Festivals

From December to March, visitors to the Maolin National Scenic Area can see migrating purple Euploea butterflies. Millions them make a stop-off here in the south of Taiwan, and thousands of tourists from across the world are drawn in by their beauty.

Head south during Taiwan’s annual Lantern Festival and you’ll be sure see, hear and smell the Beehive Fireworks. Locals set off thousands of firecrackers at a time, creating a spectacular-but-deafening cacophony of sound and light - resembling the buzz of bees. Celebrations last two to three days around the year's first full moon.

As part of Taiwan's nationwide Lantern Festival, the remote northern town of Pingxi provides the setting for one of the most spectacular shows. On the night of the first full moon of the first lunar month, the sky is lit up with tens of thousands of lanterns, all simultaneously released, creating an incredible spectacle.

The Taiwan Lantern Festival is celebrated around the first full moon of the lunar year, and is considered one of the most romantic dates in the festive calendar. Locals and visitors make handheld candles, set off firecrackers and release lanterns into the sky. A can’t-miss favorite is tangyuan (sticky rice dumplings) - the festival food.