A Visit to Hualien’s Butterfly Valley

Fuyuan National Forest Recreation Area—also known as Butterfly Valley—is a quiet tourist spot in Hualien. Is quietness stems from the fact that it is pretty remote rather than lacking in appeal. Visitors can enjoy a relaxing day here taking in the impressive river valley, walking the (almost too) exhilarating suspension bridge, and soaking in the hot spring’s restorative waters.

Distance: 4.7km – It would be possible to add a little to this by visiting the other trail in the park.

Time: 2-3 hours is a plenty to walk this loop at a relaxing pace. You could easily spend longer here though if you also want to enjoy the hot spring area.

Difficulty (regular Taiwan hiker): 2-3/10 – This walk belongs in the moderately easy category. There was a lot more climbing steps than I had been led to believe from the descriptions online.

Difficulty (new Taiwan hiker): 4-5/10 – On the easy end of moderate. The steps can feel quite relentless at times, but with the exception of the steep climb just beyond the suspension bridge, they’re not too bad.

Total ascent: A little under 200 metres.

Water: We took about 0.5L each on a pleasantly warm September afternoon. We didn’t find any water dispensers in the park, so you might want to make sure you’re prepared before you head there.

Shade: On and off shade. I used my umbrella for parts of this walk.

Mobile network: Weak but stable throughout.

Enjoyment: This walk manages to pack a lot into its short length. We saw monkeys, beautiful blues and greys in the river, and walked across an exceedingly high suspension bridge. If you have time, you can also enjoy the park’s hot springs (for an extra fee) and butterfly displays.

Bathroom facilities: There is a toilet block by the carpark, and another part way along the trail up to the suspension bridge.

Other: Go in April to July to see the butterflies at their most varied and impressive. It is also possible to stay overnight at a hotel in the park, although the best accommodation seems to be a bit on the pricy side. Finally, if you plan to take a dip in the hot spring, remember to bring a swimsuit (or shorts), as well as a towel and swimming cap.

Route type: Loop

Permit: None needed, but you need to pay to enter the park. (More on this below.)

Jump to the bottom of this post for a trail map and GPX file.

---

Fuyuan National Forest Recreation Area is also known as Butterfly Valley, a name it got thanks to the preponderance of butterflies that flock to the area in the spring. In fact, it seems the park is home to plenty of butterflies year-round, because we visited in late September, the first site to greet us in the car park was a tree that seemed to be shimmering with a mass of blue tiger butterflies. There were so many of them, and the place was so quiet, that I could actually hear the sound of their wings as they fluttered around me.

We decided to take a clockwise loop, so we headed towards the rear of the carpark, passing a closed café and followed signs directing us along the straight central path towards Longyin Waterfall.

The first park of this walk is mostly flat and very easy. It follows a paved road through the park and up alongside Fuyuan River.

After walking for about ten minutes, we came to the first of the trail’s two bridges.

Upstream and downstream both offer great views of the powerful river crashing over the rocks as it carves its way downhill. The presence and absence of noise created a stark contrast in the overall atmosphere on either side of the bridge.

Once you’ve crossed the water, steps on the far side signal the start of the ascent. The climb starts off gentle enough, with a few flatter sections mixed in. (This is where you’ll find the second toilet block.)

The path cuts its way along the edge of the gorge. At times, it is funnelled over walkways like this.

And at other times, it’s contained in an enclosed, rock-fall protection cage. It looks like this upper section gets closed off after heavy rains or earthquakes because there is a gate at the entrance to one of the fortified walkways bearing a “closed” sign.

There is a brief respite where the trail dips through the shade and runs right beside the water.

This is where you can enjoy the first proper view of Longyin Waterfall.

Just before you reach the waterfall, the trail takes a sharp left turn and begins to climb steeply uphill to meet the suspension bridge. Partway up you can find an observation platform which overlooks the waterfall.

Longyin Suspension Bridge is seriously impressive. This current iteration has been open since 2022, after the older one was destroyed by an earthquake in 2017. In fact, both of the bridges original bridges from the 1990s were damaged beyond repair. The older Longyin Bridge can be seen once you make it to the far side. The park authorities claim to have kept it for the purposes of “educating the public” but I’m not sure what I learnt from seeing an unusable bridge.

The view looking downstream from the bridge was particularly spectacular because of how the colours in the sky seemed to mirror the rocks and river water. And to the upstream side, you get a bizarre perspective on Longyin Waterfall. The fact that the waterfall is about 30 metres high should give you some idea of just how high up this waterfall is.

At the far end of the 156-metre span, I turned back to look at where I’d come from and felt relieved that I wouldn’t have to walk over it again. Although it so far hasn’t been bad enough to shop me doing things, I’m not a big fan of heights.

The path climbs steeply up from the bridge for about 10-15 minutes.

To distract ourselves, we focused on the creatures spotted beside the trail, like this lizard and damselfly.

If you like ferns, you’re in for a treat. The slopes beside the path are covered in ferns in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

After you reach the top of that steep climb, the trail becomes mercifully gentle. From here, it’s pretty much all a gentle slope back down to the park entrance.

We encountered monkeys either solo or in large groups at several points on the way down. They barked warnings at us from their high-up perches and watched us closely to make sure we were just passing through.

This giant (probably camphor) tree had been swamped by creeping tendrils of a strangler fig.

There were only two trails leading off from the main path. The first led to a mosquito-riddled “Thread of Sky” feature that we didn’t explore closely because Teresa was only wearing shorts, and the second was blocked off. I think it must have been damaged years ago and just never repaired because even the printed map they gave us showed it as being blocked off.

We passed some rather pleasant-looking villa rooms that are part of the hotel complex. They’re single-story, airy as and open out onto the forest. Since we also passed another troupe of monkeys right here, I imagine you could watch the wildlife while lying on your bed. Just beyond the buildings, the trail merges left onto a track.

I was tickled by the four-lane split of this road. Left for cars and the little golf buggies used to ferry guests to the villa, centre-left for water, centre-right for park staff on scooters, and right for pedestrians. I took the water route.

It was past four when we completed our loop. We had a little wander down the other lane to look at the butterfly exhibition houses and take a peek at the hot springs. It would have been great to take a dip, but I would have liked more than half an hour to enjoy the waters.

---

How to get to Fuyuan National Forest Recreation Area

Google Maps address: The walk starts from the carpark at the park entrance. There is space for scooters and cars here. Judging by how small the carpark is, I guess it never gets that busy.

GPS location: N23 35.325 E121 21.270

Public transport: There is no public transportation between the nearest train station and the park. However, it would only take about an hour to walk here from Fuyuan Station. If you plan to spend a whole day here walking the trails and enjoying the hot springs, then I’d say it’s worth the effort. And for guests staying at the park’s hotel, there is a shuttle bus service. I also believe it should be possible to get a taxi from the nearest train station (although I have not done this myself).

Further reading: Despite now being privately run, the park has a page on the Forestry Bureau website.

Staying in the Fuyuan National Forest Recreation Area Hotel

There are a couple of accommodation options in the park, all of which look very relaxing. They can be booked through the resort’s website (there is an English version of the site but it doesn’t appear to be completely functional), or via sites like booking.com and Agoda. If I had a little more spare cash, I would have loved to spend the night here.

Fuyuan National Forest Recreation Area Tickets

Full tickets cost $150 (not inclusive of the hot spring facilities). It’s quite a steep ticket price—I guess this what happens when you get a private entity to take over the day-to-day running of it. Cars are $60 and scooters are $20.

---

Fuyuan National Forest Recreation Area Map

GPX file available here on Outdoor Active. (Account needed, but the free one works just fine.)

---

If you enjoy what I write and would like to help me pay for the cost of running this site or train tickets to the next trailhead, then feel free to throw a few dollars my way. You can find me on either PayPal or Buy Me a Coffee.