Wulai

Wulai is an Atayal township in a steep gorge south of Taipei, and it is the closest place to the capital where the mountains feel properly wild. The Nanshi river runs green through the valley, the hot spring water is colourless, odourless and mildly alkaline, and both public and hotel bathhouses draw from it. From the old street a small open cart runs along a former logging line to the foot of Wulai Waterfall, which drops in a single long thread down a wall of dark rock; the cableway to the hillside park above it has been in and out of service since typhoon damage. Indigenous food is sold along the street: millet wine, sticky rice in bamboo tubes, mountain vegetables and grilled boar sausage.

What you actually see

• Wulai Waterfall - a single long fall down a dark rock wall at the head of the valley.
• The log cart line - a small open trolley on a former logging track between the old street and the falls.
• The hot spring bathhouses - colourless, odourless water in public pools and hotel baths along the river.
• Atayal food on the old street - millet wine, bamboo-tube rice, mountain greens and grilled sausage.

When to go

Autumn to spring is the season for bathing, when the air is cool enough to make hot water worth the trouble; cherry trees flower along the valley in February. Weekdays are far quieter than weekends, when the road up and the small car parks fill early. Typhoon season from summer into autumn brings closures.

Honest expectations

Typhoons have hit this valley hard more than once and the road, the cart line and the riverside facilities have all been closed for repair at different times, so check before travelling. The free riverbed pools come and go with flood damage and rules change. The old street is a tourist strip and prices reflect it. Summer weekends are packed and parking is minimal.

Nearby

Xindian and the Bitan riverside are on the way back to Taipei.