澎湖县

Why this place

Penghu is an archipelago in the strait, made of basalt columns, with old stone-walled fields, fishing villages and a wind that never stops. It is the oldest settled part of the region and has a completely different landscape from the main island.

What to see

• The basalt columns and sea cliffs of the island group
• The old houses of Erkan and the traditional 'coral stone' villages
• The Penghu Great Bridge and the inter-island ferries
• The bee-hive-shaped stone fish traps and the old walls dividing the fields

What to eat

• Penghu seafood: cuttlefish, oysters and the local 'cactus' ice cream
• The local 'penghu' dried seafood and the sweet 'peanut' cakes

Best time

April–June and September–October; the winter wind is extreme