K'en-ting Things to Do

Longluan Lake Nature Center (Longluan Tan Zhiran Jhongxing) (龍鑾潭自然中心) is a small nature center along the south shore of Longluan Lake that isn't of too much interest. The nature center can only be reached a 1-km (one-way), 10 minute walk through various habitats. At the nature center, there are telescopes for viewing various ornithological species, as well as books to help you identify them. The best view of Longluan Lake (that I know of) is from here.

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Maobitou (猫鼻頭) (Cat's Nose) is the second most southerly point on the island of Taiwan. It sits across a wide bay from Eluanbi, but in many respects, Maobitou is much more beautiful. The area around Maobitou has a rugged, rocky feel to it. This is exemplefied by the ground you walk on: it was formerly a coral reef but is now rock, and it's extremely difficult to walk on. Rocks protrude at random angles into the sea, with the most noticeable rock being shaped somewhat like a cat (hence the name). The rocks are covered with grass and moss, with a beautiful contrast of rock and greenery. This is what I feel (but I don't know, since I haven't been there) what Ireland might be like (kind of.)

The good thing about Maobitou is that entrance is absolutely free. There is no ticket booth or parking fee, and there's even a good visitor center here. Do know that the area is closed during typhoons.

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Kenting National Park has a very good and informative visitor center. The visitor center has numerous exhibits (most in Chinese) about Kenting’s fish, rain forest, and coral reef. Helpful park employees can give you tips on what to see and do; there are also some more in depth exhibits concerning geology, etc. There is a deck on the visitor center leading to a view of the ocean.

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Longluan Lake (Longluan Tan) (龍鑾潭) is the largest lake in Kenting National Park and the Hengchun Peninsula. There originally was a natural Longluan Lake, but it was dammed and made into a resevoir for irrigating farms in the area. Apparently, the lake counts as one of the major attractions of the National Park, but I didn't find too much interesting to do here. The lake is backed to the north by a row of green, tropical mountains; you're likely to see various species of birds here.

Frog Rock (Qinwa Shi) (清蛙石) is rather self-explanatory: a large rock that’s shaped like a frog. Near Frog Rock is an idyllical little beach that makes the scene look almost… like some South Pacific island. The somewhat vegetated rock actually looks (in my opinion) more like a beetle, but I digress…

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Sail Rock (Chuanfan Shi) (船帆石) is a large, sail-shaped rock east of the town of Kenting. It is named because of its resemblance to the sail on a ship. To most people (well, at least me), it looks like a big rock. It is also sometimes called “Nixon Head” since it looks like the head of President Nixon (you’ll need some imagination.) The rock protrudes from the remnants of an ancient coral reef, a typical scene in Kenting National Park.

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I think Kenting has some great Diving to be offered but for some reason it has been kept a secret. Scuba Diving has been steadily growing with some of the nicest soft coral sites in the asia area. Best time to Dive is in the winter. The water temp is around 20 to 22C getting warmer as the summer approaches call John at 0913388065 he knows all about it.

We actually wanted to go scuba diving or snorkelling at first... but as luck would have it, we arrived right on the eve of a hurricane, and that stirred up the seabeds reducing the visibilty (or so the operators say). They in turn recommended for us to go wake boarding instead.
It turned out to be a fantastic idea since the waves were pretty great! For a first timer like me at least. Guess the hurricane sort of turned out the be a blessing in disguise.. =) And we got to the beach just a few hours before they cordoned it off due to the hurricane.
Anyway i would recommend wakeboarding in kenting, although i have no ideas how good the waves are normally. The tour operators there should be able to give you a good idea. They aslo provide wetsuits and the wakeboard as part of the package.
No photos since we didn't bring our cam along. =(