Relax - Nature beckons in Wuling

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CITY dwellers like me sometimes think that fresh fruit come straight out of plastic crates in the supermarket.

But here in Wuling Forest Recreation Area (also known as Wuling Farm, visit www.wuling-farm.com.tw), rolling fruit orchards and vegetable patches greet you immediately, leaving you to contemplate how wonderful nature really is.

Wispy clouds settling on rugged mountain crags, cool, crisp air and fields of flowers - those lovely sights will fill one with instant euphoria.

And, no, this farm doesn't have sheep or cows grazing the fields. Instead, it is more like a peaceful national park.

my paper shows you where to go in 10 hours.

8.15am: If you are staying at the Wuling National Hostel, which lies right in the heart of the park, register for a walking tour around the farm as soon as you get there.

A guide will first take you through the Path of Birds Watching to listen to the calls of birds, as well as to fruit farms laden with growing apples, peaches and pears (but don't try to pick one sneakily or you may get into trouble).

You will be able to wander through the Farmosan Land-locked Salmon and Forest Preservation Camp, a lush, green environment that is home to insects, birds and other animal species.

The nature walk takes you through green fields surrounded by hills, pavilions and farmhouses, all under a sparkling blue sky.

Spot ponds with elegant black swans, as well as a towering statue of former Taiwan president Chiang Kai-shek.

11am: After the leisurely tour, follow signs to the Farm Cultural Museum. It is a quaint area with several houses and sheds, where you can peer inside and see how an old house interior looks like. A retro minivan and old farming equipment have been left there for a unique photo opportunity.

Next to the museum, you will find the Tea Garden and Guan Yue Pavilion, which gives an exquisite close-up view of actual tea fields.

Head to the Wuling Tea Village, where everything is made of wood. Large wooden life-sized statues and furniture make up its interior. It is a place where you can catch a breather as well as a quick lunch.

Take some time to brew hot tea there, or, if you prefer, buy freshly made iced peach tea or milk tea and snacks such as glutinous rice dumplings and tea eggs.

12.45pm: Head back to the Wuling National Hostel. On the way, visit the Taiwan Salmon Eco-centre where you can learn about the life cycle of endangered salmon and view landlocked salmon in fish tanks.

1.30pm: At the Wuling National Hostel, catch a tour bus that takes you past an organic-farm garden, a botanic garden and a fish observatory. Try to see if you can spot any live salmon in their natural habitat.

Check with the hostel for bus timings, which differ for weekdays and weekends. The bus then takes you to the entrance of Syueshan (Snow Mountain), Taiwan's second- highest mountain at 3,886m. You get to enjoy a bird's-eye view of the mountain and valleys.

The more adventurous can attempt to take a hike up the mountain, but you can opt to enjoy the view from right where you are.

A camping ground is nearby where you can set up your own tent for NT$700 (S$29.50) a night or rent a wooden cabin for NT$1,600 during weekdays (the cost rises marginally to NT$1,800 during weekends).

Next, the bus will take you to Hua Yuan Qu (the Sea of Flowers), where you are literally faced with waves of fragrant golden daylilies. Set beneath blue mountains and a veil of clouds, it makes you want to run headlong into the field.

4pm: Check with the hostel if you could rent a car or scooter to travel up to Taoshan Waterfall near Taoshan Mountain, which is 3,325m above sea level (or you could walk the old forestry road from the fish observatory but it is a 7.1km journey and takes more than four hours there and back).

The 50m-tall waterfall is impressive, and you can feel the cool mist that rises as it cascades down.

6.30pm: Head to the Hoya Resort Hotel Wuling near Wuling National Hostel, where you can round off the day with a gourmet dinner at its Chinese restaurant. Tuck into dishes such as herbal chicken and baked oyster gratin, while enjoying song-and- dance performances.

This page is brought to you by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau and Taiwan Visitors Association

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