AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Perched at 886 metres, the Shaolai Trail Viewing Pavilion is the crowning viewpoint of the Shaolai loop in the Gungguan hot-spring valley, deep in Taichung's mountainous Heping District. A short, well-built forest walk leads up to this resting pavilion, where the canopy parts and the tiered rooftops of Gungguan, the twisting Dajia River and the green walls of the Central Mountain Range open out below.↗↗↗
The pavilion is the natural finish of a gentle half-day outing and the jumping-off point for the steeper Bojiasi Mountain trail. Come for the forest-bathing walk, stay for the valley view, then reward tired legs with a dip in Gungguan's free hot-spring foot pools and the town's famous baths below.↗↗
The high point of the Shaolai Trail
The name "Shaolai" (捎來) comes from the Atayal word Syalay, meaning friend or partner, and the trail takes its name from a local tribal chief of the same sound. Set within the Gungguan Hot-Spring Scenic Area, the loop climbs from the hot-spring town up the forested slope behind it, and the viewing pavilion marks its highest point at around 886 metres. Two trailheads anchor the circuit, one connecting to Gungguan Bridge and the other to the Shaolai Suspension Bridge, so the pavilion sits at the top of a comfortable one-to-two-hour ramble rather than a serious summit push.