Have you tried watching fireflies at night? The idea sounds ordinary but imagine the feeling when you get surrounded by these insects that emit light. In photos, they look like green circles but on a dark forest they shine like stars that fell down from the sky.
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| Travel Buddy Swamy joined me on this adventure. |
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| Swamy's DSLR camera. |
In an effort to experience this surreal starry night, Travel Buddy Swamy and I went first to Taipei's Daan Forest Park. The city government reintroduced the fireflies to this place which is considered to be the lungs of the capital and once a home of these glowing insects. Urbanization and noise from the city caused the firefly population to dwindle until it disappeared in the eyes of the Taiwanese. Nowadays, the insects have returned and they are waiting for your arrival.
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| firefly LED lamps at Daan Park |
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| You can find the fireflies near the amphitheater. There is a small pond there where you can see the insects. |
Where to find these fireflies in Daan Park? They are located in the pond near the amphitheatre. Firefly LED lamps were also set up by the park administration as not to disturb the growing insect population. But do not expect a very quiet place to watch for these insects because many people would also want to see them. Think that hundreds of people will come to the park turning the place into a night market.
We did see four to five fireflies in Daan Park. However, the noise from the nearby amphitheatre made it difficult for more insects to show their glow to the spectators. They showed themselves for a few seconds and then disappeared immediately. So we decided to look for another place to see these insects. I thought of an area which was blanketed by darkness, with fewer people and where the sound of nature is the only noise that you could hear.
With only a limited battery life on our cellphone, Swamy and I walked down in the trail. It was a bit scary and dangerous as well. We could be bitten by snakes or worst fell into a deep ravine with one wrong move. Surprisingly, there were also people in the mountain at night! “There's a human!”, I exclaimed as a big humanoid shadow suddenly appeared in front of me. My Travel Buddy was busy at that time taking photos of the fireflies that we immediately saw. The shadow which turned out to be a woman told us that there were more insects downstairs.
We followed the woman's advice and we got awed by the sight. The forest was glowing with its natural Christmas lights. A few were flying but most of the insects just stayed on their locations. With a special technique called the long exposure shot, Swamy tried to capture the images of the fireflies with his camera. He set it to 30 seconds and he got decent results. It sounds easy to do but to get the best picture the insects must be moving to create the trail of light effect. I tried fanning the plants to force them to fly but I failed.
Until when is this firefly season in Taiwan? The festival usually happens from mid-April to mid-May and it coincides with the Tung Blossom Flower Festival. During this time, the insects produce light with the help of the enzyme luciferase to attract a mate. The biochemical process creates a tiny amount of green light in a phenomenon called bioluminescence. Humans see this light as white in color from a distance. Walking alone in a dark forest, a lone firefly will look as a falling star as it approaches and flies near to you. Open your hand when this happen because this is your chance to hold a speck of stardust.
THINGS TO DO IN TAIPEI
Sakura Series - Taiwan
2024 Forecast
Taipei 101 first flowers
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Taipei Flower Test Center
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Broadwood Park
Sunshine Sports Park kawazu sakura
Wuling Farm (武陵農場)
SYS kawazu sakura
Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
CKS Memorial Hall
Shibafen Yoshino Sakura
Hope River
Dongfang Temple
Tianyuan Palace
Neicou Stream Trail
Orange Garden Cafe
Yangming Park Visitor Information Center
Yangming Park Service Center Bus Stop
Huashan Road
Qianshan Park
Zhongshan Hall Entrance
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Flower Test Center Shōwa Sakura
Neihu Creek Trail
Shulin Land Office
Xióng Kōng Cherry Blossom Forest
Lung Yen Sakura Forest
Yangming Park cherry stream
Yangming Park fountain
CKS Memorial Hall Tairyō sakura
Wugu District Tianyi Road
CKS Memorial Hall yaesakura
Loving Farm
Yong Long Farm
Zhongbaling Sakura Road
Sun Link Sea
Tai'an Police Station
Cherry Hill Slope
Hsinchu Park
Taipei 101
Kāng Gào Kēng Creek
New Garden City
Broadwood Park
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Alishan Ranger Station
Alishan House
Alishan Police Station
Alishan Forest Railway
Alishan Station
Alishan Entrance
Alishan Gou Hotel
Alishan Magnolia Garden
Wulai tour
Wun Chang Elementary School
Bishanyan
Sanzhi Sansei Trail
Sakura Series - Taiwan
Nei Cuo Stream
Orange Garden Cafe
Sansei Trail
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Yangming Park Cherry Stream
Yangming Park Fountain
Flower Test Center
Broadwood Park
New Garden City
Yinghua Park
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Yangmingshan Visitor Center
Taipei 101
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Sakura Series - Japan
Kamonyama Park
Near the Nippon Maru Memorial Park
Shinko Park
Minato-mirai 21 area
Tokyo Tech Suzukakedai Campus
Onda River
Tenryuji
Byodoin
Kiyomizudera
Himuro shrine and Yakushi-ji Temple
Hōryū-ji Temple
Nara Park attractions
Tokyo Tech Ookayama Campus
Sumida River
Tsuruma Park
Gion
Maple Series
Taipei Aowanda
Shimen Dam
Alishan
Aowanda
Shanlinxi
Taoyuan Valley Garden
Fushoushan Farm
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| Yehliu to Jiufen? Yehliu to Shifen? Cheaper than yellow taxis |
The "Taipei kong mahal" (My beloved Taipei)
Always in my heart
MRT birdman
Valentine's Day
Tulips Festival
2018 Taipei Lantern Festival
City of Azaleas
Linji Huguo Temple
Nanjichang Night Market
Gudetama Chef restaurant
Dalongdong Bao'an Temple
Shilin hollyhocks
Ningxia Night Market
Ximending graffiti
Discovery Center of Taipei
Chunghwa Postal Museum
Double-Decker Bus
Shilin Cold Balls
Jingimoo
GomanMango
mud volcanic ice
Fire and Ice Dumpling
Opium Fen-Yuan
Ichiran Ramen
Liu Shandong Beef Noodles
hydrangea flowers
National Palace Museum
Other attractions in Taipei
Taipei on a budget
Japanese buildings
Dāoxiāomiàn beef noodles
Presidential Office Building
Yongkang St. and Elephant Mountain
CKS and SYS Hall
City tour
Beitou ramen
MRT Monopoly Game
Winter city tour
Zhicheng Park
Shilin Plum Blossom
Art museums
Shopping in Taipei
Summer desserts
Qingtiangang
Qixingshan hiking
2015 Calla lily
2016 Calla lily
Beitou tour
Beitou-Zhuzihu tour
NTU
Confucius Temple
2015 Dadaocheng Festival
Puppet Museum
Fantasy Ice World
2016 Bread Show
Strawberry picking
2015 Rose Garden
Modern Toilet
Shilin Night Market
NASA Exhibit
Raohe Night Market
Longshan Temple
2013 Taipei Zoo
Maokong Gondola
Lupin flowers
Taipei 101 day visit
Taipei 101 night visit
Tiger Mountain
Din Tai Fung
Taipei Story House
2014 Flower Show
Chrysanthemum Show
Miramar Ferris wheel
Miniatures Museum
Archery
1600 Pandas
Wulaoguo hot pot
Upside Down House
2016 101 Fireworks
New Taipei
Tamsui Pumpkin Tunnel
Shifen Waterfall
2017 Sand Sculpture
Dragon Caves
New Taipei tour
2016 Kite Festival
Pingxi Crags
Bitou Cape
2016 Sand Sculpture
2015 Christmasland
Juming - Jinshan
Houtong - Pingxi
Sandiaoling Waterfall
Jiufen foodtrip
Guanyinshan hike
Yehliu Ocean World
2014 Kite Festival
Pingxi Rail tour
Jinguashi tour
Vigor Kobo Pineapple
British Consulate
Yehliu Geopark
2014 Sand Sculpture
Paragliding
2014 Christmasland
2014 Pingxi Lantern
firefly watching
Yingge Ceramics Street
Jiufen tour
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