Region
Taiwan Live Cameras — 35 official webcams
Thirty-five live streams published by Taiwanese government agencies — national parks, national scenic areas, and the forests the Forestry Agency looks after. Taiwan is only one hour behind Japan.
What you can see
All thirty-five come from official government channels in Taiwan, and all of them are video running around the clock. Seven agencies share them out.
National parks account for thirteen. Yangmingshan (six) is a volcanic park inside Taipei city, where fumaroles, grassland and the lights of the basin all sit within the same park. Shei-Pa (four) is high mountain country above 2,000 m, Kenting (two) is the sea at the island's southern tip, and Taroko (one) is a marble gorge.
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency runs nine, gathering the national forest recreation areas onto a single channel: the sunrise platform at Alishan, the little train at Taipingshan, waterfall valleys in New Taipei.
The remaining thirteen are national scenic areas. Alishan (six) covers the forest railway and the tea terraces; Tri-Mountain (seven) covers Shitoushan, Lishan and Bagua Mountain.
35 cameras in Taiwan
All 35 are live video. Tap one to open it in the camera list.
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Live video
Mount Qixing
Yangmingshan, Taipei · Volcano · Nature
At 1,120 m the highest point in Taipei, and a dormant volcano. Steam still rises from vents on its flanks, and in winter silver grass covers the slopes.
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Live video
Taipei Basin from Yangming Villa
Yangmingshan, Taipei · City · Nature
From a terrace halfway up the mountain, the whole Taipei Basin at once. After dark the city's lights spread across the floor of the basin.
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Live video
Qingtiangang grassland
Yangmingshan, Taipei · Nature · Wildlife
Grassland on top of a lava plateau. It is what is left of a ranch from the Japanese colonial period, and half-wild water buffalo still graze there.
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Live video
Qingtiangang, 360-degree panorama
Yangmingshan, Taipei · Nature
The same grassland in a 4K panorama. You can watch fog climb out of the valley and swallow the whole meadow.
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Live video
Datun Nature Park
Yangmingshan, Taipei · Nature
A park built around a pond at the foot of Mount Datun. Water lilies open in early summer, and it is known for its butterflies.
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Live video
Xiaoyoukeng fumaroles
Yangmingshan, Taipei · Volcano
White steam roars out of cracks in the rock. Sulphur crystallises yellow around the vents, and the trail up Mount Qixing starts here.
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Live video
Wenshui Visitor Center
Shei-Pa, Miaoli · Nature
The visitor centre at the gateway to Shei-Pa National Park. Low ridges line up behind it, and the view is a rough guide to the weather inside the park.
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Live video
Guanwu
Shei-Pa, Hsinchu · Nature
The trailhead on a ridge at around 2,000 m. Its name means watching fog, and true to it, clouds often drift past below.
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Live video
Wuling
Shei-Pa, Taichung · Nature · River
A valley along the Qijiawan Creek. The stream is one of the last homes of the endangered Formosan landlocked salmon, and cherry blossom fills the valley in spring.
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Live video
Xuejian
Shei-Pa, Miaoli · Nature
A lookout facing the high ridge known as the Holy Ridgeline. On clear days the snow-covered crest stands out sharply.
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Live video
Houbihu
Kenting, Pingtung · Sea
A fishing harbour and yacht mooring in a bay ringed by coral reef. The water is very clear, and the spot is known for its sunsets.
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Live video
Chuanfanshi beach
Kenting, Pingtung · Sea
A sandy beach with a huge rock offshore that looks like a ship under sail. The 4K camera takes in the surf line and the rock together.
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Live video
Taroko Visitor Center, 360-degree panorama
Taroko, Hualien · Nature
The entrance to the national park famous for its marble gorge. A 4K panorama looks out over the mouth of the valley cut by the Liwu River.
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Live video
Alishan, Ogasawara viewing platform
Alishan, Chiayi · Nature
A circular platform open on every side. It was built to watch the sun rise above a sea of cloud, and people gather here before dawn.
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Live video
Alishan Forest Railway
Alishan, Chiayi · World Heritage · Nature
A mountain railway opened in 1912 to bring cypress timber down. Trains still climb the steep slope by switchback.
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Live video
Dongyanshan
Dongyanshan, Taoyuan · Nature
A forest recreation area under planted cedar and cypress. At about 1,200 m, it is close enough to Taipei for a day trip.
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Live video
Taipingshan, Bongbong train station
Taipingshan, Yilan · Nature
A station on the forest railway that once carried timber. Today a small tourist train runs from here into the wooded valley.
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Live video
Taipingshan viewing deck
Taipingshan, Yilan · Nature
A viewing deck on a ridge close to 2,000 m. A sea of cloud often settles below it, and by afternoon the fog climbs up onto the deck itself.
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Live video
Basianshan
Basianshan, Taichung · Nature · River
A forest recreation area in the valley where the Shiwen and Jiabao streams meet. It was once counted among Taiwan's three great logging grounds.
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Live video
Kenting Forest Park, Guanhai Tower
Kenting, Pingtung · Sea · Nature
A lookout tower on a plateau of uplifted coral. Over the tropical forest it takes in the Bashi Channel and the tip of the peninsula.
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Live video
Manyueyuan
Manyueyuan, New Taipei · Nature · River
A wooded gorge named after a hill shaped like a full moon. Waterfall follows waterfall, and the maples turn in autumn.
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Live video
Neidong
Neidong, New Taipei · River · Nature
A gorge centred on the three-tiered Xinxian waterfall. It carries a lot of water, and damp air sits in the valley all day.
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Live video
Fenqihu
Fenqihu, Chiayi · Nature
A mountain village around a mid-line station on the forest railway. There is no lake here; the name likens the basin, ringed by hills on three sides, to one.
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Live video
Eryanping trail
Alishan, Chiayi · Nature
A footpath climbing through tea terraces. It faces west, so the hour when the sun drops into the sea of cloud is the one to watch.
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Live video
Taiping Suspension Bridge
Meishan, Chiayi · Nature
A 280 m suspension bridge across a valley. From a ridge at 1,000 m it looks down on the Chianan plain and the clouds below.
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Live video
Lijia
Alishan, Chiayi · Nature
Tsou villages scattered through a deep valley. There are no town lights nearby, and the area is known for how dark its night sky is.
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Live video
Shengli tea farm
Alishan, Chiayi · Nature
A farm whose tea terraces cover the whole slope. In the morning cloud rises out of the valley and hides the terraces one row at a time.
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Live video
Niupuzai meadow
Fanlu, Chiayi · Nature
A wide lawn at the foot of the road up to Alishan. Ranges stack up behind it, and in the evening the ridgelines stand out against the light.
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Live video
Lishan, Cherry Blossom Hill
Lishan, Taichung · Nature
A cherry-blossom hill on a plateau close to 2,000 m. Taiwan's cherries bloom in February, so the season comes earlier here than in Japan.
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Live video
Lishan, Lansheng Tower
Lishan, Taichung · Nature
The view from a pavilion above the village of Lishan. Terraces of apple and pear cover the slopes.
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Live video
Hushanyan daylily fields
Huatan, Changhua · Nature
Fields where orange daylilies cover a hillside. They are at their fullest from late summer into early autumn.
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Live video
Emei Lake and the Great Maitreya, Shitoushan
Emei, Hsinchu · World Heritage · Nature
A 72 m statue of Maitreya stands on a headland jutting into the lake. The Ximaopu suspension bridge crosses in the foreground.
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Live video
Changhua plain from Baguashan
Baguashan, Changhua · City · Nature
The view from a low hill behind the city of Changhua. It faces west, so sunset and night view come one after the other.
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Live video
Emei Lake and Dapu Reservoir, Shitoushan
Emei, Hsinchu · Nature
The long narrow lake made by the Dapu dam, seen from a different angle than the camera on the Maitreya statue.
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Live video
Lishan, Deji Reservoir
Lishan, Taichung · Nature
The reservoir behind an arch dam on the Dajia River. The Jiayang alluvial fan spreads out on the far bank.
When to watch
One hour of difference, and that is all. Taiwan is an hour behind Japan, so 9 a.m. in Japan is 8 a.m. there. You can open these in daylight without doing any arithmetic. There is no daylight saving.
The seasons run the same way round as Japan's, but the flowers come earlier. Taiwan's cherries bloom around February, so while Japan is still waiting for its own, theirs are already over.
The mountain cameras go into cloud in the afternoon. Alishan and Taipingshan sit high enough to stand above the sea of cloud, which in practice means above it in the morning and inside it later on. For sunrise, open them around 6 a.m. Japan time.
Agencies publishing the cameras on this page
- Alishan National Scenic Area (Taiwan open government data) — Official site
- Kenting National Park (Taiwan open government data) — Official site
- Shei-Pa National Park (Taiwan open government data) — Official site
- Taiwan Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency (Taiwan open government data) — Official site
- Taroko National Park (Taiwan open government data) — Official site
- Tri-Mountain National Scenic Area (Taiwan open government data) — Official site
- Yangmingshan National Park (Taiwan open government data) — Official site
The footage belongs to each agency. This site is an unofficial guide, and each sample frame was copied once per camera under that agency's terms of use.