First went to Lotus Lake (sometimes referred to as Lotus Pond) on a business trip several years ago. The factory took us on a tour one afternoon, after a long morning of cost negotiations. Introduced us to all the main attractions around the lake. Plenty of temples. Generations of history. Oozing in culture. Now I find myself visiting mostly for daily runs. It’s such a perfect place to run. About 2kms around the entire lake. Beautiful views across the water. Stunning temples. Solitude from the busy traffic. Surrounded by other runners, walkers, cyclists, fishermen (have yet to see a fisherwomen), and quite a few dragon boats practicing in the early mornings and weekends. There is also a wakeboard pulley system on the southern end behind the dragon temple. There are just enough trees around the perimeter of the lake to provide an ideal cover from the hot sun. On that note, it’s a perfect place to take in the sunset, that occurs over two twin temples, making for a picturesque daily event. While I’ve never been, there is a nice little coffee shop/restaurant in the north end. A good place to take in the aforementioned stunning sunset. Will try it one day. This is a must stop on any trip to Kaohsiung. And if you are lucky enough to live here, I’d make it a regular spot for your morning/evening run, walk, or bike ride.

This is one of the more beautiful areas to visit in Kaohsiung. We took a local bus here in the afternoon and the weather was quite hot. It was a fairly large lake with many beautiful temples, pavilions and towers dotted around the lake. If you come to Kaohsiung, this is a must visit area. We also saw lots of lotus plants in the lake near the dragon and tiger towers.

An easy walk around the lake allowed us to see all the beautiful and varied pagodas on Lotus Lake. You can go inside or climb to the top of some.There were people playing dice games and singing karaoke in different areas of the walk. A peaceful place in spite of tourists.