Taitung Indigenous Plants Garden Introduction
The Taitung area, influenced by the Pacific Ocean current and Kuroshio Current, has a climate that has never been severely affected by environmental pollution or destruction. This has allowed a variety of medicinal plants to thrive since ancient times. During the Japanese colonial period, the Japanese cultivated medicinal herbs in the mountainous areas of Zhiben and Taimali in Taitung, developing it into the "Herb Mountain." Except for a few introduced species, the vast majority are native medicinal herbs from Taitung, including Orchid Island. According to herb experts, Taitung is home to over 2,000 species of medicinal herbs, making it known as the "Hometown of Taiwanese Herbs." The Taitung Indigenous Application Botanical Garden was established against this backdrop. Although it has only been open for two years, it has created a tourism and recreational botanical garden area that combines herb cultivation, biotechnological research, fresh gourmet cuisine, health and wellness, and the promotion of health products, thanks to its professional management team and outstanding management philosophy. Upon entering, visitors are greeted by an impressive water curtain hall, seemingly washing away the worldly noise. As you enter the park, the view opens up to a 1,500-square-meter "Indigenous Exploration Botanical Garden," filled with various medicinal herbs and flowers, divided into six zones: health herbs, aromatic plants, medicinal cuisine plants, ground-covering plants, herbal tea plants, and aquatic plants, with over two hundred species, all of which are native to Taitung. Moving through the Indigenous Exploration Botanical Garden to the slope ahead, a central viewing walkway leads ahead, revealing breathtaking scenery; along the ridgeline of the Central Mountain Range and the Coastal Mountain Range towards the south, visitors can even catch a distant view of the Pacific Ocean, as if leaving a beautiful exclamation mark in their hearts! The wellness restaurant is another exclusive highlight of the Taitung Indigenous Application Botanical Garden. Besides having a stunning panoramic view of the mountains and sea, the wellness meals are incredibly creative, featuring a hot pot primarily made with various organic wellness vegetables grown in the park, paired with unique sauces like chopped red scallion and sambal. Under the chef's development, wellness vegetables such as red amaranth, white purslane, sorrel, Solanum nigrum, sweet potato leaves, wild ginger, Shōwa grass, mountain celery, and earth ginseng become culinary highlights; they can even be made into beverages and desserts. With the staff's explanations, a meal transforms into a sensory feast of colors, aromas, and flavors. Lastly, don’t forget to visit the "Botanical Living Souvenir Pavilion" located at the center of the park, showcasing various wellness products made from medicinal herbs. This is not a typical agricultural product store selling commonly found "specialties." Approximately 150 types of products on display are all high-quality items derived from Taitung's native medicinal plant series and health products. These include various herbal teas, wellness herbal liquors, herbal food items, and herbal bathing products, most of which are self-developed by the Taitung Indigenous Application Botanical Garden.
