Wulai is a great place known for its hot springs, waterfall, and aboriginal culture.
I started coming to Wulai on Sundays when I lived in Taoyuan, a factory city next to Taipei. Compared to the smog-filled concrete jungle of Taoyuan Wulai felt like a dream. It's a break from everything that can be stressful about Taiwan.
The first thing you'll encounter in Wulai is this temple pictured below. Unseen in the frame is a big bridge that provides a nice view down the river.
After exploring the temple I like to head into the market and eat some aboriginal food. My favorite thing to eat is bamboo rice. But there are more exotic options such as bird that you could delve into. The market has tons of restaurants with pictures on the menus.
It's around here you'll also find a bunch of hot spring resorts. They're basically private suites where you can soak in the hot spring water. Average price is around $1000 TWD for an hour.
The main attraction is the below waterfall. The area around used to be pretty quiet and relaxing, but like many areas in Taiwan food vendors and loud megaphones pop up at places as they get more well-known.
There's a cable car that goes above the waterfall to a resort that's pretty nice to walk through. There's nothing fantastic up there but the view and small stream are pretty nice.
That's pretty much a summary of what's accessable in Wulai on food. If you've got your own transportaion you can keep going and find beautiful scenes like the ones below. But most of the photo ops and tourist attractions are easily visited on foot.
I like this place and the memories I have here, but I'm afraid it's going to become more and more of a loud touristy place as time goes on. I haven't been back in over a year, maybe I'll pay another visit soon and see how things are. I'll update this site if I find anything significant.
📍 Address: No. 16, Pubu Road, Wulai District, New Taipei City, 233.