LANYU (ORCHID ISLAND)
GETTING THERE
Orchid Island is accessible by sea or air. For travellers arriving by air, Daily Air is the main commercial flight operator, which offers flights from Taiwan Island through Taitung Airport in Taitung City to Orchid Island via Lanyu Airport. The flight duration is half an hour and the frequency is dependent on weather conditions. Additionally, ferry trips to the island are also available from Taitung City’s Fugang
Fishery Harbour
DIVE EXPERIENCE All levels, from beginner upwards
BEST TIME TO DIVE February to May
WATER TEMPERATURE 22°C to 28°C
VISIBILITY 30 to 50 metres
DEPTH 5 metre to 40 metres “Home to the unique Tao aboriginal tribe, the island was originally named Pongso-no-Tawo, meaning ‘people of the island’ ”
MARINE LIFE
Hard and soft corals, trumpetfish, fusiliers, clown triggerfish, cuttlefish, moray eels, lionfish, pufferfish, nudibranchs, lobsters, shrimp, anemones, blue-spotted stingrays, groupers, dogtooth tuna, schooling jacks, hawksbill turtles, barracudas, and occasionally whale sharks
Lanyu, which is also known as Orchid Island, is situated 65 kilometres east of the southern tip of Taiwan. Home to the unique Tao aboriginal tribe, the island was originally named Pongsono-Tawo, meaning “people of the island” until 1946, when it was renamed after the local Phalaenopsis orchids.
Ba Dai Wan Wreck
Found at a depth of between 22 to 40 metres, this site is home to a 200-metre-long Korean freighter that capsized in a typhoon in 1983. Resting at the bottom of Badai Bay, the wreck is in three separate pieces and allows for divers toswim through it to explore. Here you will be able to come across various hard and soft corals, and crinoids. In addition, divers will encounter large schools of jacks, dogtooth tuna, lionfish, pufferfish and blue-spotted stingrays, amongst many other species. Diving at this wreck is only recommended for experienced divers due to the depths and strong currents.
Blue Hole
Found just outside Kaiyuan fishing harbour, Blue Hole is a 10-metre-long tunnel that opens up to a beautiful reef made up of incredible soft and hard corals. Accessing the hole via one of its three entrances, divers can discover spectacular corals, and countless species of reef fish, barrel sponges and gigantic sea fans that are at least 4.5 metres tall, sitting on subsea cliffs at a depth of about 35 metres.