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Moonlight Inn

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For spectacular views looking down across Dulan towards the ocean and horizon-silhouette of Green Island, you can't beat the upper balcony of this little gallery-cafe 3km above town. It's in a Japanese-era building which was renovated as the set for the 2005 movie The Moon Also Rises, with some props from the production still on display.

Amid the morning's birdsong, it's a particularly peaceful spot and the cafe makes superb coffee. Note that their excellent 'special espresso' is actually more like an alcohol-free B52 ¨C it includes cream and comes in a shot glass.

The beautiful if rather narrow 3km route from central Dulan follows Rte 42–| starting almost beside the Family Mart. It's well signposted in English, but has steep sections that are a little testing for cyclists. En route you'll pass two neolithic sites. The more interesting, at Km2.2, is a misnamed stone 'sarcophagus' that was more likely carved out as a container for storing liquids, perhaps ceremonial.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Water Running Up

1.44 MILES

Is the anti-gravity stream-flow an optical illusion or a hydrological oddity? Decide for yourself while strolling this attractively landscaped park 1km¡­

2. Dulan Sugar Factory

1.44 MILES

One of the east coast's most appealing concentrations of craft shops, artists' workshops and quirky cafes is clustered around the former sugar refinery¡­

3. Luye Plateau

6.05 MILES

The area known as the Gaotai is a hill which rises fairly abruptly above Luye, surveying the surrounding green mountain ridges in all directions. For most¡­

4. Xiaoyeliu

6.42 MILES

The seafront rocks within this coastal park are geological curiosities, many forming cuesta structures: angled geological sandwiches with alternating soft¡­

5. Liji Badlands

6.71 MILES

In stark contrast to the orchards and lush subtropical forest all around, this small 'geopark' is an area where gulleys and cliff sides of loose,¡­

6. Beinan Site Park

8.79 MILES

If you've got an hour to wait for a train, a fine way to spend it is strolling through this landscaped park. It features a significant Neolithic site, but¡­

7. Taitung Forest Park

9.16 MILES

This huge expanse of estuary, scrubland and woods includes a butterfly garden, a duck-watching hide on a small lake and great lengths of cycle path: it's¡­

8. Tianhou Temple

9.64 MILES

Set on a big courtyard of ornate gateways lit with massed clusters of lanterns, this is Taitung's largest temple. It's a beautifully proportioned,¡­