Ghost Axe Canyon 鬼斧神宮

Background:

During the Japanese occupation, some of the original inhabitants of Maolin Village lived in the mountains behind Wanshan Village. However, later these aboriginals were forcibly moved to the current village. Many of the inhabitants were originally located elsewhere but had to relocate their homes or villages due to typhoons or unsafe terrain. There are a few abandoned villages above the current village that you can still hike to. 
The villages have about 2000 total inhabitants, mostly aboriginals from the Rukai (魯凱族) Wulu Bunun (布農) and Paiwan (排灣) tribes, as well as some Han Chinese people. The district also has Maolin Middle School, the only middle school, and three elementary schools.
Wanshan has the smallest population of any village in Taiwan according to the government website here, with a population of just 450 people. 95% of the people are aborigines from the Rukai Tribe (魯凱族), and the rest are either from the Wulu Bunun Tribe (布農) or Han Chinese. 
Originally, the people of Wanshan village lived at the base of Mali Mountain (麻里山) but were moved by the government in 1956 to their current location. 
Typhoon Morakot brought record floods to Taiwan because it slowly moved over the island, delivering torrential rain. Nearly 700 people were killed during the disaster (to see what Maolin looked like right after the flooding, check out this blog here). 
Basically, all the bridges in Maolin were destroyed during Typhoon Morakot in 2009 except the Duona Suspension Bridge, which was built so high that it would never be affected by floodwater.
Most all the bridges currently in Maolin were reconstructed after the 2009 floods.  
Duona is the most remote village in Maolin District of Kaohsiung City and is said to harbor the most complete version of the Rukai Aborigine culture.
The Rukai People first began to move into the area now known as Duona about 300 years ago (1700s), making it one of the oldest Aborigine villages in Taiwan.
Most of the people live in traditional stone houses made from nearby plentiful shale rock, which is characteristic of the Rukai Tribe. The stone houses are warm in the winter and stay cool during the summer. 
Near the village is a small plain which is said to be the home of Taiwan’s indigenous species of black rice. The village was almost completely cut off from the outside world until the Japanese built the Duona Suspension Bridge, which helped to link it to the rest of Taiwan as well as better control the native population. 
The actual District boundaries extend to Pingtung County and Taitung County, and include largely untouched and “virgin” forests and mountain wilderness areas such as Shuang-guei Lake, providing precious wildlife habitat for many of Taiwan’s Indigenous animals and plants.

Price:

Free

Hours:

24/7

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 until you reach the end of the road at Duna, then drive down to the riverbed on the north side of the village. The canyon is about a half hour walk up the riverbed from the parking lot. 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

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Check out our drone footage of the canyon above.

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You can also see our 360 panorama of the area above.

Our Journey:

I have been to Maolin many times, and I can say with certainty that it is my favorite place in Taiwan. However, there are many off-the-beaten-path destinations that I have yet to explore. Ghost Axe Canyon eluded me for years, mostly because of the long walk. But I finally made it there.

The hike to Ghost Axe Canyon starts in Duona, Taiwan’s most authentic Rukai Village.

Going through Duona you can still see many traditional slate/stone houses still in use!

I’m not sure though if the modern houses just have slate houses as a facade.

And you are sure to see a butterfly or two.

It is hard to take butterfly photos.

Here you can see layers of sediment and landfall debris on the riverbed, which is characteristic of the Zhuokou River.

Here are some old bricks from a building, likely the old Duona Hot Springs which has been buried during Typhoon Morakot in 2009.

The old Duona Hot Springs also had some buildings across the river which were washed away.

Then we made our way upriver, following these offroad tracks.

The road pretty much ended here.

The terrian here turned a bit more rocky.

But somehow someone had managed to drive their Suzuki Jimmy out here.

View back down the road.

These slate rocks are what the Rukai Tribe makes their houses out of.

First view of Ghost Axe Canyon, which is a slot canyon carved out of bedrock.

View of the slot canyon from above.

View from the mouth of the canyon.

Closer view into the mouth of the canyon.

Super closeup view from above.

View looking down a bit further.

View looking down the canyon.

View as we left the canyon.

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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.