My Home's Back Garden – Yuantan Ecological Park

Text and photos by Chen Chi-Hsiang. Living in Zhuo City (Chiayi) at the foot of Alishan, even Alishan, Tataka, and Yushan have become my home’s backyard garden. When free, I often roam among the peaks from Alishan to Yushan, shuttle through the lush forests spanning subtropical to cold zones, and admire valleys, streams, waterfalls, colorful plants and flowers, and natural ecology. Immersing myself in the mountains feels like being in a valley that forgets worries. The Alishan Scenic Area has many leisurely and well-maintained trails amidst clouds or forests, making it a great place for strolling and relaxing, allowing me to soar freely, cleanse my body and mind, and relieve my muscles and bones. For example, the famous Er-Yanping Trail winds through tea gardens, offering a prime spot to view cloud waterfalls and sunsets. The misty trail and fog path crossing between the cedar forest and stream, along with the top stone table trail group surrounding the tea gardens, allow cherry blossom viewing in spring. In the northwest corridor, trails such as Qingnian Ridge, Zhukeng Stream, Yuantan, RuTai Ancient Road, and the wild ginger flower stream with bird songs and floral scents offer views of multiple beautiful waterfalls and forest bathing experiences. All these make people fall in love with the stunning mountain scenery and bright natural landscapes, bringing endless joy.

Yuantan Natural Ecology Park is located midway between Zhuzi via Taixing towards Ruili. It is the most accessible of all Alishan trails, suitable for all ages and abilities (one can enjoy stream and waterfall scenery even pushing a wheelchair along Yuantan Stream). Upon entering the park, one is quickly immersed in the vertical forest landscape of towering cliffs. The service center offers not only natural ecology guides but also features a local restaurant on the upper floor. Entering Yuantan Natural Ecology Park is like stepping into a natural symphony theater filled with good mountains, clear waters, insect chirps, and bird calls. Most striking are the majestic, towering cliffs and lush forests. The valley follows the winding Yuantan Stream, turning sharply around peaks. The sandstone-shale geological formations traversed by the stream create a dramatic scene of thick sandstone layers interspersed with thin shale layers in the streambed. The clear stream flows with murmuring water sounds. Due to developed rock joints, there are multi-tiered waterfalls, potholes, towering cliffs, narrow valleys, and steep slopes, making it an ideal location for observing mid-altitude valley landforms.

At the end of the towering cliffs and lush forests lies the picturesque Yuantan Waterfall right before your eyes. Following the trail through the forest, you will see the magnificent Xiangshan Waterfall in the distance, and finally the Xinhu Waterfall deep within the woods. Crossing Yuantan Stream and the lush forest, past the willows and flowers, lies a village-like botanical park surrounded by mountains. There is a vibrant ecological pond, a Japanese bridge mimicking Monet’s garden in Giverny, and imposing giant boulders standing around, forming a magnificent natural landscape.

The ecological park is rich in moisture and humidity, suitable for moisture-loving epiphytic plants. Dense bamboo groves and large trees line the trails (common large trees include broad-leaf nanmu, fragrant leaf tree, Chinese sweetgum, camphor maple, Formosan hackberry, trema, and spotted cherry). Plants in the forest include Formosan arrow bamboo, taro, maidenhair fern, cliff fern, spleenwort, and osha fern. Many rare and protected birds inhabit the lush forests, such as the hawk-eagle, blue-bellied eagle, crested honey buzzard, black-winged kite, and red-tailed shrike. Streams host kingfishers, river martins, little egrets, pink ducks, and Chinese pond herons.

The special environment in the bamboo groves nurtures many protected amphibians and reptiles, such as the Asiatic bullfrog, Fejervarya limnocharis, Chirixalus eiffingeri, Huia frog, Gadow’s skink, and Formosan skink. The park is full of colorful butterflies: beautiful swallowtails, pierids, danaines, as well as camouflaged lycaenids and blues. Additionally, there are dragonflies and fireflies from April to May each year. Combined with aquatic ecosystems ranging from plankton, fry, shrimp, and crabs—especially endemic species like Formosan gudgeon, Formosan stone loach, and Formosan minnow—it weaves an incredibly rich ecological system, becoming Taiwan’s only diverse outdoor ecological teaching space.