A couple of weeks ago I was studying the map and found a route just outside Hsinchu that looked like it would be fun to ride on the motorbike. Renegade wife and I attempted to do it that weekend but got caught in some heavy rain and had to turn back. This weekend we decided to try again. For those interested, the rout consists of a series of small roads that connect two of the main mountain roads near Hsinchu, you can can see the map below for details.

The ride out of the city is rather boring but once you get to the mountains it’s a nice twisty road with good views. The best part however is when you leave the main road at Wufeng village and head through the mountains. Here the road is much narrower and cracked and broken in places so the going is slower but the sense of adventure is also much greater.

Renegade Wife is an avid fan of using Google Maps on her phone to find interesting places to go and things to see, and this afternoon was no exception. While I was enjoying the twits and turns along the main road she was finding out what we could see along the way. Turns out, there is a waterfall (this country never seems to run out of waterfalls) called Meihouman about a third of the way along the smaller road. With our love for waterfalls we naturally had to stop and check it out.

To reach it you have to follow a small industrial road almost to the end then walk a few hundred meters down a small path. The industrial road is drivable but it’s very narrow and no good places to turn around. It’s fine to do it by motorbike but I wouldn’t recommend it in a car.

  • The start if the industrial road is close to kilometer marking 7.
  • Follow this sign to the waterfall
  • There is a fork in the road, follow this sign to the waterfall.
  • Almost there. Here the road is slightly wider and it’s possible to park a motorbike by the road side.
  • This sign points to the start of the trail
  • The trail.

Right beside the trail is a cave which has been formed by big blocks of stone piling onto each other. I went in to explore a bit; it’s not very big but pretty cool.

  • The cave entrance
  • Me by the cave

The waterfall itself is one of the more spectacular I’ve seen in Taiwan. It’s a narrow stream tumbling over the cliff edge roughly 20 or 30 meters above the valley. The valley floor is covered in a jumble of large boulders forming a series of little pools and sub falls. Right at the bottom of the main fall is a large rock and when the water hits it, it sends up plumes of spray so that the air is filled with mist, and the rush of the water causes a breeze to blow.

  • First view of the fall
  • Someone has mounted a simple swing nearby with a view of the fall.

The trail ends a little bit below the fall but if you are moderately brave and reasonably good at climbing, which both Renegade Wife and I are, you can clamber over the boulders up to the actual fall. It’s really nice to sit close to the fall, listening to the rush and boom of the water, feeling the spray on your face and looking up at the stream of water as it twists and turns on the way down in an almost mesmerizing manner.

  • Clambering upwards towards the fall
  • The waterfall up close
  • Permanent rainbow
  • Yini admiring the fall

Except for the waterfall we didn’t stop anywhere else along the way. It was a fun road to ride but nothing spectacular. A couple hours later we rejoined the main road close to one of the hotsprings we frequently go to. Since it was a hot day there was no real need for hotsprings bathes, so we headed back home.