Fushan Botanical Garden sits so deep within the hills of Yilan that it’s actually in New Taipei’s Wulai District. The site has been open to the public (via advanced application) since 1993, but it was first established a decade earlier in 1982, when the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency (called the Forestry Bureau at that time) transferred stewardship of the land from its Wulai district office to the Taiwan Forest Research Institute. A few years later, more land from the Yilan district office was added, totalling 1097.9 hectares that were to be used as an experimental forestry plot where researchers are able to carry out their work. The land was divided into three areas, the Water Source Reserve, Hapen Nature Reserve, and the Botanical Garden. This post details a visit to the latter.
Distance: About 3.3 kilometes.
Time: 1½-hours.
Total ascent: Around 40 metres.
Difficulty (regular Taiwan hiker): 2/10 — Sorting out the application and undertaking the drive here are the most challenging elements of this walk.
Difficulty (new Taiwan hiker): 4/10 — In addition to the minor challenges of applying for a visit and sorting out your own transportation, the trail also has some areas of uneven ground and a few steps, but overall, the walk is easy.
Risks and dangers: Although the wild monkeys in the park are not known to terrorise tourists, they are still wild animals and the usual safety precautions apply. Don’t stare them in the eye, don’t try to feed them, and don’t eat in front of them.
Water: I took 0.5 and drank only a little. There are hot and cold water dispensers near the toilets. You might want to bring some snacks because the park is literally in the middle of nowhere.
Shade: There’s patchy shade for most of the trail. I would definitely have needed sun protection if I visited on a brighter day.
Mobile network: There is almost no signal at all on the road driving up there, but the garden itself is well-covered.
Enjoyment: On the way back, we were considering whether or not a visit to the gardens was worth the trek up the winding mountain roads and the conclusion we came to was that if you get lucky with the wildlife and/or go at the right time, yes, but the right time probably isn’t a damp winter afternoon. In order to stand a greater chance of seeing the animals, I’d suggest a spring or summer visit and go either just after the park opens or just before it closes.
Bathroom facilities: There is a toilet block by the carpark.
Route type: We walked a loop, but some people choose to only walk part-way along the flat portion of the trail.
Accessibility considerations: The trails in the Nature Classroom and Tree Exhibition area are broad gravel paths with just a gentle incline, and once the bridge between the two areas is completed, you’ll able to do a step-feee section. However, there are next to no benches along the whole route. The toilet block includes a wheel-chair accessible bathroom.
Permit: You need to apply to enter the park. Information on how to do that can be found here.
Jump to the bottom of this post for a trail map and GPX file.
The entrance to the park is marked with an open-sided gazebo where we were greeted by volunteer staff who explained the various trails and a few things to look out for.
From the maps, we could see that the botanical garden sits just over the Yilan/New Taipei border in Wulai District, but unless you walk over the hills to get here, the road in from Yilan is the only way to access this remote spot. The guide suggested that we take an anti-clockwise loop through the park, so we set off towards the water.
Perhaps the most photogenic part of the park is a wooden boardwalk that seems to float along the surface of the lake.
Small dark fish dart among the pond weeds, and at the edges and duck weed had gathered where the ferns dipped down to reach the water. The weather on our visit was pretty nondescript, but photos from either sunny days or foggy days, it’s a magical scene.
At the far end of the walkway, we turned right to begin the loop portion of the walk.
A broad gravel path cuts through the greenery. Several little fenced-off areas contain collections of various plants — each carefully labelled. Park visitors are allowed to enter these areas as long as they close the gates to keep the greedy muntjacs and wild boars out.
Quite apart from all of the labelled trees and plants, the park is also a great place for spotting mosses, lichens and liverworts. In fact, thanks to Yilan’s perennially soggy climate, this is true of many of its green spaces.
The first part of the loop takes you up one side then down the other side of Hapen Creek (哈盆溪). This waterway, like the nearish Tonghou Creek is an absolutely beautiful body of water. The water is clearer than feels possible and the light white ripples contrast perfectly with the moody dark blue stones. Above you, lush trees grow strong with their roots drinking deep from this clean source and their branches bejewelled with draped lichens and shaggy ferns.
Because the park is a government-owned facility, it cooperates with Taiwanese universities whose students or academics need to conduct research projects. While we were there, we saw a couple of these suspended jars containing soil and a dead mouse, trail cameras, seismographic equipment, and whatever this set-up on the right is. It would be really interesting to know what these projects are.
At the furthest point of the trail, it crosses Hapen Creek via a a bridge before turning left to head down the far side of the waterway.
The view looking downstream from the bridge.
We visited in February, so much of the garden was wearing a rather drab winter coat. Of the trees, only the Formosan andromeda (Pieris formosa) and the Taiwan mountain cherry (Prunus campanulata) were putting on a show.
After passing through a more open area, we crossed a second bridge over a drier creek bed and began on the Forest Trail.
We passed another group coming in the other direction, and not thirty seconds later, a rustling in the bushes alerted us to the presence of this not-all-all-shy muntjac. It ambled up from the lower side of the path, crossed in front of us, then climbed the opposite side. The only other time I’ve encountered such relaxed muntjacs was on the nature trail at Taipingshan’s Jiuzhize.
A couple of the splendid epiphytic ferns that can be seen in the park. The one on the left had fallen from its perch, meaning we were able to observe it all up close, while the one on the right is a birds nest fern viewed from above so that you can see the new shoots (usually these trees are too high up to see).
There is another section of the gardens that focuses on introducing plants that have special significant for one or other of Taiwan’s various ethnic groups but it’s currently closed for repairs (or maybe indefinitely). The authorities responsible for maintaining the gardens have made sure that the route is clearly blocked off (see the ugly fencing in the above photo), so there’s no way anyone would walk that way by accident.
Just before reaching the spot where the loop started, there’s a long stretch where the trail floats through the trees above a broad stream bed. At the time of our visit, the flow was rather low, but judging by the expanse of soft mud and recently flattened plants, it must regularly be inundated when the region gets heavy rainfall. The fact that we could still hear tree frogs attempting to sing their songs on a chilly day makes me think it would likely be an ideal place to do a night hike. (Unfortunately, the park closes around 4:30, so that’s not a possibility.)
How to get to Fushan Botanical Garden
Google Maps address: The walk starts from the carpark right at the end of the road.
GPS location: N24 45.575 E121 35.105
Public transport: There’s no public transportation to this place. While we were there, we met someone who had taken an Uber up from his hotel in Yilan, hit all of the volunteer staffers seemed to find that hilarious, I guess few people do that. (I think it also causes complications regarding permits since the driver isn’t visiting, but is still technically entering the park.
Fushan Botanical Garden Trail Map
GPX file available here on Outdoor Active. (Account needed, but the free one works just fine.)
Taiwan Trails and Tales 