Sunrise mountains

I've climbed lots of mountains in Asia for which I've discovered you're expected to get up at 3am or worse, so you can climb it in the dark and watch the sunrise at the summit. It never seems such a good idea at the time, but there are in fact good reasons. Such as that the sky often clouds over soon after sunrise, so that's the surest way to actually see anything.



So here we are, setting off from Tianchi Villa, in Taiwan's Taroko National Park. We're on our way up to watch the sun rising from atop Mt Nanhua.

When in the Northern Hemisphere I always enjoy the chance to reacquaint myself with the night sky of my youth. Here's the Plough, plus Ursa Minor and Polaris.
































Taiwan's East Coast seems almost permanently lost in the clouds.