Taiwan maintains nine national parks covering 9.1 percent of the main island and surrounding territories, administered by the National Park Service under the Ministry of the Interior since its establishment in 1982. These parks span elevations from sea level to 3,952 meters at Yushan's summit, protecting ecosystems ranging from coral reefs to alpine tundra. The system protects 58 endemic bird species, 36 endemic mammal species, and approximately 4,000 vascular plant species found nowhere else on Earth. Taiwan's protected areas occupy 19.2 percent of total land area when combining national parks, nature reserves, wildlife refuges, and major wildlife habitats.
Yushan National Park, established in 1985, encompasses 105,490 hectares across the Central Mountain Range, making it Taiwan's largest and second-oldest national park. The park contains thirty peaks exceeding 3,000 meters elevation, including Yushan itself at 3,952 meters, the highest point in Northeast Asia outside the Himalayas. The main peak requires permits limited to 92 climbers daily, issued through an online lottery system operated by park headquarters in Shuili, Nantou County. The typical ascent begins at Tatajia trailhead at 2,610 meters, covers 10.9 kilometers to Paiyun Lodge at 3,402 meters on day one, then 2.4 kilometers to the summit and return on day two. Winter climbs from December through February encounter snow and ice requiring crampons and ice axes, with summit temperatures dropping to minus 20 degrees Celsius during cold snaps. The park protects the Bunun indigenous people's traditional territories, including the village of Dongpu, where hot springs emerge at 63 degrees Celsius from metamorphic rock. The Batongguan Traversing Trail crosses the park from west to east over 87 kilometers, following Japanese-era police patrol routes established between 1919 and 1921. Black bears inhabit the park's forests, though sightings remain rare, with camera trap studies documenting approximately 200 to 600 individuals across Taiwan's mountain ranges.
Taroko National Park covers 92,000 hectares along Taiwan's eastern coast in Hualien County, established in 1986 to protect the Liwu River gorge and its marble canyon walls. The gorge cuts through metamorphic rock uplifted from the Philippine Sea Plate's collision with the Eurasian Plate, exposing marble formed from limestone deposited 200 to 280 million years ago. The Central Cross-Island Highway, completed in 1960 after four years of construction that killed 212 workers, runs through the gorge for 19 kilometers from the eastern entrance near Xincheng to Tianxiang. The Zhuilu Old Trail, a 10.3-kilometer historic path carved into cliff faces 500 to 700 meters above the Liwu River, requires permits limited to 96 hikers daily due to rockfall hazards and narrow passages. Shakadang Trail follows a tributary stream for 4.1 kilometers through marble bedrock polished smooth by centuries of water flow, accessible without permits. The park receives approximately 4.2 million visitors annually, making it Taiwan's most visited national park. Hehuan Mountain in the park's western section rises to 3,416 meters and provides Taiwan's most accessible alpine tundra environment, reachable by Provincial Highway 14A to the Wuling Pass at 3,275 meters. Snow falls reliably from December through March above 3,000 meters, drawing crowds for sledding and photography despite the absence of ski lifts. Formosan rock macaques inhabit lower elevations near park headquarters, habituated to human presence and known for aggressive food-seeking behavior. The park prohibits feeding wildlife with fines of 3,000 New Taiwan dollars.
Kenting National Park, established in 1982 as Taiwan's first national park, occupies the Hengchun Peninsula's southern tip across 33,268 hectares of land and marine environments. The park straddles both the Taiwan Strait and Pacific Ocean coasts, protecting coral reefs containing 250 scleractinian coral species and tropical monsoon forests transitioning to temperate vegetation. Eluanbi Lighthouse, constructed in 1882 during the Qing Dynasty after repeated shipwrecks, stands 21.4 meters tall at Taiwan's southernmost point with walls 1.8 meters thick to withstand typhoons. The Longkeng Ecological Protection Area on the Pacific coast restricts visitors to 200 daily to preserve coastal grasslands where migratory raptors funnel through each October, with grey-faced buzzard flocks sometimes exceeding 10,000 birds in a single day. Sheding Nature Park's trails pass through 186 hectares of coral reef limestone forest containing more than 300 plant species, including nine species of rare ferns. The park's marine area extends two kilometers offshore, protecting elkhorn coral beds at depths of 5 to 15 meters accessible to snorkelers from Houbihu Harbor. Monsoon winds from the northeast blow consistently from October through March at speeds often exceeding 40 kilometers per hour, reshaping dunes and limiting tree growth along the eastern coast. Longluan Lake, a freshwater marsh surrounded by farmland, hosts over 200 bird species including globally endangered eastern marsh harriers that winter in the area. The park's boundaries exclude Kenting Street, where commercial development including hotels, restaurants, and nightlife establishments operates outside park jurisdiction. Summer water temperatures reach 28 to 30 degrees Celsius, supporting tropical fish species at their northern distribution limit.
Yangmingshan National Park encompasses 11,338 hectares of volcanic terrain north of Taipei, established in 1985 to protect fumaroles, hot springs, and the crater basin of Mount Datun. The park includes twenty volcanoes and volcanic cones formed between 2.8 million and 200,000 years ago, with the most recent eruptions occurring at Qixing Mountain approximately 6,000 years ago. Xiaoyoukeng, a sulfur fumarole site accessible via paved trail from Yangmingshan Highway, vents steam at temperatures reaching 120 degrees Celsius through fractures in andesite bedrock. The park's seven hot spring systems produce water ranging from 40 to 90 degrees Celsius with varying mineral compositions, including the sulfur springs at Beitou that once supplied sulfur for gunpowder production during the Qing Dynasty. Qixing Mountain, the park's highest peak at 1,120 meters, features a 1-kilometer trail gaining 400 meters elevation from Cold Water Canyon to the summit's triangulation point. Cherry blossoms cultivated along park roads bloom from late January through March, drawing crowds that congest the single two-lane highway through the park. The park prohibits camping except in three designated campgrounds at Juexi, Erdong, and Baguashan, requiring advance reservations. Calla lily farms within park boundaries operate legally under grandfather clauses predating park establishment, harvesting flowers from December through April. The park's andesite stone was quarried extensively during Japanese rule from 1895 to 1945, leaving abandoned quarry sites now revegetated with miscanthus grass. Chinese cobra populations inhabit the park's lower elevation forests, responsible for occasional bites to hikers who step too close to undergrowth. The park operates visitor centers at Yangmingshan proper and at Lengshuikeng, both offering exhibits on volcanism and ecology in Mandarin Chinese with limited English signage.