Visiting Taipei & Taiwan in November 2023

November is one of my personal favorite months of the year to visit Taiwan. It almost never rains, and the weather in Taipei gradually transforms from warm to crisp and cool, while the south remains pleasantly warm.

November is the peak of autumn in Taiwan, and you know what that means? Gorgeous autumn foliage in forests all over the island. I’ll tell you the best places to see autumn colors in Taiwan in November below! November may also be the first month of the year you start thinking about visiting one of Taiwan’s many enticing hot springs

A few other natural spectacles occur in November in Taiwan, namely the blooming of silvergrass and the arrival of hordes of butterflies at Maolin Scenic Area, making the month one of the best for lovers of the outdoors. If you prefer mild weather to intense summer heat, but also want to avoid damp and chilly winters, then November may be the best month for you to visit Taiwan!

For more general Taiwan travel information, see these FAQs about traveling in Taiwan.

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Taipei in November: Best Things to Do

With such mild, often lovely (and seldom rainy) weather in the capital, there are loads of great things to do in Taipei in November. It is one of my personal favorite months for all types of sightseeing, exploration, and night market hopping. See my Taipei guide to plan your trip.

To navigate the top sights, consult my recommended Taipei itinerary for 5 days, and find more things to do in my list of top 50 Taipei activities.

On a clear day, hike up Elephant Mountain or one of these other Taipei walking trails, or visit the Taipei 101 Observatory for panoramic city views (read more in my Taipei 101 article).

Silvergrass on Yangmingshan
Silvergrass on Yangming Mountain in Taipei

For the best fall colors around Taipei, try Qianshan Park in Yangmingshan National Park, but the there isn’t much (you need to go to higher mountains in Taiwan for better fall foliage – see below). Yangmingshan is better known for its silvergrass (see pic above) in November.

You may also be able to see a little fall foliage at Maokong, where you can even observe the colors through a glass-bottom gondola (make sure to get in the line that says “Crystal Cabins” when boarding!) While you’re in that part of town, the mild weather also makes it a pleasant month to stop in at the Taipei Zoo.

My wife and kids riding the Maokong Gondola in Taipei in November
See the forests from above on the Maokong Gondola (my wife and kids pictured)

The Taipei Digital Arts Festival will have various activities from November 3 to 26 in 2023.

Christmas activities and decorations will start as early as mid-November in Taipei. See my guide to Taipei in December for more details. The massive Christmasland event in Banqiao, New Taipei City will start around the same time (dates to be announced).

Flower lovers also can’t miss the Shilin Residence Chrysanthemum Show, held in the former residence of Chiang Kai-Shek, will take place from November 24 to December 10 in 2023. Get off at Yuanshan MRT. Consider to combine your visit with Maji Square, known for its excellent semi-outdoor food court, or Shilin Night Market nearby.

Hot spring private tub in Beitou taiwan

As the weather starts getting cooler in November, you’re probably simultaneously going to start daydreaming about soaking in hot springs.

Beitou Hot Spring is THE place to enjoy the thermal waters in Taipei; see my guide to Beitou for my personal recommendations. Beitou Hot Spring Museum also holds its anniversary event around November, with various activities in the hot spring village, especially on weekends.

If you’re looking for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, these hotels, bars, and restaurants usually have a Thanksgiving dinner in Taipei.

Taiwan in November: Best Places to Visit

One unique November experience you can’t miss in Taiwan is seeing hillsides blanketed in blooming silvergrass, which seems to flow in waves as the wind blows.

The most popular way to experience this is by hiking the Caoling Historic Trail in the first half of November, but try for a weekday to avoid insane crowds (see image below).

Silvergrass and crowds of hikers on Caoling Historic Trail in Autumn (november) in Taiwan
Crowds of people flocking to Caoling Historic Trail to see the silvergrass

The only place in Taiwan I would suggest not visiting in November is the offshore islands. Green Island could be OK, but on Orchid Island most travel services shut down for the winter so it is not a good time to visit.

Meanwhile, Penghu becomes incredibly windy from November on; people who have visited at that time say it is quite unpleasant. Xiaoliuqiu is fine to visit in November, though.

Besides that everywhere else in Taiwan is perfectly fine to visit in November. The north of the country, including Yilan County, will start getting a little cool like Taipei. It’s time to check out the best hot spring in Yilan, or try Wulai Hot Spring in New Taipei City.

Beach season in the north is well past its prime, however. Taroko Gorge is perfectly fine to visit; just make sure not to go during or shortly after heavy rain.

Taichung is great to explore in November, as it is usually a few degrees warmer than Taipei, and has very little chance of rain. See here for my detailed Taichung itinerary. Flower lovers can also check out the Xinshe Flower Festival in November and December, easily done as a day trip from Taichung.

The weather gets even warmer if you venture further south, including Taitung, Tainan and Kaohsiung. In the far south, such as Kenting National Park, you can still go swimming on the beach in November.

November is usually the first month of the year that huge numbers of Taiwanese Purple Crow Butterflies appear at Maolin National Scenic Area (茂林國家風景區) in Kaohsiung and Pingtung, lasting through to March.

Maolin National Scenic Area in November
Maolin National Scenic area, famous for both butterflies and autumn foliage

November is, along with December, the best month to observe autumn foliage in Taiwan. In Taoyuan, the best spots include Bade Bald Cypress Forest (八德落羽松森林), Shimen Reservoir (石門水庫), and Lalashan (拉拉山).

Over in Yilan County, the lake at Mingchi Forest Recreation Area (明池森林遊樂區) is an incredibly beautiful spot, but will require your own wheels to reach.

The forest paths and “Bong Bong Train” at the peak of Taipingshan (太平山) are also an ideal spot for autumn foliage viewing. So many locals flock there to view the colorful beech trees that the government has had to set up traffic limits.

In Taichung, Wuling Farm (武陵農場) has the best foliage viewing opportunities; keep in mind that Wuling Farm is in the far east of Taichung, so it is actually easier to access from Yilan on the east coast than from central Taichung City on the west coast.

Another option near Wuling Farm but further up the highway is Fushoushan Farm (福壽山農場), but it’s not super easy to get there.

Wuling Farm, one of the best places to see fall colors in November
Beautiful Wuling Farm in November

Autumn foliage also starts showing at Alishan Forest Recreation Area in November; consult my guide to getting to Alishan to find out how to experience the foliage from the Alishan Forest Railway.

Meanwhile, Aowanda (奧萬大) National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County is one of the country’s most famous autumn foliage spots; if you make it that far, you should also visit Cingjing Farm. Xitou Nature Education Area (溪頭自然教育園區) is another prime spot for fall colors, and you definitely can’t miss Xitou Monster Village right next to it.

Down in Tainan, Hongye Park (紅葉公園) is the most well-known place to see beautiful fall colors. It is located adjacent to Guanziling (關子嶺), famous for its mud hot springs.

Sun Moon Lake in Nantou is not really famous as an autumn foliage viewing spot, but it is still gorgeous to visit in November and you may still spot some colors. Consider getting a Sun Moon Lake Pass, and see my recommendations for the best Sun Moon Lake tours from Taipei or Taichung.

Taipei Weather in November

November is the most characteristically autumn month in Taipei. November weather in Taipei usually starts out warm, and by mid-month it starts becoming cool (I remember, because it always happens around my birthday on November 16!) The average high temperature in Taipei in November is 24°C (75°F), while the average low is 18°C (64°F). The occasional hot day (30°C/86°F) is not unheard of in November.

On the plus side, November is one of the least rainy months of the year in Taipei, with only 85mm of rain, similar to December and January. This also means a higher than usual frequency of blue skies. If you do happen to face some rain, which can sometimes still happen (for example, November 2022 was unusually rainy) see my guide to rainy days in Taipei.

For the above reasons, November is one of my favorite months of the year in Taipei weather-wise, and you may love it too if you prefer slightly cool, crisp, autumn weather to overly hot and humid summer weather.

While October is usually the end of the typhoon season, on rare occasion, a typhoon can strike Taiwan as late as November.

Read about the best accommodations in Taipei and decide whether a Taipei Fun Pass will save you money.

What to Wear in Taipei in November

For most of November, I’m usually still wearing shorts and a T-shirt, but starting around mid-month, I may start wearing jeans & a long-sleeved shirt or hoodie when I head out in the evening.

Most locals start dressing like it’s winter in November, though, so if you come from somewhere with a similar climate to Taiwan (for example Hong Kong or Southeast Asia), you will probably do the same.

If you come from somewhere with a dry climate, keep in mind that 18°C (64°F) may sound quite warm, but it feels several degrees cooler when you factor in Taipei’s high levels of humidity.

Taiwan Weather in November

Japanese building in Taichung, a great place to visit in November in Taiwan
Enjoy the mild weather across Taiwan in November

Across Northern Taiwan, including Yilan County and Taroko Gorge in Hualien County, the temperatures will be almost identical to Taipei in November. Coastal areas can feel slightly cooler due to the wind, though, and Hualien receives an average of 170mm of rain, about twice as much rain as Taipei in November.

If you head further south from Hualien to Taitung, the temperature will rise by a few degrees, and people surf year-round at Dulan.

Taichung is also usually a few degrees warmer than Taipei in November, while in Tainan and Kaohsiung the average high in November is 28°C (82°F), with virtually no rain. In Kenting, the weather can still be suitable for swimming at the beach in November.

Head up into the mountains anywhere in Taiwan in November, though, and you’ll feel that fall has truly arrived.

Sun Moon Lake can be cold at night. Similarly, high altitude mountain resorts like Cingjing Farm and Alishan can be surprisingly sunny and warm in the daytime, but outright cold at night (especially in the early morning around sunrise).

November is the start of the off-season on the offshore islands, such as Green Island, Orchid Island, and Penghu. The first two can still be warm or even hot at this time, but Penghu is unpleasantly windy from November until the end of winter.

Looking for something different to do? Try taking a cooking class in Taiwan!

What to wear in Taiwan in November

As the weather is going to vary quite a bit across Taiwan, it’s going to depend of where you plan to visit. For the far south, you’ll still be dressing like it’s summer, but in the north and for visiting the high mountains, you’ll need warmer clothes.

One of the best parts of visiting Taiwan in November is that it’s one of the least rainy months of the year. For example, Tainan only gets 15mm (2 days) of rain in November (compared to nearly 400mm per month in summer). This means you hardly need to bring rain gear, but it still never hurts.

Conclusion: Is November a Good Time to Visit Taiwan?

As you can see, November in Taiwan has a lot going for it, especially for outdoors enthusiasts. Come witness the forests explode with fall colors, or even just tour the classic Taiwan sights while you enjoy the mild weather.

November is personally one of my favorite months of the year to be in Taiwan, probably a close second behind October, when it is still quite warm even in Taipei. But factor in the higher risk of typhoons in October, and the two months are practically a tie.

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