About 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 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 above was the so-called “first waterfall” even though it was the third and uppermost one that we saw.
The Wufengqi Falls was one waterfall attraction that my Mom had visited before I went with her to Taiwan in October and November of 2016.
In fact, it seemed like most people living in Taiwan had either been here or had heard about this place.
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, this was a bonafide tourist spot for both locals and international visitors alike.
Even the large car park along with tourist infrastructure in the immediate area by the trailhead of the falls definitely seemed to reinforce this notion.
The Wufengchi Waterfall Trail Description – from car park to the actual trailhead
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 the trail to split and go 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.
It was quite an unusual sight considering most religious structures in Taiwan were loudly colorful and ornate temples or 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.
Next, we continued to walk 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.
The Wufengchi Waterfall Trail Description – hiking to Waterfalls #3 and #2
After barely 50m of walking, we crossed a bridge over the Dezikou Stream.
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.
The Wufengchi Waterfall Trail Description – hiking to Waterfall #1
So the Wufengqi Waterfall Trail continued going up a lot more steps and switchbacks beyond the closure tape.
This was the most tiring part of the trail because it was still on the muggy side when we visited.
Even though there were threatening clouds that appeared to be about to dump rain on us soon, we sweated bullets as 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.
Meanwhile, 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 because there appeared to be evidence of damage from landslides.
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.
It made walking here feel like we were attempting to walk 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.
Authorities
The Wufengchi Waterfall resides near the city of Jiaoxi Hot Springs in Yilan County, Taiwan. It may be administered by the Yilan County Government. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting this website.
Even though we stayed in Jiaoxi Hot Springs (礁溪溫泉 [Jiāoxī Wēnquán]), which was almost walking distance to the Wufengchi Waterfall, we’ll describe the drive from Taipei (臺北 or 台北 in simplified Chinese [Táiběi]) since I’d imagine most visitors would be coming from there.
So from the National Expressway 3 skirting the southern edge of Taipei City, we drove east past the city towards its junction with the National Expressway 5.
If you’re on the National Expressway 1 going around Taipei’s northern end, then you’d have to go east of the city to interchange with the National Expressway 3, then go south towards its junction with the National Expressway 5.
Once on the National Expressway 5, we then followed it through a series of tunnels (including a long 12km tunnel) eventually getting us to Yilan County.
Shortly after the tunnel exit, we’d get off the National Expressway 5 for Jiaoxi, which deposited us onto (頭城交流道 [Tóuchéng Jiāoliú Dào]).
We then followed this street before turning left onto the Tai-9 route.
From there, the easiest approach would be to follow the Tai-9 route for about 3.5km before turning right onto Dazhong Road (大忠路 [Dàzhōng Lù]).
Following Dazhong Road for a little over 1km, it would fork left onto the Wufeng Road (五峰 [Wǔfēng Lù]).
We followed this road for about the next 1.2km before turning left into the well-signed official car park for the Wufengchi Waterfall.
This 50km drive from Taipei to the Wufengchi Waterfall would take about an hour.
Alternate Parking and Transport Options?
The Wufeng Road actually kept going for another 800m but there were no legal places to park in this stretch.
We did notice some people take a narrow ramp down an obscure road to the left towards free parking area near the head of the dam, but that’s not a sure thing.
Given its close proximity to Jiaoxi, which itself was easily reachable from Taipei and Yilan by bus or train, I’d imagine that there would be public transportation options available.
We can’t say more about these options since we didn’t do this, but Mom seemed pretty confident that we could have done this if we chose not to drive in this area.
The only caveat besides the limited flexibility due to train and bus schedules would be the increased walking distance along roads just to get into the Wufengchi Scenic Area.
The Tunnel Making A World of Difference
Finally, in case you’re wondering, the seaside town of Keelung (基隆 [Jīlóng]) was 28km east of Taipei City (about 30 minutes drive).
Before the new expressways and tunnels were built, you used to have to drive either the twisty Tai-9 road through the Pinglin District or take scenic the coastal route via Keelung and Jiufen to Jiaoxi, Yilan, and beyond.
It turned an otherwise arguous drive of greater than 3 hours into a drive of just an hour depending on traffic.
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360 degree and top down as well as bottom up sweep of the third and most impressive of the Wufengqi Waterfalls
Sweep of the second of three Wufengqi Waterfalls with little pagoda shelter and the voice of Mom asking a local about the third waterfall
Checking out the first of three Wufengqi Waterfalls that we saw
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