Kenting National Park

Kenting National Park sits in Hengchun Town, Pingtung County, Taiwan, China, on the Hengchun Peninsula at the southernmost tip of Taiwan. Officials announced the park's establishment plan on September 1, 1982, and set up its administrative office on January 1, 1984. It is China's first announced national park, and the only one in Taiwan's tropical region. Its land area is 18,084 hectares, and marine area 15,185 hectares—total land and sea area reaches 33,269 hectares. From north to south, the park is about 24 kilometers long; from east to west, it is around 24 kilometers wide. The whole area lies in the tropical zone.

Highlights of Kenting National Park

Eluanbi Park

Eluanbi Lighthouse

Eluanbi Park is a famous spot in Kenting National Park. It sits at the very south end of the Hengchun Peninsula, and its special location plus varied, rich scenery make it a place every tourist wants to visit. The main landmark here is the Eluanbi Lighthouse. Workers built this white, cylinder-shaped tower in 1883, and it is 18.4 meters high. It used to be the brightest lighthouse in the Far East, and even now, it keeps ships safe in the Taiwan Strait and Bashi Channel. The white tower looks great against the bright blue sea and thick green lawns—many people take nice Japanese-style photos with it as the background.

Longpan Park

Longpan Park is located beside the Jia'e Highway and is one of the four major scenic spots in Kenting National Park. It is famous for its unique geological landforms and wide field of vision. This area is a limestone platform formed by uplifted coral reefs. After long-term dissolution, it has developed crisscrossing rifts, deep sinkholes and hidden limestone caves. Walking here feels like wandering through a natural geological maze. At the edge of the platform are vertical sea cliffs, with a drop of up to tens of meters, facing the boundless Pacific Ocean directly. The sea breeze blows across the grassland by the cliffs, stirring up layers of green waves and fully showing its wild beauty.

Houbi Lake Fishing Port

Semi-submersible sightseeing ship

Houbi Lake Fishing Port is the largest fishing port on the Hengchun Peninsula and a popular attraction in Kenting National Park that offers both delicious food and leisure experiences. As the core supply base for Kenting's seafood, several seafood restaurants gather on the first floor of the Fishermen's Association Building in the port. Fresh catches landed early every morning are sent directly to the restaurant kitchens, and their freshness is simply "top-tier". Besides the taste enjoyment, Houbi Lake is also the core area for Kenting's water sports. The seawater around the port is crystal clear, with a visibility of 5 to 10 meters, making it an excellent spot for snorkeling. Some businesses also provide semi-submarine sightseeing services, allowing tourists who are not good at swimming to enjoy the underwater scenery too. In addition, exciting activities like banana boats, jet skis and surfing are all available here, meeting the leisure needs of different tourists. The fishing port is open all day and has no admission fee. Whether you come specifically for food or to experience water sports, you can have plenty of fun.

Baisha Bay

Baisha Bay

Baisha Bay is the most iconic scenic spot in Kenting National Park. It became well-known far and wide because the movie Life of Pi was filmed here. This beach is made of piled pure white shell sand. The sand is fine and soft, so walking on it barefoot causes no discomfort at all. Under the sun, the beach glows with a bright white light, creating a sharp color contrast with the deep blue seawater. The bay is half-moon shaped. The sea here has small waves all year round, and the seawater is clear and transparent. As it stretches from the shore to the open sea, the color of the seawater gradually changes from light green to dark blue, showing extremely rich layers.

Educational Value

Situated in Taiwan Province, China's Hengchun Peninsula, Kenting features "coral reef evolution" as its key geological trait and counts as a typical tropical coastal geological zone. Ancient coral reefs were pushed up by crustal movement to form limestone plateaus—this makes up Kenting's core geology. Over time, dissolution has shaped these plateaus, creating crisscross rifts, deep sinkholes and hidden limestone caves in places like Longpan Park, which looks like a natural geological maze.

Activities to do at Kenting National Park

Water Sports： With good beaches and the sea, Kenting has lots of different water sports. You can try surfing, diving, windsurfing and more with help from pro instructors. You can also have fun with exciting things like jet skis and banana boats. What's more, spots like Houbihu have SUP (Stand-Up Paddleboarding) — even if you can't swim, it's easy to learn.