aleiss

Oh jeez. Naturally the only other American in class also uses Reddit. I drove myself to school.

Edit: My face is swollen and the helmet is too tight. It hurts a little on the speed bumps.

Oh. No one takes me. I go myself. Most of the time when I go out it's based on an assumption that a waterfall is there, as I may not have proof. (inconclusive sat images, photo of one somewhere but not 100% on the location, etc). I drive as close to where I think it is as I can, and hike up the river the rest of the way. Usually I find something. Somethings there is nothing there.

I don't like to pick favorites, but Shalawan is far up on the list for most beautiful. It's beautiful because it's deep in a very green valley at about 550m elevation. The valley is about 1500 meters deep where the waterfall is, and extends back a few kilometers to the top of Beidawushan, which is 3092 meters tall, the southernmost over-3000m mountain in Taiwan.

Shalawan is part of the Deer Creek Waterfall Group. It's 40 meters tall, and has a pool about equally wide. On the left side there is another waterfall, which drops over 600 meters in 4-5 tiers.

Water is also runs off the mountain in dozens of other smaller waterfalls during the summer months. The sheer scale of the place is hard to photograph. A common reactions is "Is this from Lord of the Rings?"

Here is a video of me jumping from about 1/4 the way up. https://www.facebook.com/followxiaofei/videos/1099043690130160/

Waterfall Guide link with more photos and videos (sorry for low quality, this one was of the earlier pages): http://followxiaofei.com/taiwan/pingtung-waterfalls-majia-shalawan-waterfall

As a bonus, I would like to add this waterfall, since it is fresh in my mind, as I visited there this month. The water is really that blue. http://followxiaofei.com/taiwan/pingtung-waterfalls-wutai-flying-dragon-waterfall

I first look for waterfalls from satellite images. Over time my map grew to several thousand points, so now I can just check my location on my phone, and see if I have any points marked nearby.

Most waterfalls I visit on weekends or road trips. On a long weekend I will pack a tent and supplies on my scooter, and plan a route around the island, camping at places I've seen on satellite images, google street view, or just happen to see as I'm driving along.

During winter break (I'm a student), I went on an 11-day scooter road trip, and only stayed in a hotel 2 nights. Sleeping in the mountains makes it easier to get more out of the day, and visit more places.

I'm looking forward to summer vacation. It's going to be a waterfall-blast.

After my experience at Sunset waterfall, where I took a group of my friends on what I thought would be a short trip, but ended up as 22km of driving on a broken road followed by 2000 (or so) stairs down to the river, I no longer take people to places that I have never been before. I'll still go out with a few friends, but only to places that I know really exist and are easy to get to.

http://followxiaofei.com/taiwan/pingtung-waterfalls-chunri-sunset-waterfall