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Updated Thursday, September 25, 2008 11:05 am TWN, By Richard Saunders, Special to The China Post

The amazing basalt columns in the Penghu archipelago

To get a look at the best of Penghu’s amazing geological landscapes, however, you’ll have to take to the waters and explore the outlying islands of the archipelago, which can become a time-consuming and rather expensive activity if you have to charter a private boat. Luckily, some of the best basalt scenery to be found in Penghu can be seen by taking one of the daily tourist boats from the harbor at Magong out to the so-called South Sea Islands. Pacific island retreats these windswept, rather barren, grassy islands are definitely not, but they have some jaw-dropping scenery.

The main stop on the long (8 hour-plus) boat trip is the beautiful island of Chimei (七美) where basalt column-seekers will want to pay a visit to the impressive Big Stone Lion (巨石獅), a cliff face bristling with fine hexagonal columns. The most impressive sight of the day, however has to be after landing on tiny, Tongpan Island (桶盤嶼), where a surfaced path, leading to the right from the small docking area shortly passes along the foot of a twenty meter-high cliff of perfectly shaped, vertical basalt columns.

Eons of weathering in this harsh, exposed environment have softened the edges of the pillars a little, and you’ll be hard put to find the neat hexagon shapes that can be seen at the Devil’s Causeway in Northern Ireland, but the wind, rain and salt water have worked their own magic on the cliffs here, eroding deep cracks into the columns, so that in places they look as if they’ll topple as soon as the next typhoon sweeps past.

GETTING THERE:

Regular daily flights leave from Taipei Songshan Airport for Magong, the main town on Penghu, from where tourist boats leave daily (weather permitting) for day trips to the South Sea Islands, which usually include stops on Chimei and Tongpan Islands. Note, however, that most tourist services (including boat trips) are suspended during the winter months.

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	Some of Penghu's best basalt formations can be seen along a five hundred meter stretch of cliff on the tiny island of Tongpan. (By Richard Saunders, Special to The China Post) More Photos (3)


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