Wulai means hot springs in the Atayal tribe and is a town situated in the mountain area of Taiwan. The area is cool, serene, and very beautiful. I was drawn to it more by the fact that the majority of the residents are the older generation and thus lots of history and culture to learn. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the government offers free bus rides to the senior citizens on specific days of the week to travel to and from Taipei to Wulai. My highlights were:
a) The scenery
The landscape which is mainly mountainous, is covered in green cover and rained while I visited. I enjoyed walking through the area and watching the descending fog cover the hill tops.This town is famous for their hotsprings but I didn’t get a chance to sample them due to the weather.
b) The Delicacies:
You have to sample some if not all the dishes here. They have authentic, traditional , aboriginal recipes and spices that will definitely excite your tastebuds.
I sampled the wild boar-made me think of Tin Tin and Obelix), seasoned rice steamed in a tube of bamboo, bamboo and bamboo soup among others. This falls under one of the best meals I have ever eaten.
Brown rice steamed in Bamboo shoot, bamboo soup and boiled bamboo
c) Crossing the Wulai Bridge:
This bridge crossing is not for the faint hearted, the bridge is really high and the distance quite long. I however advise you to attempt this as the view from here is not only beautiful but gives one an aerial view of Wulai.
d) Wulai Atayal Museum
Now this place is filled with lots and lots of information and should be visited by all. It exposes you to the rich culture of the Atayal people from the large array of artwork like pictures, paintings, structures and stories of the various Atayal culture.
Wulai should be on everyones list. The place is different to most towns, the protection of their culture evident by their dressing, homes, delicacies as well as their language. It is however a place you need more than one day if you are to really experience it in totality and hopefully my planned return will happen when it isn’t raining.. More stories on the Taiwan trip:
Pingtung: http://wangechigitahi.co.ke/homely-pingtung/
Miaoli: http://wangechigitahi.co.ke/mouth-watering-miaoli/
Taipei: http://wangechigitahi.co.ke/welcoming-taipei/
Taipei 101: http://wangechigitahi.co.ke/taiwan-101/
