Maolin Travel Guide 茂林旅游指南

Maolin District of Kaohsiung City is an amazing outdoor paradise and my favorite place in Taiwan. In this mountainous district of Kaohsiung, you can find waterfalls, streams, hot springs, butterflies, aboriginal culture, and great views, all by the roadside! Popular activities include swimming, hot spring bathing, river tracing, camping, and hiking.  Please note I have also finished blogs about Maolin Village, Wanshan Village, Duona Suspension Bridge, and Duona Village (click the links to see each individual blog).

You can find this original blog post at Taiwan Travel Blog here.

Background:

During the Japanese occupation, some of the original inhabitants of Maolin Village live 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 of 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. If you are coming to see butterflies, the butterfly migration is in the fall and ends roughly in November.

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. Looking for scooter rental in Kaohsiung? You can check out Klook here or KKday here to search for options. You can check also 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:

Our Journey:

I have been to Maolin many times and I can say with certainty that it is my favorite place in Taiwan. Believe it or not this guide is only full of easy to reach places that you can get to by car. However there are many off the beaten path destinations to explore. Below we will introduce the following places and fun things to do on your trip to Maolin:

Drone Video:

Play

Butterflies 蝴蝶

​Just below Maolin Village is Wubake Creative Workshop (烏巴克創藝工作坊), which features aboriginal artwork from the area’s residents. You can also make your own necklace and glass beads, try on traditional aboriginal clothes, enjoy some traditional food, and enjoy the scenery.

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Lover’s Suspension Bridge 情人吊橋

Ride next to the bridge which you can drive across is a pedestrian suspension bridge called “Lover’s Suspension Bridge” (情人吊橋).

Lover’s Waterfall 情人瀑布

Qingren Waterfall is a huge waterfall and the main attraction in Qingren Valley. 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.

Maolin Valley 茂林谷

The Zhuokou River near Wanshan Village is a popular swimming spot. The river only gets ankle-deep most of the time and is safe to swim in. In the summer the water is warm!

Cliff Jumping 懸崖跳躍

Sitting in that natural mud bath, I have never felt more peaceful and relaxed. It’s different from floating in water because the mud actually supports your weight at every angle. You don’t have to do anything but just sit there and look and the blue sky while the mud lifts you into a sea of clouds. Is the mud therapeutic and good for your skin? Probably. Be warned though that it takes 3 showers to get the mud off your skin and 100 washes in a washing machine to get the mud off your bathing suit.

Finding Dragon Bone Stones 撿龍紋石

Duona Great Bridge 多納大橋

At the bottom of the valley, you can see the Duona Great Bridge (aka Duona Glass Bridge) which to this day is a popular Instagramming spot. This car in front of us was stopping for a selfie.

​Small Great Wall 小長城