enough to have a 7-11 and a gas station… i cant remember what it’s called, maybe 梅蘭, i’ll try to find out for you… and then nothing until the East coast, also the road gets slow and windy and the seemingly easy progress you make until that happens becomes much slower and harder… I got caught out last time and very neearly ran out of gas up in the highest stretches and had to freewheel down the other side… so when you get to the small town that has the 7-11 fill up!! it’s a long way to the next station…

also as you come out the tunnels through the very top section out onto what is the East side, there is about a 90% chance of ice on the roads in winter… there is always thick fog and drizzle up there and with night time temps going well below zero, you can expect similar conditions to HeHuanShan in the winter time… be prepared and watch out for black ice… two friends I know crashed on ice going over HeHuanShan much earlier this winter and they say the road looked fine, they never saw the ice until they were picking up their battered bikes… I’d treat the southern cross with much more respect than the central cross, especially in winter…

it’s a great ride though… i like it even more than the central cross since it’s much more isolated and there’s much less traffic… beautiful rugged landscapes and trees that look like they’re thousands of years old…

Cheers Plasmatron.

The thing about Yakou is, lots of people like to get up to see the sunrise there apparently. So we are going to try to do the same, brutal though it might be getting up at 4/5 in the morning. But if Yakou’s booked up then Guanshan might be an idea, or possibly the hostel a bit further back up the mountain at Litao.

[quote=“plasmatron”]…be careful with that southern cross… in the beginning there are nice little villages with gas stations every few km’s along the 20 until you get to the last one that’s big enough to have a 7-11 and a gas station… i cant remember what it’s called, maybe 梅蘭, I’ll try to find out for you… and then nothing until the East coast, also the road gets slow and windy and the seemingly easy progress you make until that happens becomes much slower and harder… I got caught out last time and very neearly ran out of gas up in the highest stretches and had to freewheel down the other side… so when you get to the small town that has the 7-11 fill up!! it’s a long way to the next station…[/quote]My FZ’s a bit of a guzzler. It might be an idea to carry a can of petrol with us. If you have time to check the name of that village that would be great.

[quote=“plasmatron”]…also as you come out the tunnels through the very top section out onto what is the East side, there is about a 90% chance of ice on the roads in winter… there is always thick fog and drizzle up there and with night time temps going well below zero, you can expect similar conditions to Hehuanshan in the winter time… be prepared and watch out for black ice… two friends I know crashed on ice going over Hehuanshan much earlier this winter and they say the road looked fine, they never saw the ice until they were picking up their battered bikes… I’d treat the southern cross with much more respect than the central cross, especially in winter…[/quote]I dropped my bike on the ice on Hehuanshan. Hope to avoid a repeat performance. Are there generally long stretches of ice or just patches?

Hey Joe,

If you’re planning this for CNY that may be time enough for the weather to warm up so that the roads are passable… I saw HeHuanShan on the news last week and at the high parts the road was nothing but ice, 4x4’s with chains were just sliding around like fools… I would say that there was no way you could get over HeHuanShan on a bike last week short of fitting ice spiked tires… and right now the Southern Cross would be exactly the same I have no doubt…

Assuming the weather warms up a lot between now and CNY you could probably expect small patches of ice in the shaded areas, although like I said when you come out the tunnels which are like long, dark, icy showers, you’ll hit the wall of weather and it’s almost all shaded on the other side, so watch out… high beams and emergency lights are the order of the day, oh and good rain gear because if it’s foggy, as you lose altitude the dense fog effectively becomes rain…

Alright enough doom and gloom, it’s just with the weather being as chilly as it is right now, even sitting here in my office, the thought of doing the southern cross in this type of weather sends shivers down my spine, but it would be a cool adventure… The village you absolutely want to stop and get gas at is “probably” 祧源 (TiaoYuan)… since my map shows it as being a slightly bigger town than most, but I can’t for the life of me remember and neither can they guys I went with last time… luckily you can’t go wrong since it’s easy to recognise… for quite a while after you get on the 20 there’s nothing much in the way of towns… the ones you go through definitely don’t have 7-11’s for a looong stretch… the roads are relatively straight and flat still, and you’ll cross a bridge over a fairly large flat river bed and curve left onto the main strip of a town… it’s very much a one horse town and the strip is wide and straight and you will see the unmistakable 7-11 on your left hand side… it’s the only one for miles in either direction so it’s likely to be fairly obvious… that is the last town with a gas station or store until the East coast…

if your bike’s got a small tank or it’s heavy on fuel like you mentioned and if you can spare the weight, carrying some reserve gas would be a good idea for peace of mind’s sake… that said if your bike can make it from WuShi over HeHuanShan to TianXiang then you should be okay… i only ran out because I laughed off filling up, not realising that would be the last chance…

I hope it all works out, like I said it’s a great ride… Sorry I can’t be more specific with that town’s name… Have fun and good luck!..

Actually I think that on the west side the last gas is either at Baolai or Taoyuan, one or the other. Anyway, Baolai has a 7-11 if that’s the clue, but the gas station is a km or two before town.

The lodge at Yakou is okay and there’s not much else up there. The cabins will be booked by now, but they always seem to able to squeeze one more into the tatami rooms… There is basically no food there beyond heated cans of Mr. Brown and instant noodles. It will be bloody cold up there. The hostel at Litao has more going for it, but it’s a few hours from the top and if you want to see sunup I think you’ll have to bit the bullet and stay at Yakou, or maybe you can make it from the hostel or guest houses at Meishan.

<-- recalls the days when the southern x-island was graded dirt from just above Baolai all the way to Litao… :slight_smile:

<-- drove over from Ta1tung recently, sunset at Yakou with the mountain peaks exploding in the last light, clouds curling up the valley trying escape. Came out the other side of tunnel to the cloud sea almost a km below :smiley:

Just drove up by car from Taitung yesterday; there was snow(drifting up to two inches in places) and, on the Taitung side of the tunnel, vicious winds. Though Yakou itself was clear and sunny, there was heavy fog stretching from just past Litao almost to the summit. Also the road was closed for construction at one point, causing half-hour delays.

The traffic was surprisingly light for a snow day.

Just realised that the last time I did the whole trip by bike was 1990 ‘:(’

Thanks guys.

[quote=“MikeN”]Just drove up by car from Taidong yesterday; there was snow(drifting up to two inches in places) and, on the Taidong side of the tunnel, vicious winds. [/quote]How was the ice situation?

[quote=“plasmatron”]… I saw Hehuanshan on the news last week and at the high parts the road was nothing but ice, 4x4’s with chains were just sliding around like fools…[/quote]Pretty severe if they had chains and still sliding.
I don’t know why they don’t salt and grit the road up there. That would have made it better last CNY at least.

I’ve found Tiaoyuan and Baolai on the map. I’ll ask people about filling stations when I get to Baolai.

[quote=“hsiadogah”]The lodge at Yakou is okay and there’s not much else up there. The cabins will be booked by now, but they always seem to able to squeeze one more into the tatami rooms…[/quote]All the hostels; Yakou, Meishan and Litao are fully booked. I don’t really fancy a sharing a freezing cold tatami room with 10 strangers if I can help it. There may still be guesthouse space at Meishan but we’re going to try for Wulu first. If we splash out for a hotel with hot springs bath at Wulu that would be quite nice and make up for the lack of sunrise.

Booked a minsu in Wulu, a little east of Yakou. Hoping that the cold spell now will mean slightly warmer weather for C.N.Y.!

If we really can’t do the Southern Cross-Island due to ice then I suppose we could go further south and cross over on the no.9. But I don’t think we could get to Taidong in a day that way. There’s also an unfinished road marked on my map; the no. 24, crossing over from around Gaoxiong to Taidong. Does anyone know whether that road actually exists?

[quote=“joesax”]There’s also an unfinished road marked on my map; the no. 24, crossing over from around Gaoxiong to Taidong. Does anyone know whether that road actually exists?[/quote]It’s no more than a line on a map. N’exist pas.
I’d say that as long as it’s not the middle of a cold snap, you’ll be okay going over. I used to ride over at CNY in the night and never had any problems with ice.

<-- got a nice look at the snow on Hohuanshan today, from a kilometer above Puli

[quote=“hsiadogah”]I’d say that as long as it’s not the middle of a cold snap, you’ll be okay going over. I used to ride over at CNY in the night and never had any problems with ice.[/quote]That’s reassuring, thanks.[quote=“hsiadogah”]<-- got a nice look at the snow on Hohuanshan (Hehuanshan) today, from a kilometer above Puli[/quote]A kilometre north? Do you mean from somewhere near the 21? Didn’t know you could see Hehuanshan from there.

Actually it’s probably nicer to see the snow from a distance than to spend hours in a traffic jam going up the mountain. I’m a bit tired of that road and I find weekend traffic in general less predictable and more dangerous than trucks.

[quote=“joesax”]A kilometre north? Do you mean from somewhere near the 21? Didn’t know you could see Hehuanshan from there.[/quote]No, I meant what I said, a kilometer above Puli, as in directly above, in the sky. I fly paragliders when I’m not chained to a desk.

I did once ride over H0huanshan while there was snow up there. It was raining, freezing rain, and the top section from where the last parking lot is until Tayuling was a bare mud road bed. Oh, and my throttle kept sticking open if I gave it too much gas. After about the fifth cleaning of the carburetor I gave up, left the throttle jammed wide open, and controlled my speed with the kill switch and gear lever. I only crashed twice. You gotta love knobbly tires…

I got round to updating my website at last.

A few pics and accounts from the C.N.Y. South Cross-Island Highway trip here;
mcttw.tripod.com/south_cross-island.htm

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