Wulai "Toy" Train (烏來台車站) - Connecting Wulai Old Street to Wulai Waterfall

Wulai is more than just the old street and one major attraction, the spectacular Wulai waterfall, required a trek of roughly 1.6 kilometers! That would have been fine if the weather was around fifteen degrees celcius; sadly, it was hovering above twenty with direct exposure to the glaring sun! 

I am lazy, my legs were tired and we did whatever we could to convenience ourselves; with the help of a tram station located right at the T-junction at the end of the old street. Climbing up the stairs was unfortunately still necessary! 

The tram station with its seemingly rickety tracks; i wouldn't blame you for thinking this was more a toy ride attraction in an amusement park rather than an actual transportation tool (it used to be a mine track)! 

Ridership was low on that Thursday morning at around 10am; operation hours start from 8am till 5pm although you may wish to note the change in timing (9am till 6pm) during the summer season from July to August.

One-way ticket; NT$50 (roughly S$2) per adult! 

Classic tram / train / cabin that shall bring us to the next stop. If i am still a kid, i bet i would be very excited to take this dinosaur which had three cabins with a capacity for around 10 persons. 

Here we go! 

Riding past a residential building; poor residents would have to endure the noise on a very frequent basis although there was a possibility it could have housed staff members of the train company. 

The alternative route for those who enjoyed walking under the sun; it might not be such a bad idea for those who visit very early in the morning and have enough energy! Not for us obviously! 

Less than five minutes later, we reached our destination; Waterfall Stop! 

To make a U-turn for the return trip, the train would have to pass through a tunnel shown on the right side of the first picture. There wasn't any barricade and would be dangerous if your young kids venture in unknowingly; so please pay extra attention to your children when you are there. 

Getting ready for the return trip; not for us by the way as we have yet to check out the waterfall and the Yun-Hsien amusement park!

Given the commercial benefits (and also for those poor trekkers who require a drink after walking all the way in), you would be able to find some shops in the vicinity.

Those interested in the railway history and heritage of Wulai should consider visiting the Wulai forestry life museum which was free for all. If not for the aforementioned reasons, it might please some of you to know that it was also air-conditioned! 

There's even a rest area where you can take in the beautiful sight of the 80-meter high Wulai Waterfall! 

Best view to catch the iconic waterfall in its full glory was right outside though; noticed there was an abandoned building with a direct view. Honestly, it had an aura of eeriness even though it was bright daylight.

Appeared to be a hotel but for reasons unknown, construction could have halted halfway through the construction or it could have closed down due to bad business (a less likely reason given its prime location). 

Waterfall from another angle at the Valiant Warrior Square.

Use your imagination; this does look like a praying mantis is sitting on the ledge right? From another angle, the flow of water transformed into a little boy!

Statue of a warrior with his three canines. 

Masks sold in one of the shops. There was even a cultural performance that you can catch in one of the commercial entities for a price; could not quite remember the pricing but the lady was trying to sell it to us at a promotional price. Guess business must be damn slow that day.

Took the gondola for an exploration of Yun-Hsien Amusement Park and it's time for us to purchase the return train ticket back to Wulai Old Town. For more details of the gondola and amusement park, please click here and here. 

As fate has its way of playing with us, we walked like nobody's business when we were at the amusement park. Hence, there was absolutely no way i would spend more time walking under the sun! Train ride for the win!! 

Nice to have the wind blowing at our face as we sat comfortably in the carriage! As expected, no one was crazy enough to walk at 1pm! 

A small train depot with log cabins! Hm..... i personally feel it would be more in line with the history of this railway line if all the trains would to be replaced with the log cabins. 

The end.

=====

For an overview of my 9 Days, 8 Nights Taiwan Trip [Cingjing (清境) - Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) - Taichung (臺中) - Taipei (臺 北)], click HERE.