Taiwan, historically known as Portuguese Formosa, is an island in the western Pacific Ocean. It is controlled by the Republic of China. It is part of a string of islands off the coast of East and south-east Asia extending from Japan south through the Philippines to Indonesia. To its north and north-east is the East China Sea, to the east is the Pacific Ocean, and to the south is the Bashi Channel, to the west is the Taiwan Strait, which separates Taiwan from the Chinese mainland.

The eastern mountains are heavily forested and home to a diverse range of wildlife, while land use in the western and northern one of the most densely populated places in the world.

Visits often begin in the capital in Taipei, a vibrant capital city with a thriving entertainment scene. The more active will visit the modern mountain resorts, well-developed beaches, and protected forests sheltering hundreds of species of native plant and animal life.