分類: Experiences in Taiwan

As there are 16 officially recognized indigenous groups in Taiwan, indigenous culture is one of the most charming highlights of Taiwan. Many travelers wish to visit a “REAL” indigenous/aboriginal village and get cultural experience there. But what is a REAL indigenous village like? Is it the same as the one you imagine? Today we would like to give you a guideline about how to get the best indigenous cultural experiences in Taiwan.

What does a REAL Taiwanese indigenous tribe look like?

Most of the indigenous tribes are close to green mountains or sapphire blue ocean. They are all good places to enjoy rich natural beauty. Although in Chinese, we still call the indigenous communities “tribes (Chinese: 部落 bù luò) ”, they don’t really look like the primitive villages in the cartoon – The Flintstones (中譯：摩登原始人/石頭族樂園). They are just like other normal villages that composed with modern bungalows. The biggest difference is that most of the residents there are local indigenous people.

Many tribes are decorated with indigenous painting, patterns or sculptures that show their different characteristics.

Some of them still preserve one or two traditional assembly center in the community, such as Tsao people’s Kuba (邵族的會所，庫巴) or Peinan people’s Takuvan and Balaguan (卑南族的會所，達古範和巴拉冠), where they hold traditional ceremonies on particular festivals.

Taiwan does have a few more primitive aboriginal tribes, such as the Smangus tribe (司馬庫斯) in Hsinchu or the Vedai tribe (霧台) in Pingtung. These tribes are usually located in distant or inaccessible mountains, so if you would like to explore these beaten places, you must spend more time on traffic.

What is the best way to get and experience indigenous culture?

Travelers may hope to get authentic indigenous cultural immersion by just visiting and browsing a tribe. However, the special rituals or events are only performed during traditional ceremonies or festivals. Beyond these times, most indigenous people live like us: work during the daytime and enjoy family time at night. You will get the feel of the real tribal life only if you stay with the tribe for a couple of weeks. This may be an option for long-day travelers with more time on their hands, but less suitable for travelers who only have s short trip in Taiwan.

Therefore, the best way to get and experience indigenous culture is participating in the indigenous cultural tours designed by the local indigenous people or organizations. The trips come with various lengths. The shortest one could be finished within half a day while the longer one could be 1 to 5 days. You will have a taste of the essence of the indigenous culture, including exploring the tribe to know the hidden stories, understanding how they survive in the mountains or by the ocean, learning to make indigenous crafts, enjoying tasty indigenous meals with local families, and staying overnight in family-run guesthouses.

Will the indigenous tour be too touristy?

If you just visit replicated indigenous houses and greeted with poor indigenous singing and dance show, we will say it is really touristy and can’t express the cultural spirit to the travelers. To make sure our clients get the authentic adventure, the tours and activities we recommend are all held in the tribe. You will experience their living areas in person and learn the traditional wisdom about how to live by taking advantage of the local materials. These activities are also designed and led by local people according to their real life experience. The tribe could also be run permanently and keep their culture alive this way.

The indigenous experience we recommend:

After having a rough idea about the indigenous tours, you might be interested in an indigenous cultural immersion. Here are some experiences that we recommend:

Cidal Hunter School in Hualien (Amis People) 吉籟獵人學校

Cidal Hunter School was established by local Amis people not only to preserve their traditions and knowledge, but to pass them on to the younger generation. However, as more and more travelers expressed their interests in learning about traditional culture and lifestyles, the school started to develop a series of cultural and ecotourism activities, such as learning how to start a fire, create a container for holding water from natural plant materials, and hunting shrimp and crab.

Luan Shan Forest Museum in Taitung (Bunun People) 鸞山森林博物館

It used to be a tribal site remains and was turned into an open-air forest museum like a scene from the film Avatar. Museum director Aliman and his tribal friends have been systematically protecting the forests, especially the precious giant Banyan trees. They hold environment protection and culture reconstruction educational activities, cross-tribal events, tribal stays, outdoor spiritual workshops and ecological tours, so as to connect more with the public and bring their attention to forest conservation.

Kbanun Tribe in Yilan (Atayal People) 樂水部落

Kbanun Tribe is also called the forgotten tribe. BY spending a day with this remaining native tribes, you will learn to make souvenirs with unique leaves, cook sticky rice using bamboo, hunt in the mountains, practice archery and make fresh mochi balls with your hands!  

If I don’t have time to partivipate in an indigenous tour, what can I do?

1. Visit to a great indigenous museum
Here are 2 indigenous-theme museums that you cannot miss.

Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines

Add: No. 282, Sec. 2, Zhishan Road, Shilin Dist., Taipei City
TEL：+886-2-2841-2611
Open Hours: 09:00 am-17:00 pm Tuesday to Sunday (Closed on Mondays)

National Museum of Prehistory

Add: No.1 Museum Road, Taitung County
Tel: 886-89-381-166
Open Hours: 09:00 am to 17:00 pm Tuesday to Sunday (Closed on Mondays)

2. Have a meal at indigenous restaurant

Hasila Food 
Add: No. 19, Lane 77, Sec. 2, Zhongshan North Road, Zhongshan Dist., Taipei
Tel: +886-2-2563-4992
Open Hours: 18:00 pm to 02:00 am Tuesday to Sunday (Closed on Mondays)

3. Stay one night at indigenous-theme hotel/B&B

Taroko Village Hotel

Located in Taroko Gorge, Taroko Village Hotel is surrounded by forests and all the staffs there are local indigenous people (Taroko People). The atmosphere is really relaxing!

Where can I buy indigenous souvenirs with good quality?

Of course, the best place is the craft studios in the tribe that you visit. You will know who make these crafts and could interact with local artists. In Taipei, below are 2 recommended shops that select worth buying indigenous souvenirs from many tribes.

Lovely Taiwan Shop 台灣好，店
Add: N0. 18-2, Lane 25, Nanjing West Road, Taipei City
TEL: +886-2-2558-2616
Open hours: 12:00 pm – 21:00 pm Tuesday – Sunday (Closed on Mondays and on public holidays)

Ayoi Taipei 阿優依
Add: B2, No.88, Yanchang Road, Xinyi Dist., Taipei City (in the Eslite Spectrum Songyan Store)
TEL: +886-2-6636-5888#1906
Open hours: 11: 00 am – 22:00 pm Everyday

Book an indigenous tour with us!

Want to have an indigenous tour when you visit Taiwan? Contact us now and let us know your interest!

TAIWAN IS DEFINITELY A HIDDEN GEN IN ASIA!

Taiwan seems a much underrated tourist destination in Asia, especially for western travelers. Based on the travelers’ feedback, Taiwan exceeds their expectations a lot and is very worth visiting. The tremendous diversity in a small island is amazing – rich nature wonders, interesting night market, fantastic food, fabulous hiking trails and outdoor sports, cultural experiences, aboriginal village, and very friendly people. We sum up 8 highlights to tell you why Taiwan is worth visiting!

FOOD

Taiwan is one of the best food destinations in the world where you could try from Michelin star-awarded restaurants to local street “small eats”. Veggie and halal food are also easy to get in Taiwan.

Taiwanese like to ask “jia ba buay (have you eaten already?) ” and we usually put having food on our priority list. Taiwan serves all kinds of cuisine from Taiwanese cuisine, Hakka cuisine, Chinese cuisine, aboriginal flavor, hot pot, BBQ and also exotic cuisine. In general, the most common local ingredients are seafood, chicken, pork, rice, soy and seasonal vegetable. Fresh fruits are also things you can’t miss! Instead of merely eating the food, you can also learn the interesting story behind some of the dishes.

NATURE WONDERS

You could go from lush mountain forests to lakes and tropical beaches in one or two hours, Taiwan’s landscape is extremely diverse.

Bisected by northeast Asia’s highest mountains and surrounded by 1566 km of shoreline, making Taiwan geographically unique. There are 9 national parks which offer a variety of distinct topographic landscapes. Taroko National Park, features its lofty gorge; Yangmingshan National Park is known for its volcanic landscape. Kenting National Park is the only tropical area in Taiwan which includes best beaches and rich marine ecology. There are also agricultural scenes such as rice fields and tea plantations. Taiwan is definitely paradise for travelers who loves nature.

CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

There are plenty of hands on activities that the whole family can join together such as tea processing or indigo dyeing. You will have lots of fun learning Taiwanese culture through these activities. There are also numerous cultural festivals during the whole year.

Due to the natural location and altitude of Taiwan, it’s an appropriate place for growing fruits, tea and all kinds of agriculture. In this way, you can experience how does it feel when being a farmer. We can also learn how to make Taiwanese cuisine. We will cherish the food we have after experiencing the process. Besides, we try very hard  to preserve traditional skills such as making sky lantern, handmade paper and indigo dyeing  art crafts.

OUTDOOR SPORTS

Taiwan abounds with venues for hiking, cycling and water sports: hundreds of well-maintained natural trails, popular cycling trails along the coastline or lake, ideal clean mountain streams for river-tracing and beautiful beaches for world-class snorkeling.

Over 50% of Taiwan is mountainous, so the island is a heaven for mountaineers! From low-altitude and flat trails to the highest mountain in northeast Asia, Jade Mountain (Yushan), no matter on which level you are, you could find a trail that delights you. Taiwan also offers excellent conditions for variety of activities. The highlights are cycling along Sun Moon Lake or the northeast coast , river tracing in Hualien, snorkeling or scuba diving in Kenting or offshore islands (such as Green Island and Lanyu). If you love surfing, Taiwan Open of Surfing is held in Taitung in every November.

NIGHT MARKET

There are over 300 night markets in Taiwan and they are full of energy! You can get everything such as clothes, shoes or souvenirs and have a chance to sit next locals and enjoy authentic street food such as famous stinky tofu.

There is at least one popular night market in each city of Taiwan, for example, Raohe, Ningxia and Shilin Night Market in Taipei, Fengjia Night Market in Taichung and Liuhe Night Market in Kaohsiung. Each one has its own characteristic and the abundant local snacks there gives you an insight in the people of the area. The most famous food are stinky tofu, oyster omelet, Taiwanese sausage with sticky rice, braised pork rice, bubble tea and shaved ice…etc. Besides authentic local snacks, shopping in the night market is interesting as well. The shops sell various things from fashionable clothing, accessories, shoes, toys to electronic products.

INDIGENOUS VILLAGE

Taiwan is home to groups of Austronesian indigenous people. The 16 officially recognized indigenous peoples, who each have their own native languages and lifestyles enrich the culture in Taiwan.

Most indigenous groups live around Central Mountain Range and east part of Taiwan. Apart from enjoying the scenery, learning and experiencing unique culture is the most beautiful part of each travel to indigenous village. The experienced hunter will teach you how to survive in the nature, tell you many charming local myths. It is also the best chance to taste authentic indigenous cuisine and admire their handicrafts such as weaving, carpentry and pottery.

CHINESE CULTURE

Many aspects of traditional Chinese arts, crafts and customs are better preserved in Taiwan than anywhere else. For example, National Palace Museum houses one of the largest collections of ancient Chinese artifacts in the world.

The links between Taiwan and the Chinese culture had begun as early as in the Song and Ming dynasties, when the ancestors crossed the ocean and came to Taiwan. Taiwan is quite an important place to preserve the Han heritage in the forms of antique, architecture, festival, religion and entertainment. For example, Taiwan is one of the few places still using traditional Chinese characters.

SWEET POTATO MAMA – OUR EXCLUSIVE VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

Sweet Potato Mama volunteer tour is an exclusive tour arranged by TOPOLOGY. The travelers will support the single mothers by helping them sell the sweet potatoes on the street and get to know them as they teach you how to roast sweet potatoes.

Sweet potato mama project helps single mothers live independently by allowing them to become vendors of the traditional Taiwanese sweet potatoes. No matter how tough life is, they never give up because there is always something that keeps them moving toward a better life—their lovely kids. This project contains 2 parts: first part we will introduce the whole sweet potato mama project, including the start of the foundation and the project. The second part you will experience what the mamas do everyday – sell the sweet potato with them! You can also take your time chatting with the mamas or other participants. Don’t forget to learn as much as you want to cook yams.
Book Sweet Potato Mama volunteer tour right night!
Report by CNN