The first time I visited Taiwan, I missed seeing Shifen’s eponymously-named waterfall.
As we were staying in Jiufen, my second chance to view it happened – so here we are traveling on the Pingxi Line.
Located on the upper reaches of Keelung River, the Shifen Waterfalls’ total height is 20 meters (66 ft) and 40 meters (130 ft) for the width. It is a cascade waterfall in which the water flows in one direction and the rock is sloped in the opposite.
It is said to be the broadest waterfall in the country. Quite scenic and beautiful to ponder – waterfall-lovers make sure to eyeball this when you are in the vicinity.
RUIFANG STATION:
From Jiufen, we hopped on a bus which would pass by Ruifang Station.
TIP: For first-timer visitors to Taiwan who are not in a rush, and who want to immerse themselves in the sights and culture – I recommend visiting Jiufen and the Pingxi Line on different days instead of doing both in a one-day trip from Taipei (which is what most tourists do).
You save traveling time and by staying overnight near or in these areas, you have more time to take pictures and savor the experience.
Ruifang Station is the usual starting point for the train line and where one can purchase a One Day Pass for the Pingxi Line (TWD 80.00 as of this writing).
Travelers originating from Taipei Main Station can purchase the pass there together with the ticket from Taipei to Ruifang.
Please check the TRA website for updated information: https://www.railway.gov.tw/en/CP.aspx?sn=16972&n=19588#a06
Pingxi Line Stations:
Banqiao, Taipei, Songshan, Keeling, Badu, Ruifang*, Houtong, Yilan, Luodong, Pingxi, Shifen and Jingtong.
People will usually visit Shifen, Pingxi and Jingtong. But these are similar in terms of offering sky lanterns, snack shops, and Taiwan souvenirs. It is only at Shifen of course, where you can visit the waterfall.
STOPPING AT SHIFEN:
My jaw dropped to the floor when we arrived at the station. I had not known beforehand that it was a holiday. The number of people visiting looked like it tripled in number!
The station is normally crowded because most people disembark. This time, it looked literally like a tsunami wave of people . They were queueing for writing wishes on Sky lanterns and gleefully setting them free into the sky, or munching on typical tasty Taiwanese snacks or striking many poses while on the train tracks (which was supposed to be a no-no, but this was where they were also releasing sky lanterns, so who follows the rules?).
Phew! Was I glad to get away from the crowds as we made our way out from the center.
Veer away from the Shifen Old Street and move towards the river. There are signs or you can ask the locals you pass by.
Note – It takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes of brisk walking from the station towards Shifen Waterfall.
TIP: Budget approximately 4 hours for the Shifen visit, especially if there are many people during holidays as it is quite a crush. This is for the Shifen waterfall, going back to Old Street to have a meal and signing up for the Sky lantern, crossing the suspension bridge near the station and doing the souvenir and Instagram photos, shopping for curious and souvenirs, exploring near the station etc.
Remember to take note of the Pingxi Line train schedule if you want to visit other stops so you can maximize your train day pass.
There are several observation decks from where you can view the waterfalls. We had spent some time doing a slo-mo video of the cascading water and were at two of the viewing platforms.
There are some food shops and areas where one can sit or probably have a picnic if they want, but we wanted to get on the next train.
We went back to Shifen station, but alas, even from where we were running alongside the road, we could see we were not going to make it for the next trip – the bottleneck was at the Shifen Old street back to the train platform with the crowds packed like sardines.
But it turned out to be for the best.
We had time to do the Skylantern, as well as peruse the shops. We had some snacks then boarded the train again. We had not decided yet on whether to do Pingxi or Jingtong station. It will all depend on what we see from the train windows 🙂
Visited: April 2018
All images © 2018 Catherine Herrera.