Waterfalls

Everyone likes waterfalls, so here’s a guide on how to get to the waterfalls in the Taipei area.

Yuanjue Waterfall

Yuanjue Waterfall – This one can be reached by MRT. Go go Dahu Park Station then look on the map in the station for the Dagou River. From the start of the trail at the end of the road the falls are reached by walking along the stream. The trail is easy, beautiful, and popular with locals. See my Neihu page for a hike through the area.

Shengren Waterfall

Shengren Waterfall – located at the end of the road past the National Palace Museum, take but Xiao (small) 18 from Shilin MRT station to the last stop. The falls are about 100m back down the road from the bus stop. See my Pingding or Mt. Shiti pages for hikes that include this waterfall.

Cuifeng Waterfall

Cuifeng Waterfall – located between Tienmu and Yangmingshan, see my south Yangmingshan/Tienmu page for more information.

Samou Waterfall is located further upstream on the same river. What looks like something that should be easy to visit on a map given its location near the Cultural University and beside a major road is surprisingly difficult. All access points to the falls are blocked by fences and gates. Some other blogs describe a way to hike to the falls by following a water channel, but this involves swinging around a locked gate at the end. Anyone who swings around this gate is braver than I am as it is a sheer drop off you’re hanging over. Simply put, if you slip you’re dead. And you can’t see the falls from the gate as the view is blocked by tree cover. So if you are not willing to hang yourself over the drop there is no point in making the hike to the falls. There is another locked gate near the university, seems to me just going over this gate would be much easier.

Juansi Waterfall

Juansi Waterfall – a small waterfall located in a heavily forested valley in Yangmingshan National Park. It is located on the hiking trail between the Jingshan Leisure Area bus stop (bus Small 15 from Shilin MRT station) and the Qingtiangang car park. See my east Yanmingshan hiking entry for more information on the hike.

Yanming Park – this park is located about 1km along the main road from the Yangmingshan bus terminal. It can be easily reached by walking along the road. Bus Small 9 also stops in front of the park from Xinbeitou MRT station. There are two waterfalls located on either side of the park. Datun waterfall is located past the flower clock. The other waterfall (I don’t know a name for it) is next to the main road near the park if you are walking from the bus terminal. It is a small waterfall but mineral deposits in the water give it an unusual appearance. Please see my south Yammingshan/Tienmu page for more details on hiking from Yangming Park to Tienmu.

Datun Waterfall

unnamed waterfall

Red Leaf Waterfall – located on the northern slopes of Yangmingshan. See my Red Leaf Valley page for more info on hiking to the falls

Bayan Waterfall and Hot Springs – this small waterfall is located in a natural, wild hot springs in the northern side of Yangmingshan National Park, near the highway to Jinshan. To reach the waterfall and hot springs take bus 1717 from Jintian MRT station Bayan. The hot springs are a short hike from there.

Red Leaf Waterfall

Bayan Hot Springs and Waterfall

Yinhe Cave Temple and Waterfall

Yinhe Waterfall – this unusual waterfall with a temple carved into the cliff face behind it is easily reached by a short hike from the Maokong Gondola Station. Please see my Maokong entry under Hiking for more details on how to get there.

Wulai/Xinxian/Neidong Falls – Wulai Falls are the highest in northern Taiwan. To reach Wulai, take a bus from Xindian MRT station. Xinxian and Neidong Falls are a further one hour walk along a beautiful gorge. Neidong Falls were heavily damaged by a typhoon in 2015 and are still closed off.

Wulai Waterfall

Xinxian Falls

Neidong Falls

Silong Waterfall – located a couple of kilometers south of Shenkeng Old Street up a small road. The falls are about a five-minute walk from the road but there is no sign marking the start of the trail. Look for a narrow trail next to a pole with some hiking flags and spray paint just after the road makes steep climb. The trail to the falls in not particularly nice as there is a lot of ugly piping around. The falls are used frequently by the locals, there is a shed there for cooking, and there was even a yoga class going on in front of the falls when I visited.

start of the trail to the waterfall

Silong Waterfall

Dajianshan Waterfall

Dajianshan Waterfalls – three waterfalls on the slopes of Dajianshan which is just south of Xizhi Train Station. Dajianshan Waterfall and Jiadong Waterfall are on the east side of the mountain while Xuifeng Waterfall is on the west side. Please see my Dajianshan entry under Hiking for more details on how to reach these waterfalls.

Jiadong Waterfall

Xiufeng Waterfall

Taian Waterfall

Taian Waterfall – located a few kilometers from Qidu Station in Keelung, this small waterfall isn’t really worth a visit by itself, but it is the starting point for a hike over Mt Jiangziliao.

Huangjin Waterfall

Huangjin Waterfall – is located down the hill from Jinguashi near the coast. Iron and copper deposits in the river give it a brown color. There is no way to walk down to the falls from Jinguashi. Take the small shuttle bus from the main entrance or from the temple on the other side of town.

Sandiaoling Waterfalls – three waterfalls reached by hiking from Sandiaoling Station. Please see my Sandiaoling page for more details.

Hegu Waterfall

Motian Waterfall

Pipadong Waterfall in heavy flow

Pipadong waterfall

Shifen Falls

Pingxi Line – in addition to the waterfalls along the Sandiaoling hike, there are several other waterfalls located near train stations located along the popular Pingxi Line.

Shifen Waterfall – located 1.5km from the town of Shifen. Heavily touted in tourist brochures and on postcards this is easily the widest waterfall around. Admission to the falls is no longer charged and it is extremely crowded here on weekends.

Wanggu Waterfall – located one station down the line from Shifen is the tiny village of Wanggu. Pretty much no one gets off the train here. The falls are located a short walk from the village.

Lingjiao Waterfall – located one station from Wanggu is the slightly larger village of Lingjiao. A few people get off the train here who are willing to explore another town along the line. The waterfall, which is located on the Keelung River upstream from Shifen Falls, are just a few minutes walk from the train station.

Wanggu Waterfall

Lingjiao Waterfall

Wufengqi/Yuemeikang/Linmei Shipan Waterfalls – these falls are located near Jiaoxi, Ilan. Please see my Jiaoxi Waterfalls entry for more details on how to reach the falls.

Wufengchi Falls are one the highest and most spectacular waterfalls in all of Taiwan. The falls are located at the end of a road a few kilometers outside of town and are very popular. Expect crowds at the weekends. There is a tourist bus from the train station that stops at a park near the falls. From the bus stop follow the trail along the river to reach the falls.

Yuemeikang Waterfall is about a 1.5 hour hike each way from Wufengchi. This is easily the best waterfall in northern Taiwan and is in a completely natural setting. These falls are a must see for anyone spending time in Taipei.

Further on from Yuemeikang, the Linmei Shipan Trail is great short hike. This loop hike takes about an hour to complete. The trail follows the stream up into a deep gorge past several small waterfalls before climbing to highest waterfall on the trail. Then it crosses the stream above the falls and loops back to the starting point. The tourist bus also stops at the trail entrance.

lower Wufengchi Falls

Linmei Shipai Waterfall

Yuemeikang Waterfall

Houdong Waterfall

Houdong Waterfall – another waterfall near Jiaoxi, this one is a short distance north of the city near the entrance of the tunnel to Taipei. The falls are located at the end of a short trail from the end of a road. The falls are fairly popular with stairs going up to the top and people like to swim in the pool at the bottom. The falls can be reached by bicycle from Jiaoxi and are easy to combine with a ride along the Ilan Coastal Bike Trail. Please my Jiaoxi entry under Cycling for more details.

There are two other waterfalls in the area. Jinming Waterfall is located closer to the tunnel on another branch of the same stream as Houdong, but the falls are in an abandoned park which is fenced off and are inaccessible. Xinfeng Waterfall is further north in Toucheng and as it is clearly visible on Goolge’s satellite imagery must be pretty impressive. The falls are only a few hundred meters from the end of the road past another abandoned park. However there is no trail to falls, you’ll have to walk in the stream and over the rocks if you want to reach them.

Xinliao/Zongshan Waterfalls – these falls can be reached by bicycle from Dongshan, Ilan. See my Dongshan Waterfalls entry under Cycling for more details on the ride.

Xinliao Waterfall is reached by an easy 1km hike from the end of the road. The trail is well maintained and the falls are very popular, almost as popular as Wufengchi in Jioaxi. There are a whopping 10 waterfalls up the river but typhoon damage in recent years has left only the lowest falls still accessible.

Zhongshan Waterfalls – located only a few kilometers away, these falls couldn’t be more different. The falls seem to have been mostly forgotten. If you didn’t like the crowds at Wufengchi and Xinliao, you’ll like Zhongshan! Also located 1km from the end of the road, the trail (a mixture of dirt, stone, and wood) is no longer maintained, with signs and benches having become overgrown. The hike is still easy to do however. The trails starts at the end of the parking lot past a yellow sign in Chinese. Just follow the trail over a washout channel and up to the falls.

Xinliao Waterfall

Zhongshan Waterfall

Xiongkong Waterfalls – three waterfalls: Sister’s Falls, Cloud Heart Falls, and Forest Mountain Falls, which are located near the village of Xiongkong in Sanxia District close the Full Moon Forest Park. Click here for more details on how to hike to the falls: https://bikehiketaipei.wordpress.com/xiongkong-waterfalls/

Forest Mountain Falls

Sister’s Falls

Cloud Heart Falls

Full Moon Forest Park – the park in famous for its two waterfalls, Virgin and ManYueYuan Waterfall. See my Full Moon Park page for more details on getting here.

Virgin Waterfall

ManYueYuan Waterfall

Xiao Wulai Falls – to reach here first take the train to Taoyuan station. Look for an underpass going under the tracks from in front of the department store to the right of the station. After crossing under the tracks keep going straight to the bus terminal up ahead. Take the tourist shuttle to the falls from there (once an hour, weekends only).

The falls are one of the most picturesque in northern Taiwan. From the bus stop follow the signs towards the Skywalk (a viewing platform above the falls). The enter the skywalk you need to buy a ticket and reserve a time from the ticket booth near the bus stop. Past the skywalk the trail leads to another small waterfall. After seeing the falls, walk back and follow the other path marked as forest trail. This will lead to another trail marked for the base of the falls. It is an extremely steep climb down to the base of the falls from here (do not attempt this trail going up). From the base of the falls there is another trail marked for a viewing platform at the top. From here you can follow the road back to the car park.

An easier way to reach the base of the falls is walk back along the road that the bus took to the viewing platform, take the trail down from here, and hike back up the same way.

Map