Cultura do chá Pinglin e excursão de um dia a Maokong saindo de Taipei

There is some walking that gives a better view and understanding of life outside Taipei. We ate lunch in a rustic outdoor area next to the family's tea farm, then had a tea tasting experience, followed by a visit to the Tea Museum

If you're only in Taiwan for a few days and you're focusing your time in the Taipei area, this tour is a great way to get out into the countryside and see more of the country, even though you're never more than, like, 20 miles from Taipei 101. I like tea, but I wouldn't say I'm a huge connoisseur or have much knowledge about it, so this was interesting and sort of like doing a wine tour in France - seeing the plants, learning about the production process, and having proper tastings to learn how to best enjoy the product. Honestly, even if you're not really into tea, you could find this tour interesting (and the tea we tasted was pretty weak compared to what I'm used to, so if it's not usually your thing, you could probably muddle through). Walter was a very good guide, too, and very knowledgable. I didn't really know what to expect, but it was lovely! It was also only a small group of five, which made us nimble and didn't feel like you're part of a herd; we actually got to chatting with the other tour-goers, which was nice. The only critique I have was that the lunch stop in Shenkeng is not great if you're not into stinky tofu. If you are, then you're in luck! Because they're famous for it and, well, the whole Shenkeng Old Street reeks of the stuff. I'm not a fan and so it was tough to avoid the smell when trying to find something a bit more palatable. This wasn't listed as the lunch stop on the TripAdvisor itinerary so I hope that Edison will consider changing this up - even Taiwanese people will say that stinky tofu is an acquired taste, so going somewhere with more options and somewhere that doesn't have that ambient stench in the air would be preferable. Otherwise, this is a fun, unique itinerary that's worth checking out!

Mr. Hayashi, our guide, was very kind and helpful. When I asked them in advance if they could speak Japanese via chat, they immediately replied with a firm promise, and I was able to participate in the tour with peace of mind. Mr. Chen, the driver, was also a good driver, smiling and nice.

As far as I can tell, this appears to the tour (with Edison Tours) that I took. Although the tour at the time was called 'Pinglin Tea Culture/Elephant Mountain Day tour', the itinerary appears to be the same. It was a great small-group tour, with an excellent guide (can't remember the name of the guide, sorry). We started with a drive to the ThousandIsland Lake (Tei-Tsui reservoir), a very beautiful area with many tea plantations on the hillsides. We stopped at a tea plantation for a bit of an explanation about tea and how it is grown. We also had the opportunity to buy tea products (but no pressure to do so). After this we drove to the Pinglin Tea Museum, which was interesting, and which also had a very nice garden setting. We then visited the Pinglin Old Street, a street that preserves traditional Taiwanese architecture. While here, we went to a shop where we had a demonstration of how tea is traditionally prepared, and got to taste different varieties of local tea. We also had an hour to explore Pinglin Old Street. There we could get lunch if we wished (at our own cost). The day ended with a drive to the Maokong area, where we walked on the Zhangsha trail downhill for about 40 minutes, ending at a temple with a beautiful view over part of Taipei from its terrace, after which we took the Maokong gondola down to the valley, and then were taken back to our starting point. Overall it was a great introduction to some of the beautiful scenery around Taipei, and also the the tea culture in Taiwan.,

We had an amazing time. Kuan and Qiu are the dynamic duo. They made the tour fun. Their energy and vibe was just heart felt and warm. We had a great time just talking and enjoying each other’s company. If anyone is interested in doing this tour, I highly recommend requesting Kuan and Qiu if you want to have a memorable tour experience

Tony was a great guide. He is very knowledgeable about teas and about Taiwan. If you like tea, this tour is for you.

You can travel by Taiwan Express, if you use a Taiwan travel card, the cost is 300 Taiwanese yen, if the time permission is unlimited to ride back, unlimited number of times. The air on the mountain is fresh and the scenery is beautiful. In the cabin you can see the 101 building and the large green fireplace. The dawn and evening are the best time to travel, but wearing more clothes to keep cool. Optionally, you can ride a car on the bottom of the glass for more than 50 cents.

Good day trip to learn more about tea culture in Taiwan and to have better knowledge on the different types of Chinese teas.

The tour was amazing! Our tour guide Kevin Su was a wonderful and super friendly guide who knew everything about the area, and explained everything thoroughly. Whenever we needed pictures of us taken, he would take them without hesitation. A lot of times, he would even offer to take pictures of us without us even asking. In addition, the views of the thousand island lake along with the tea plants were simply wonderful!

Very nice visit of less touristy areas around Taipei! The tea testing was especially interesting; I felt I got a taste of tawainese culture. Chiara and our flutist Driver were very nice and accomodating. Chiara knows a lot about Taiwan, it was so interesting!