A 3-hour roundtrip hike that leads you to a beautiful butterfly-shaped waterfall in the mountains.
Location: Taichung, Taiwan
Butterfly Valley Waterfall, also known as 蝴蝶谷瀑布 (Hudiegu waterfall), is a popular spot. There are two hikes that take you to the waterfall. We decided on the longer, mountain hike taking the Mt Tangmadan trail. While it’s not difficult like Taichung’s Dakeng Trail, it still is a long uphill battle through a winding mountain trail.
We started off on the road where we parked the car, and immediately started our upward hike. For about an hour you follow a winding rocky trail with ropes along some corners to help you. Wear proper hiking boots as the tangling tree roots definitely caused a few stumbles.
About an hour in, we hit a fork in the trail with a map and sign nearby to direct us. On the maps above, we took the shorter trail marked in red as that led directly to the waterfall. The other trail leads up near the peak of the mountain (1305meters above sea-level) and then circles back to the waterfall. We had started at the arrow on the left, ending at the right arrow before taking the same trail back.
The uphill battle finally opened way to a wooden bridge that looked brand new. In fact they were still putting new boards down as we hiked past. While most of the path had been a small rocky trail, this one led up and over the the stream.
Follow the wooden path all the way to the end, and you’ll reach a viewpoint where you can see the waterfall from the side!
Head back a little and you’ll see some rocks you can climb down to reach the river and waterfall directly. When we went, this is where many families stopped to have their lunch. There were sandwiches, oranges, instant noodles, and many more snacks.
We visited in the beginning of November, and by the time we reached the waterfall it was a little past noon. The water was already too cold to swim in, so we ate our snacks, took some photos, and rested before heading back the same trail to exit.
In Follow Xiaofei’s post on Butterfly Valley, he notes it’s best to start the hike early as the waterfall ends up in the shade by 12pm. Would recommend doing the same if you plan on swimming!
At night we camped out near the hike, did some evening yoga, and slept before our Huoyanshan hike the next day.
Hiking in Taichung? Check out these nearby hikes:
Dakeng Trail No. 4
Fire Mountain (Huo Yan Shan) Hike
Other things to see in Taichung
Abandoned Amusement Park (Encore Garden)
Sun Moon Lake Day Tour
How to get to Butterfly Valley Waterfall (蝴蝶谷瀑布)
Tang Madan Mountain Trail
We parked at the entrance of the Tang Madan Mountain Trail which is a more challenging and longer hike to the fall. It’s worth checking out if you want to be surrounded by greenery, and want to work up a sweat before jumping in the water!
Butterfly Valley (Hudiegu Falls)
There’s an easier hike if you park near the falls.
🚄 HSR Ticket discounts
- Foreign passports can get one-way HSR tickets for $1190NTD
- Foreign passports can get 2-3 day unlimited HSR tickets for ~$2400NTD
- Taiwan passports can get discounted HSR tickets here.
- Official HSR ticket booking website
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