3 Waterfalls Near Taipei City Worth Checking Out

“Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations” – have you heard of this quote before? It’s true most of the time, especially when I’m hiking for panoramic views or trekking through the jungle for waterfalls. However, if you aren’t that adventurous and prefer staying dry and clean, the following 3 waterfalls located near Taipei city are ideal travel destinations for you. No hiking, trekking, climbing or any form of exercise is required to reach these 3 spectacular spots.

#1 – Golden Waterfall (黃金瀑布)

Located near the Gold Ecological Park in Jinguashi, the Golden Waterfall is an interesting sight to behold. The attractive gold hue is caused by the copper and iron deposits and frequent rainfalls in the mining area. If you take a little hike up the mountain, you’ll notice that only the areas where the water flows by turn into the gold colour. The waterfall is beautiful, but please do not touch the water due to its high levels of toxic.

Golden Waterfall (黃金瀑布)
Address: Jinshui Road, Ruifang District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 224

#2 – Shifen Waterfall (十分大瀑布)

The 40-metre wide Shifen Waterfall is the most well-known cascading waterfall in Taiwan, and it is nicknamed as the “Little Niagara of Taiwan” due to its horseshoe shape and its powerful flow. If you’re one who likes chasing waterfalls, I’d say skip the rest and just head directly to the Shifen Waterfall. After exploring a few waterfalls and getting feedbacks from a number of Taiwanese drivers, I can vouch that the Shifen Waterfall is the most scenic waterfall in Taiwan.

Shifen Waterfall (十分大瀑布)
Address: No.11, Gankeng, Pingxi District, New Taipei City 226, Taiwan (ROC)

#3 – Wulai Waterfall (烏來瀑布)

With a height of 80 metres and a width of 10 metres, Wulai Waterfall is the tallest waterfall in Northern Taiwan. The water still flows during dry seasons, but the waterfall looks more impressive after a heavy rain – it is deafeningly loud and makes the air misty. The best spot to view the waterfall is along Pubu Road, but you can also take the cable car over the waterfall to have another perspective.

Wulai Waterfall (烏來瀑布)
Address: No. 16, Pubu Road, Wulai District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 233

It isn’t possible to cover all 3 spots within a day, but if you are looking for a day trip out of Taipei city, you might want to consider visiting one of these waterfalls. Besides, Shifen Waterfall is located near Shifen Old Street and Wulai Waterfall is located near Wulai Old Street where there is plenty of street food for you to enjoy and souvenirs for you to bring home.