Orchid Island, also know as Lanyu, is a small island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan. It is a part of the Luzon Volcanic Arc and therefore the culture and natural conditions here are closely related to Batan of Philippines, rather than that to Taiwan.
Because of Orchid Island’s remote location, it retains much of the culture and natural resources. Moreover, it has the only tropical rainforest climate in Taiwan, so it really gives us a taste of a tropical oceanic island. Just like a wonderland, you could cast all the worries to the winds and relax here.
For tourists, going snorkeling and diving are the most popular activities here. The clear water, corals, and tropical fish compose the beautiful underwater world around Orchid Island. You can also see many sea snakes while swimming in the sea. Despite being extremely venomous, they are very mild and only use their venoms on their prey, so you don’t have to worry about them. You can have a good look and admire these beautiful creatures living in the sea. This is the ocean part of Orchid Island.
Similarly, the land part of Orchid Island is also wonderful. Because it is a volcanic island, it has steeper mountains, creating more astonishing landscapes.
There are many odd-shaped rocks along the coastline and many islets surrounding Orchid Island as well. The biggest one among them is called the Lesser Orchid Island, without a surprise. It is uninhabited and the indigenous people deem it as a forbidden area. It is also home to the critically endangered Pink Moth Orchid, which Orchid Island named after.
There are also many special animals living on the island. Numerous species of insects are endemic to Orchid Island because of its remoteness. The most attractive ones are definitely the Pachyrhynchus Weevils. There are 5 species of them in Orchid Island. It is a group of flightless weevils with aposematic coloration, which normally represents bright colors, on their bodies.
Other than the endemic species, there are animals that are rare in Taiwan but more commonly seen in Orchid Island, especially the birds. You can hear Ryuku Scops-Owls singing during the night. They are only distributed in Batan, Orchid Island, and the Ryukyu Arc. However, the indigenous people regard these Owls as the devil and think it would cause bad luck when they sing in the village. You can see many Lowland White-eyes throughout the island. They are only found in Orchid Island and the Philippines. They looked similar to the Swinhoe’s White-eyes commonly seen in Taiwan, but are actually slightly bigger in size and have a tiny difference in voice. Finally, there is one of my favorite birds present in Orchid Island, the Philippine Cuckoo-Dove. I like the rich cinnamon color of its underpart the most, it just looked so cool to me. Again, it is distributed only in Orchid Island, Philippines, and a small part of Borneo. The characteristics of these species’ distribution just show the close relationship between Orchid Island and the Philippines again and again.
Besides the richness of natural resources, the culture here is very unique, too. The indigenous people I mentioned above are called the Tao People, also known as the Yami People. You could experience paddling the tatala, which is the fishing boat for Tao People. You could have a taste of the most important fish for Tao People, the flying fish. There are many different ways to cook it and I think it’s quite delicious.
I went to Orchid Island in 2019 summer, the weather was cozy, sometimes rainy, and sometimes shiny. Because of this, we saw like 8 rainbows on a 7-day trip. The sunrise was very astonishing due to the weather condition, too. The high reflectiveness of large clouds in the sky increased the brightness of orange colors from the sun, and it also scattered the sunlight into many rays, enriching the morning sky.
The star sky in the night is very beautiful due to the low light pollution on the island. Looking at the Milky Way in summer night has always been romantic, also there might be some meteors shooting across the sky!
Milky Way at summer
The remoteness and peacefulness are the reason why I love this island. We don’t see traffic lights, skyscrapers, MRTs, and more modern facilities here, but only primitive roads, houses, and the long-lived culture.
After all, are you interested in Orchid Island? This wonderful place is waiting for your visit and I’m sure that you will like it.
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