Kenting is Taiwan’s Florida: Sandy beaches, abundant sunshine and a year-round holiday vibe. But just as the US state has the Everglades, Kenting National Park also offers world-class bird-watching, carefully protected coastal ecosystems and a gorgeous, unspoiled hinterland. From Kaohsiung to Kenting, the most direct route isn’t necessarily the one tourists will want to take. Those curious about Taiwan’s agricultural interior or its indigenous tribes should allot the better part of a day to slow driving through the pineapple fields and rice paddies of the lowlands – perhaps stopping for a lunch at Foguangshan – all the way to Sandimen. From there, Road 185 is a splendidly bucolic approach to Taiwan’s southernmost region.