Smangus, Indigenous Atayal settlement in Yufeng Village, Taiwan.
Smangus is an indigenous Atayal settlement in Yufeng Village, Taiwan, perched on a mountain ridge at 1,600 meters elevation. Around 180 residents live in simple wooden and stone houses, surrounded by terraced fields and dense cypress forests.
The Atayal settled here around four centuries ago after migrating north from central mountain regions of Taiwan. Until the 1970s, the village remained without road access or electricity.
The community practices a cooperative model where all income from ecotourism is managed collectively. Visitors see how families make decisions together and share resources for schools, housing, and communal spaces.
Access to the settlement is by a narrow mountain road that can become slippery in rain. Guesthouses offer basic rooms, and guided walks into the cypress forests take several hours.
More than 20,000 ancient Taiwan cypress trees grow in the forests around the village, with some trees over a thousand years old. Residents developed their own protection agreement to prevent logging without state supervision.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
