In September 2024 I spent two weeks in Taiwan. It is not a popular tourist destination, and neither I nor my companions had ever travelled there. We all wanted to go however as it may change fundamentally over the next few years if the mainland Chinese decide to invade. It is also a relatively small island, about 400 km long, so under half the length of Great Britain, and in principle quite easy to tour around. Additionally it held the promise of the Chinese way of life in a democratic environment, plus great food, and possibly nice scenery.



We spent more time planning this trip than on any other I have taken, and by and large this paid off. Roughly speaking we spent half the time in the two main cities, Taipei and Tainan, and the other half in the mountains, avoiding the coastal plains except to travel. Both the cities and the mountains were a revelation, but this album is focussed on the amazing mountain scenery.



Taiwan is formed from the junction of three tectonic plates, which have created a jagged mountainous area down the central spine of the island. The island appeared around 5 million years ago - very young compared to the Himalayas, also regarded as new, which rose 40-50 million years ago. The central part of Taiwan is still rising, and there are many earthquakes in the region. The mountains are extraordinarily steep sided, but are in a subtropical evergreen region, creating a quite unique and photogenic landscape. These photographs are from the first leg of the journey from Taipei to the Henuanshan mountains. The next album covers the second leg and includes Tainan and an amazing mountain monsatery.



Because this was a travel experience for us all, and not a photography oriented trip, I took a small lightweight system with me, the OM System OM5 and lenses. It worked amazingly well, and there were few compromises, as you might be able to see.


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