Sun moon lake

Hi

Planning to go Taipei in August for the summer sale and also visit Sun moon lake. Any idea how long it%26#39;ll take to travel from Taipei to Sun moon lake and whether its worth the trouble? Not sure whether i should be spending one night there too. The pictures look awesome but not sure about the actual sceneries.

Any other nice natural scenaries near taipei to recommend?

Any idea on a good hostel?

Thanks.