Maolin Lovers’ Valley Waterfall 茂林情人谷瀑布

Background:

Lovers’ Valley Waterfall is nearly 40 meters high, which makes it very sizable. It is rare to have such a large waterfall that you can drive up to. The waterfall contains five sections, with two main sections accessible by trail, although the last two times I visited, the trail was closed. When the trail is open, the hike to the upper falls takes less than half an hour.

Price:

Free

Hours:

24/7

Difficulty

Easy: Hiking to the upper falls requires a few stairs but is not hard
Time to complete: 1 hour total
Elevation gain: about 100 m

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/Scooter: 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 enter Maolin village, follow the signs to Lovers’ Valley. There is a parking lot with free parking right in front of the waterfall. 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.

Our Journey:

I have been to Lover’s Valley at least five times. You can drive right up to the lower falls; no hiking required (unless you want to go to the upper falls, but the trail was closed the last time I went). There is a cement retention pond at the bottom of it, which makes it great for swimming. The best time to see this waterfall is in the summer when there is lots of water and the weather is warm. In winter, the waterfall can dry up, and it can get super cold.

Lover’s Suspension Bridge 情人吊橋

Just below Maolin Village you can cross the river into Lover’s Valley (情人谷） which is famous for Lover’s Waterfall（情人瀑布).

Ride next to the bridge which you can drive across is a pedestrian suspension bridge called “Lover’s Suspension Bridge” (情人吊橋). Unfortunatley, at the time of writing the bridge was closed to the public due to Typhoon Damage. Hopefully it will open again soon.

However, there is another road bridge right next to it that you can drive across. From here, you can still see Deleriga Bridge in the distance.

On clear days, you can also see some higher mountains in the distance.

Lovers’ Valley Lower Falls 情人谷瀑布下層

This is what the lower portion of the falls used to look like, but since I visited, they have added bathrooms. At the time, it seemed they didn’t want people to swim there, but people swim there all the time.

View of the lower falls from the parking lot.

Sometimes the pool at the bottom is deeper, and sometimes it is silted in.

They built a little dam here which has about foot-deep water.

Horizontal shot of the falls.

Play

The trail to the upper falls has been closed for a long time, officially, but it is still walkable.

There are some smaller falls along the trail here to see.

No swimming, barbecuing, fishing, or littering.

View of the upper falls, which has a much deeper pool.

As wide a shot as I could take at the time.

Horizontal view of the upper falls.

View looking downstream from the upper falls.

View from down below the lower falls again.

View from the entrance to Maolin and Deleriga Bridge in the distance.

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.