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Wuling Farm is picturesque every autumn! As the cold breeze of the northeasterly wind blows at Taiwan, colored leaves suddenly appear. The yellow Ginkgo, the orange hue of pine trees, and of course, the red shades of maple. Are you excited to see them in their dramatic colors.?

While travellers in Taipei are hungry to experience autumn foliage in November, little that they did know they can see better it Yilan.

In another exciting travelogue of the luomujie blog's “Maple Series” I will take you to best place to see autumn foliage here on Taiwan's top cherry blossom viewing spot, Wuling Farm.

HOW TO GO TO WULING FARM

by tripool taxi: If you are going as a group like a family with kids and elders, or just a group of friends, you can try tripool taxi. It's cheaper than Uber and this is your best option for private point-to-point transportation in Taiwan. See the fares below to go Wuling Farm from Taoyuan Airprot and Taipei.

by Klook: Klook has a "Wuling Farm tour from Taipei" package and the price looks cheap. The only problem here is you need to book as a group of 4 people. A little reminder: Taipei is 3 to 4 hours aways from Wuling Farm. So the bus would leave Taipei Main Station at around 7 am just to be at the recreational site at 11 am. Wake up late and you wasted your money.

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Wuling Farm is not just a place to see cherry blossoms during spring. The autumn season is also good time to go here.

This bee is so big. It's bigger than my thumb. Yikes!

by bus: Luckily, I know a technique in which solo travellers would love to try. It's starting the trip from Yilan by boarding Bus 1751 or 1764. Get off at Wuling Farm stop and explore the surrounding areas to see the autumn leaves. For the return ride, the bus going to Taipei would come at the bus stop around 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm. If you will arrive at Wuling Farm at 10 am, I think you have enough time to wander around the Wuling Farm Visitor Information Center.

A word of caution: Wuling Farm is a very big place and not all maple viewing spot can be found in just one corner. Out of the 3 methods to go to Wuling Farm, the tripool taxi will be the best, because you will be able to see the all spots, plus the flexibility to control the the time you will spend at the farm.

WHEN TO SEE THE MAPLE/AUTUMN FOLIATE AT WULING FARM

The best time to see maple/autumn foliage in Wuling Farm is from mid-November to mid-December. I been here to Wuling Farm twice during the maple season and the color change of the leaves is not consistent. So it could be very good this year but the following year it may not. I recommend visiting here around Nov. 20 when Fushoushan Farm is at its peak of its maple foliage. Most likely when you come to Wuling Farm on this day, you will see some Ginkgo leaves in their golden color.

PLACES TO SEE AUTUMN FOLIAGE/MAPLE AT WULING FARM

1. Wuling Farm Visitor Information Center: maple, ginkgo, Formosan sweet gum trees on the mountain slopes

Hop-off on the bus and run to the open area near the mountain slopes. The ginkgo trees and the maple trees are waiting for you. The maple leaves here are the type which five leaflets.

Compared to the soft Japanese maples that you would see at Fushoushan Farm. The ones you will see here are very fragile and bigger. With their heavier weight, it's easy for their tree to drop them, so they conserve their food/energy for the upcoming winter season. I suggest to lower your expectation when you go to Wuling Farm to see the maple leaves, because Fushoushan Farm is still the best place to go for experiencing autumn foliage.

Visitors enjoying to take photos with the ginkgo leaves.

But what Wuling Farm lacks in terms of the beauty of their maple leaves is the advantage that it has when it comes to the ginkgo trees. Also called as the grandfather trees, the ginkgo tree takes a generation to mature and have seeds. So if you're a young boy when you planted them, you're already a grandpa when you see them bear "fruits".

The ginkgo trees here at Wuling Farm are still young, and are growing taller as the years pass by. Look for the rows of the ginkgo here at the farm, and you might tell yourself that there's no need to go to South Korea. At the peak of the leaves' color change to yellow, they shine like gold on broad daylight.

There are also colored leaves on the mountain slopes. Have some time to look at the hills when you visit Wuling Farm.

2. Wuling National Hostel (Wuling Farm Guest House): pine tree, maple

Guests who opted to stay at Wuling National Hostel for at least one night can enjoy waking up and see red fallen leaves outside. DIY travellers don't need to worry because it's a walking distance from the Wuling Farm bus stop.

You will have to go to the direction of the entrance of the farm and cross the bridge. There will be path leading to a guesthouse, which looks similar in style to the Wuling Farm Veteran's building.

A maple leaf that you could also find at Alishan

Walk further and you will see an open area are surrounded with maple trees and pine trees and this is the area of the Wuling Farm Maple Log Cabin. Visitors love to go here and take photos especially when the feathers of the pine trees change to an orange color. Taking a selfie here is like giving a warm hug to the approaching winter season of Taiwan.

3. Wuling Veteran Farm Building: ginkgo, taiwan qingfeng

Sit on a chair and sip a hot cup of tea under the tall ginkgo tree at the Wuling Veteran Farm Building . It's hiding on one of its side.

When is the best time to see the ginkgo? Wait when the leaves turn into a golden yellow color.

Can you see the yellow ginkgo tree on this photo?

Around the Veterans Building is a tiny forest of qingfeng trees. With the help of the shining rays of the sun, their leaves sparkle, revealing their autumn hues. They are too tall to take selfies, but as the wind blows, their leaves fall one by one giving you a chance to take them home.

4. Hoya Resort Wuling: pine tree

Near the Hoya Resort Wuling are towering pine trees. Climb uphill to see them.

5. Wuling Farm camping site/Alpine Botanical Garden: maple, pine tree

I had the chance to camp at Wuling Farm and I was so amazed when I saw the foliage of the trees here. The only problem going to this place, is that you would need your own transportation to reach the campsite. It's more than five kilometers away from the Wuling Farm bus stop. I know you can walk but it would take hours.

If you're interested on how to camp here. You can read my Wuling Farm camping guide [Read here]. There are lots of cabins/tents to choose from, ranging from those already assembled to just a wooden platform where you can set-up your own tent.

Aside from the pine trees, there are also the qinfeng and the red maple, bu they're not many. What I like the most about camping site is the scenery which is unique at Wuling Farm. Look at the mountains and can will see some shades of red and orange.