Lu Yeh, Gao Tai

Luyeh (Gao Tai) in eastern Taiwan is one of the island's classic XC sites — a 30×30 m takeoff at 368 m MSL (150 AGL) bordered by a huge parking lot that fills with tourists at weekends. Weekdays it's heaven; weekends bring everything you'd expect. Camping is available on the takeoff, plus a bath and equipment repair; top-landing is easy Monday to Friday, and there's usually a driver at weekends. 100 km XC flights up the valley are possible, and hitching back is easy. You can live on the mountain for a week and never come down. Best in summer, before typhoon season.

Launch & conditions

30×30 m takeoff, 368 m MSL / 150 AGL. Cliff launch — occasional bursts of rotor and thermal. Ask the locals for the house thermals and sink holes, plus when to cross the valley to the 900 takeoff. When the trees on the SE face have been trimmed, that launch is safe and easy; when they haven't, expect constant back-wind and rotor. The SW launch is largely useless.

Getting there & local rules

Fly into Kaohsiung International, bus to Taitung, bus to Luyeh, taxi to the takeoff — or train from Kaohsiung to Luyeh (~3.5 hours). Landing: large enough for an ultralight; farm fields everywhere (mostly pineapple and tea).

Local rules & hazards

Do NOT land in the prison yard. Watch the double set of high-voltage power lines. Occasional fly-bys from SAR helicopters. Climate change has made Taiwanese weather harder to predict and pushed typhoons further north. Summer is the best season, with favourable winds often 7 am to 7 pm and 2,000 m MSL soaring. WATCH the typhoon season (August–September, usually coinciding with the international paragliding competition). A typhoon from the south sets up a tailwind giving three days of excellent XC and good night flights.

Check conditions before you fly

A forecast for the valley is not a forecast for the launch. Before heading to Lu Yeh, Gao Tai, read the wind and thermals for the site itself, confirm the day's rules with the local club, and remember the standing rule — when in doubt, don't launch. In the free OutDare app you can open Lu Yeh, Gao Tai with a 7-day forecast built from high-resolution weather models, see who else has been flying, and get there with offline maps.