Meiyagu Waterfall 美雅谷瀑布

Background:

Meiyagu Waterfall is nearly 70 meters high, which makes it one of the tallest waterfalls in Kaohsiung. The waterfall used to have a paved trail from the parking lot that was washed away by Typhoon Morakot in 2009. Now the trail has one section that requires walking over a landslide, and another section requires climbing down a sheer cliff. It is quite a technical and intense hike, and is not suitable for children in its current state. Ropes and safety gear may be required.

Price:

Free

Hours:

24/7

Difficulty

Hard: Requires hiking over landslides, climbing down a cliff, and scrambling up rocks.
Time to complete: 1.5 hours total
Elevation gain: 100 m
Distance traveled: 1.37 km

When to go:

I recommend going in the summertime when the waterfalls have plenty of water and warm temperatures make it a great time to go swimming. In winter, it will be cold, and the waterfalls can dry up.
On the other hand, if you want to go just for hiking, winter would be a better time to go.
If there is a Typhoon, the inhabitants of Maolin will be evacuated, and you should not try to go in for your own safety.

When is Maolin Butterfly Season?

If you are coming to see butterflies, the butterfly migration begins in September and ends roughly in November. 
Check out our full Maolin Butterfly Season Guide here.

How to get there:

By Car: Maolin can be reached via provincial highway 27 from Pingtung or Liugui. Once you come to Dajin Bridge, go straight up the mountain. After you pass Wanshan village, follow the signs to Meiyagu Falls. There is a parking lot with free parking at the trailhead. Looking for scooter rental in Kaohsiung? You can check out Klook here or KKday here to search for options. You can also check out our scooter rental guide here.
If you are looking for car rentals, you can search Qeeq here, KKday here, or Klook here. You can also check out our car rental guide here.
By Bus: You can take a bus there, but I don’t recommend it. It’s a 3-hour bus ride from Pingtung Bus Station. If you can rent a car or scooter, it is about a 1 1/2 hour drive from Kaohsiung. You can book tickets to travel to Kaohsiung via inter-city bus on Klook here. 
You can book tickets to Kaohsiung via high-speed rail (HSR)  on Klook here or KKDay here. 
Book tickets via the normal train (TRA)  on Klook here.
You can also book a Kaohsiung Travel pass here. 

Where to Stay:

We have stayed at and recommend Chao She Hotel (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here) IHI Sanduo Travel Hotel (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here), and Mingli Hotel (you can book on Agoda here, Klook here) which are three inexpensive and high-quality choices in downtown Kaohsiung. I also have stayed at and recommend Kaohsiung Meinong Rabbit Paul Homestay B&B (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here), a quiet B&B in rural Meinong, and Chengching Lakeside Resort​ (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com ) and the Grand Hotel Kaohsiung (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com) which both offer breakfast buffet and free entrance into Chenqing Lake Park. I have also stayed at the 85 Sky Tower which offers great views of the city; you can search for rooms in the 85 Sky Tower on Agoda here, Booking.com here)
Find out more about where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here. We recommend booking through Agoda here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation on the islands.

Tours:

You can find more tours and activities in Kaohsiung such as Pier 2, Meinong Hakka Museum, Hamasen Railway Museum, Suzuka Circuit Park, i-Ride Kaohsiung Visual 5D Flying Theater, National Science and Technology Museum , Senya Village Restaruant, Austin Land, Ski School Indoor Ski Slope, and many more on Klook here or KKday here.

Map:

Check out the map above.

Drone Footage

Play

Play

Play

You can also check out our 360-degree panorama above.

Our Journey:

I have been to the parking lot at Meiyagu Falls many times to visit Handong Waterfall, but I have only visited Meiyagu Falls once. There are multiple parts of the trail that have landslides or sheer cliffs. Take precautions if you choose to go on this hike.

From Wanshan Village, follow the signs to Meiyagu, which means taking a right down this road.

Hadong Waterfall 涵洞瀑布

Handong Waterfall is my favorite water hole in Taiwan. It is easily accessible by car or scooter, and is deep enough to swim in. There used to be a rope swing here, but last time I checked, it was broken.

They have also recently built a staircase down to it.

Right in front of Handong Waterfall is the parking lot for Meiyagu.

There is also a bathroom here. The road used to go a little further, but has been cut off by a landslide.

After the parking lot, you will have to walk along this landslide terrain.

View looking down the Meiya Valley.

Songzhu Bridge 松竹橋

After the landslide, you will come to Songzhu Bridge, which was spared during Typhoon Morakot.

View looking down from Songzhu Bridge.

View looking upstream on Songzhu Bridge.

Although this bridge looks pristine, I do recall parts of the bridge with holes in it. Mind your step here.

One blogger named Out Recording once said you can go to visit Old Maolin Village from here, but when we visited, the path was full of thick brush, and we did not bring a machete.

This is the most pristine part of the path. However, these rocks can be quite slippery when wet.

And then the path abruptly ends at this cliff. The only way onward is to scramble down this cliff.

Here you can see the path from the parking lot to Songzhu Bridge.

Further up the ridge is Old Maolin Village and Meiya Waterfall.

View of Meiya Waterfall via drone.

Closer look at the falls.

Top-down view of the falls.

View of the slot canyon to the right of the waterfall.

Horizontal view of the waterfall.

Last vertical view of the waterfall.

Also, be sure to check out our full guide to Maolin here.
You can check out our full travel guide to Kaohsiung here.
You can also check out our full travel guide to Taiwan here.