Photo By: Elin Chow
Address: No.600, Chuanfan Road, Hengchun, Pingtung Country 屏东县恒春镇船帆路600号
Rise and shine! We started the fifth day of our 11D10N Taiwan Trip early this morning. After a simple breakfast, we checked out of Kenting An B&B 垦丁An民宿 in Kenting and set off for our first destination of the day - Sail Rock Scenic Area 船帆石风景区.
Sail Rock 船帆石
The Sail Rock (also known as Chuanfanshih or Chuanfan Rock) 船帆石 is basically a huge piece of coral reef rock standing a few meters of the shore. From a distance, the 18 meters tall huge rock looks like a sailboat with its sail raised, ready to set off on an adventure. Thus, it is named the "Sail Rock".
A famous landmark in Kenting National Park, the Sail Rock is the result of a large piece of rock that has broken off from the coastal cliff nearby. The rock has remained standing in the water because it is harder and more solid than the other neighboring coral reef rock. Thus it is able to withstand longer period of marine erosion caused by destructive waves on the sea.
From certain angle, the rock is said to resemble the profile of former US President, Richard Nixon, hence it is also known as "Nixon Head".
The rocks are sharp, uneven, sometimes damp, and thus, very slippery to walk on. You may sustain serious injuries from slipping or falling on rocks. Thus, please be extra careful and mindful while walking across the rock formations. It will be best to equip yourself with the appropriate footwear too. You certainly would not want to walk your way across in slippers, sandals or even heels.
Small children and people with mobility problems will find walking on the rocks extremely challenging and impossible.
The weather in Kenting is hot and humid due to tropical climate. Spending a long period of time in the sun can lead to sunburn and dehydration. In order to avoid the dangers of the sun, please remember to apply sufficient amount of sunscreen on your skin, wear a hat and most importantly, drink plenty of water.
Situated next to the Sail Rock, there is also a small and white sandy beach offering a wide range of water sport activities. The beach is a popular snorkeling site as the coral reefs under the shore is rich of aquatic life
For those who are not interested in snorkeling, you can laze and relax around at the beach or take a swim in the warm water. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to visit the beach. Hopefully, we could be back visiting Kenting again soon!
The rolling rock formations, clear blue skies and turquoise sea makes a perfect backdrop for photo shooting. Photo enthusiastic will instantly fall in love with the scenery and enjoy most of their day taking tons of photos at this place.
We also stopped by and bought some fresh fruits from a fruit-drink stand along the road. It was nice to have some ice-cold fruits under the scorching hot sun.
There are plenty of accommodation and dining options across the street from the attraction. Staying in one of these hotels along the street offers stunning views of the sea. The accommodation in this area is similarly priced to hotels found in Kenting Main street. But I believe there are cheaper options if you search around.
We visited on a weekday and was glad that the attraction was not crowded with local and international visitors. However, the place might be crowded if you are visiting on a weekend. Occasionally, a few tour buses stop briefly to let visitors alight off, snap a shot or two before continuing down the road.
If you are interested to know more about our trip, you may want to check out our 11D10N round island tour itinerary for the list of attractions that we had visited during our 11 days in Taiwan. Be sure to follow me on Facebook or Twitter for the latest updates on my 11 days adventures in Taiwan!
0 comments