Погода: Тайнань, декабрь

December at Alishan is a different climate from the rest of Taiwan: the mountain runs 10 to 15C colder than sea level, so a 12 to 17C day in the cities is around 10C or below up here, and mornings and evenings are properly cold. The packing list regulars give is long trousers, layers, a jacket and a scarf, with gloves if you are going up for the sunrise. That sunrise is why most people come - the train from Alishan station up to Zhushan - and the honest warning attached is that the mountain is shrouded in cloud most mornings, so a good many visitors see nothing. The record: 13.3C days that feel like 12C, 6.5C nights, 16.6 precipitation days carrying 71.3mm and 8.6 hours of sun.

Forum posters describe July and August as Taiwan's hottest months, typically 33-36C with high humidity, and afternoon thundershowers a regular feature of the June-August stretch. Posters are consistent that August sits within typhoon season (June-October), with August, July and September the three months most likely to see a storm make landfall - roughly three to four typhoons affect Taiwan in an average season, and a direct hit during a trip can cost travelers one to two disrupted days. Posters are equally clear that summer travel remains genuinely popular despite the heat, pointing to Taiwan's excellent air-conditioned MRT, malls and convenience stores, plus shaved ice and bubble tea on seemingly every corner, as real relief options. Posters generally rate August as hot, humid and typhoon-season for Tainan, entirely workable with flexible plans and frequent air-conditioned breaks.

Forum posters describe February in southern Taiwan as cool and pleasant, typically 15-20C, milder than the 10-15C posters report further north - winter here is generally mild outside the high mountains. It's not officially the rainy season, but posters note rain remains a real possibility on any given day, so a light jacket that also handles rain is standard packing advice. Cold fronts can occasionally push temperatures down to around 6C for a couple of days, a real but temporary dip rather than the norm. Posters describe February overall as the tail end of winter with spring clearly approaching, milder than most visitors expect coming from more northerly climates.