Day Trip out of Taipei 2 – Wulai, Taiwan

1) Public Transport from Xindian Station

• Take the Taipei metro (MRT) to Xindian Station (新店站).
• Upon exiting the station, there should be a tourist centre on the right. Just behind the tourist centre is a bus stop (if in doubt, just ask the receptionist in the tourist centre).
• Queue for the bus 849 – the bus comes every 10 to 15 minutes.
• Take all the way till the end (about 40 minutes ride) and bus fare costs NT$15.
• Sit on the right side of the bus to enjoy a nice scenic view.

2) Taxi
Taxi costs about $100 per pax, but given the cheap bus fare, I don’t think it is worth taking a taxi!

1) Upon reaching Wulai bus terminal (烏來總站), walk through Wulai Old Street (烏來老街), cross the bridge and you will see a train station.

2a) Take a little train (NT$50 per person) that brings you 1.5km up the valley.
2b) Take a stroll on the Lover’s Path (情人步道) – total walking distance from the bus terminal to the waterfall is about 2km.
2c) Take a taxi for NT$240 (fixed price, stated on the board at the train station)

Note: As at Aug 2012, the train is not operating due to Typhoon Saola, so it’s either the stroll or the taxi (we chose to walk!)

3) To look for the viewing gallery of the waterfall, look for the public toilet sign, which will be next to a tourist centre / gallery. There are chairs and tables outside (which we helped ourselves to set up). A very good place to have lunch.

• Wulai Waterfall (as mentioned above)
• Soaking in hot springs – there’s a free one (open air, public) and several private rooms for rent (for a couple of hours) – click herefor more information.
• Walk through the Old Street and enjoy some of the local Wulai snacks – wild boar sausages and grilled mua-ji.
• Hiking 1 – there’s a trail near Wulai called Jia Jiu Liao Trail (加九寮步道), takes about 1 hour at 2.1km. The start of the trail is at Chenggong Station (成功站), which you can read more about it here.
• Hiking 2 – Neidong National Forest Recreation Area (內洞森林遊樂區), more about it here, here and here.
• Yunxian Park (雲仙樂園) – a nature park with gardens, paddle boats, natural trails, and natural obstacle courses, accessible by the cable car – website here.

All seasons! (Spring for the cherry blossoms; summer to cool off in the rivers; autumn for the autumn leaves and winter for the hot springs and bird-watching.)

• Transport: NT$30 minimum (more expensive if you choose to take taxi)
• Food: Lunch NT$200; snacks NT$100 – NT$200
• Souvenirs: NT$100++
• Neidong National Forest Recreation Area (NT$80); Yunxian Part (NT$200)

We spent about almost 1/2 to 3/4 of the day here, but if you plan to go on the trails and the park, you’ll probably need a day. There are plenty of lodging available here as well, but not sure of the availability for weekend / peak season (e.g. summer holidays)…

We went to Wulai on a Monday in August, and majority of the shops are closed, I think the place is only more crowded on weekends. But it was a nice experience to be away from crowds.