Wufengchi Waterfall (五峰旗瀑布 [Wǔfēngqí Pùbù])

The Wufengchi Waterfall (五峰旗瀑布 [Wǔfēngqí Pùbù]; probably more accurately spelled “Wufengqi Waterfall” possibly meaning “Five Peak Flags”?) was a very well-known waterfall near the Jiaoxi Hot Springs. This was one waterfall that my Mom had visited before I went with her to Taiwan in 2016, and it seemed like most people living in Taiwan had either been here or had heard about this place. The falls was really a series of three pretty significant waterfalls where each waterfall seemed to get bigger and bigger the higher up the trail we went. The picture you see at the top of this page was the so-called first waterfall even though it was the third and uppermost one that we saw. Anyways, I guess when you couple waterfalls like these with a well-known hot springs resort area, then it made sense why this place was so famous. Further adding to its popularity was the newly constructed 12km tunnel that cut right through the mountains separating Taipei from Yilan thereby making it even easier to come here from the big city. Indeed, the large car park along with tourist infrastructure in the immediate area by the trailhead of the falls definitely seemed to reinforce this notion that this was a bonafide tourist spot for both locals and international visitors alike.

We started our hike from a very large and well-signed car park (see directions below). From there, we pretty much walked along a paved road skirting by some buildings that I wasn’t sure if they were businesses or part of some hotel (we came here early in the morning so nothing was open at the time). Once we got to the end of the road, the surface changed and became more of a walkway. There was an interesting rock protruding in the middle of this walkway where it appeared that they had built around it. Then, we walked slightly uphill alongside a dam. Although the signs discouraged people from getting into the Dezikou Stream (得子口溪 [Dézǐkǒu Xī]), we saw quite a few locals swimming or doing some kind of exercises or meditation in the stream bed. From this wide open area, we noticed an interesting white catholic church perched high on the mountainside before us, which was quite an unusual sight considering most religious structures in Taiwan were loudly ornate temples and shrines full of reds and golds as opposed to white.

After passing by the dam, we then followed the signs, which took us up some steps past a large restroom facility, and then right up to a small roadside market at the very end of the Five Peaks Road. From this point forward, the official trail began as it followed alongside a tributary of the Dezikou Stream. After barely 50m of walking, we crossed a bridge over the Dezikou Stream, and on the other side of the bridge was a trail junction, where going left led to the Catholic Church while keeping right continued on the waterfall trail. We kept right, where we saw a small waterfall in the stream that turned out to be the so-called #3 Wufengchi Waterfall even though it was the first waterfall that we saw. The trail then climbed up and past this falls, for the next 200m as it led past a junction towards a small pagoda-like shelter fronting the #2 Wufengchi Waterfall.

This second falls was much more impressive than the first, and I’d imagine that it was around 20-25m tall. The presence of giant boulders around the base of the falls was a reminder to us that rockfalls do happen in such steep terrain. Anyways, there was a well-maintained lookout deck allowing us to take in this falls before we would continue on our hike, which kept ascending up more steps and ramps back at that junction we had just passed. After another 100m or so of uphill walking on the pavement, we reached a fork in the trail. Although it was closed at the time, we were told by some locals that it was possible to continue with care so we did that. The path on the left was another trail that led up to the Catholic Church, which we didn’t do.

So the waterfall trail continued going up a lot more steps and switchbacks. This was the most tiring part of the trail because it was still on the muggy side when we visited (despite the threatening clouds that was going to dump rain on us soon) and the climb was pretty relentless. After another 200m or so of going up this trail, we went past a shelter and got partial glimpses back down the valley while every so often catching a glimpse of the Catholic Church now at nearly eye level with us. The trail then skirted along a ledge with fencing and tin roofs to try to divert sliding earth and rocks over the trail. It was clear that this section of the trail was the reason why they closed it to the general public.

Finally, after another 150m or so of hiking along this ledge, the trail turned along the Dezikou Stream and ended at a very slippery lookout platform before the #1 Wufengchi Waterfall (or third waterfall that we saw). The lookout deck was slippery because there was a layer of algae growing from the spray of the falls making it feel like we were walking on ice so we definitely had to be very careful here. Anyways, this waterfall was definitely the most impressive of the three as it had around a 25-30m plunge. It looked like the trail used to continue beyond this point to get closer to the very base of this falls, but that, too, was closed. We weren’t sure if there were even more waterfalls further up the stream from here, but Mom and I weren’t going to push our luck so we headed back the way we came.

By the time we returned to the car, we had walked around 3.6km round trip taking around 90 minutes away from the car. Perhaps next time, we’ll check out that Catholic Church and get a better understanding of its significance and why of all places it was here.