Wutai

Wutai is a Rukai village at around eight hundred metres where the traditional building material is slate: split and stacked without mortar for walls, laid in overlapping courses for roofs, and used for paving, steps and boundary walls, so that the whole village is one grey stone. Carved lintels and figures mark the houses of families with standing. Old Haocha, a still older slate village abandoned after a typhoon, lies a hard walk away.

What you actually see

• The slate houses - walls, roofs and paving all in split stacked slate.
• The carved lintels - figures and patterns marking families of rank.
• The village layout - stepped lanes and terraces on a steep mountain shoulder.
• The Rukai culture - lily symbolism, weaving and carving still practised here.

When to go

October to April is the driest and clearest. Typhoon season from July to September brings landslides that close the road. Permits must be obtained before travelling.

Honest expectations

A mountain area permit is required and is checked at a police post on the way in. The road is narrow and closes after heavy rain. It is a living village, not a display, and photographing houses and people needs asking.

Nearby

Sandimen is west, and the indigenous cultural park is beyond it.