The Tourism Administration yesterday announced the launch of the “Taiwan Camino” project, unveiling four themed walking routes through four islands in Lienchiang County (Matsu) to offer religious, wartime history, nature and ecology, and geological tours in a bid to promote sustainable tourism.
The project follows the popularity in recent years of the Camino de Santiago trails spanning Spain, Portugal and France, and Japan’s Kumano Kodo, a region home to a network of ancient pilgrimage routes, looking to offer a “Taiwan version,” Matsu National Scenic Area Headquarters Director Hung Chi-kuang (洪志光) said.
The administration, under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, held a media conference yesterday to promote the initiative, which it said would echo the spirit of Matsu pilgrimages, to “pay respect to the ocean.”
Photo: CNA
Matsu is the only county in Taiwan with no traffic lights, while each island has networks of well-developed pilgrimage routes, distinctive Fujianese architecture, billion-year-old granite coastlines and colorful flower blooms in each season, Hung said.
The four routes across the islands of Nangan (南竿), Juguang (莒光), Beigan (北竿) and Dongyin (東引) would offer a mix of rich culture and awe-inspiring natural landscapes to retrace Matsu’s history on foot, listen to the stories of its ancient buildings, and experience the islands’ unique ecological charm, he added.
The routes are: the Nangan Religious Pilgrimage Tour, the Juguang Wartime Culture Tour, the Beigan Nature and Ecology Tour, and the Dongyin Geological Landscape Tour, he said.
The administration said it would also organize a stamp-collecting activity, which travelers can trade in for rewards and gifts.
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