Maokong Gondola

South of Taipei is a lovely valley filled with tea plantations and inviting hillside tea houses, perfect places to take a respite from the hot city. There's a gondola to fly you over the valley floor and up to the tea area.

Time to queue up, gondolas are running.

On we go. Flying above the valley.
The gondolas have plexi floors, in case you weren't sure what was below you. Lots of photo opportunities.

You can take yourself out of Taipei, but you can't take Taipei 101 out of your sights. Many kilometers away, over various hills and the tower is still present. Yea, it's tall.

Tea Time In Maokong

Taipei is a hot city, so it's nice to get on a gondola and head to higher, cooler ground. Waiting at the end of your journey is the bucolic little hillside town of Maokong. The place is dotted with little tea plantations and tea houses, ready to receive you and offer a sample of one of their fine teas. A nice break.

A typical tea plot up in the hills.

There's a cute tea cooperative museum, filled with examples of what's grown.

The center part of the exhibit has a not so convincing infinity teapot. Ah, well.

Examples of tea processing machinery and leaves in various states of transformation.

Another look at a little tea plantation plot.