Taichung is the best central Taiwan base for several major day trips. Sun Moon Lake is the obvious one — the largest body of water on the island, with a Thao indigenous community on its eastern shore — about ninety minutes by direct bus from Taichung Station. The Cingjing Farm grasslands at over 1,700 metres altitude and the Hehuan Mountain pass (one of the highest road passes in East Asia) are reachable in a long day, easier in two.
Closer, the suburbs themselves yield several full-day trips: the 921 Earthquake Museum and Wufeng Lin Family Mansion in the south; the Gaomei Wetlands, Qingshui Station, and Tatung Distillery on the western coast; the Houli Horse Ranch and the Houfeng Bikeway to the north; and the Dakeng Scenic Area and the small hot-spring villages in the eastern hills.
Further afield, Lukang in Changhua County is one of the most atmospheric traditional towns on the island and only an hour by bus. Tainan and Kaohsiung are two hours by HSR — feasible as a long day trip but better as overnight stops.
